;111 Celebrate! DEBRA B. DARVICK Special to The Jewish News L aguna, Pavarotti, Gabriella, Obsession, Majolika, Livia — just a few of the kinds of roses that florists might be weaving into simple, hand-tied bridal bouquets or ornately formal table decorations this season. Depending on who you talk to, what's in is as varied as a mixed bouquet — intense color, traditional, natural. What you will hear time and again however, is that the demand for fresh flowers, exquisitely arranged, is far from fading. Bruce Bolton of Breath of Spring averages 20 30 parties a month. "Our - 4/9 1999 038 Detroit Jewish News Bolton for years, loved the special main business is weddings," he says, containers he devised for her birthday but we do a lot of private parties and party last year. "It was spectacular," bar and bat mitzvahs as well. Baby she says. namings are getting bigger and bigger "Bruce used wrought-iron holders each year, as big as weddings. that had rusted and filled them with Bolton, who "fell into the business four to five dozen roses, all in this 22 years ago, was always being inter- wonderful peach shade that deepened ested in flowers. "I enjoy it," he says. to orange at the edges. Bolton estimates that he Shaevsky, whose foot Breath of Spring's turns away nearly 25 per- ber works measures a bud-sized 4 1/2, Marla Kam cent of potential jobs in a rpiece. on a cente used a shoe theme ("No one year. "We can only do a can fill Lois' shoes") for the certain amount. I have my party "Bruce designed staff and that's it. these wire shoe forms and filled them "There's room for everybody," he with roses, too," she says. "And he car- says. "Anyone can copy anyone else's ried the theme through by having the work. Fifty roses is 50 roses. To me table numbers in the shape of shoes." it's the props, the containers that Unique design is a big part of make the arrangements." florist Kathie Henk's cachet as well. Lois Shaevsky, who has used )3 " Working out of her Pontiac studio, Henk's client roster includes Detroit Edison and the Detroit Institute of Arts. The Henk Studio offers clients a full-service operation. "We do the whole design of a room," says Henk. "If the client wants, we supply everything from tablecloths to flowers to salad forks." Henk's trademark may be her flair for the innovative, from recreated mini- forests to incorporating family pets into a bridal procession. "My clients trust me," says Henk. "They know I know what I'm doing and they usually leave it up to me. I get a basic idea from a color scheme they've chosen and then they trust me to give them what looks good with- out spelling everything out.