A beautiful bouquet of flowers always warms the heart. When those flowers fan out of the top of a Garden Love Vase, you are not sure whether the breathtaking beauty of the vase or the flowers caught your eye first.
One thing is for certain. The Dresden & Company Garden Love Vase won’t be relegated to a spot under the sink with all the other vases when the flowers from Valentine’s Day or any other occasion have wilted.
“A vase should be sculptural so that it can stand alone or enhance whatever you would like to put in it,” said Andy Wolfe, D&Co.’s Director of Product Development and Manufacturing.
Imagine the Garden Love Vase or the Host-exclusive Large Garden Love Vase on your mantel, in the center of your dining room table or your kitchen island — with or without flowers.
Andy said the vase baskets, which flare out artfully in the middle, came about as he looked to create a Valentine basket that was functional. It is important to him and D&Co. that our baskets be functional.
For those who wonder how a basket design like this comes to life, we asked Andy to describe the process.
“I start with ideation sketches looking at a variety of vase shapes. I was looking for something more contemporary in shape, so I started with angular shapes with tight corners,” he explained. From the sketches, he moved to 3D studies in foam to define the shape and then created the weaving form.
“As I refined the shape by defining the angles, where the wide belt line fell and the size of the base so it would be stable, it became a shape that felt right,” he said.
Our talented basketmakers take the form and build the baskets you love. The Garden Love Vase forms are different because the middle is bigger than the opening at the top. Andy said the “fall apart” form is made of segments that can come out of the basket individually. “It’s like a 3D puzzle,” he said.
The vases are challenging to weave, he shared, especially the smaller Garden Love Vase. The tight corners and the thin upsplints add to the difficulty. The vase must be woven tightly to maintain the angular shape.
“I think the basketmakers like the look of the basket, they just may not want to weave it,” he explained, noting that some enjoy making small, tightly woven baskets while others prefer bigger baskets. The entire basketmaking team is involved in the process.
“I enjoy creating something new that has not been done before or pushing the boundaries of what can be done,” he said. “I ask their opinions on what they like and what can be done. There are times I will come to them with a form and a basic idea and let them create.“
The Garden Love Vase is available in three colors in January: Cardinal Red, Sandstone and Ash Gray. It will move into D&Co.’s Everyday collection in Sandstone and Ash Gray in February, with Cardinal Red retiring on January 31. For January only, Hosts of $150 or more parties can get the Large Garden Love Vase in any of the three colors.
Once you have it in your home, this handwoven work of art is a statement piece that will look gorgeous wherever you place it.
