Calderone had been a photography student and worked with fresh flowers during her graduate school years. Her floral design portfolio secured her a job with Perennial Designs where she worked for seventeen years, until the store closed the doors of its downtown Needham location last spring.
At that time, Calderone was forced to ask herself what she would do next. “I loved the flowers and the clients. I realized that I didn’t want to do anything else.” So, last fall, she negotiated for a piece of the business and began to run the silk flower arrangements component out of her home studio.
The garden level of her Newton residence is now lined with workbenches, containers of materials, and tools. Just like florists who work with fresh flowers, Calderone makes routine trips to the Boston Flower Market for a selection of in-season blooms. She works with all different textures and styles, and can create silk flower masterpieces for small spaces or grand foyers.
“Faux flowers used to be a faux pas,” she chuckles, “but the quality has improved so much that it really does fool the eye.” The key, she says, is to design the arrangements as if they were fresh. “Bouquets have to make sense; seasonal flowers should work together, and the right container must be paired with the right flower.” She enjoys collaborating with her clients to realize their ideas and inspirations, and the forgiving nature of the silk allows her significantly more creative freedom than she would have with live plants.
Beyond direct client orders, Calderone’s Perennial Designs products are showcased at Volante Farms and Taylor’s Stationery in Needham. Rustic tables contrast dramatically with their displays of lush and beautiful blooms - from petal pink peonies, lavender lilacs, cream duchess roses and fuchsia clematis, to fistfuls of white camellia, cobalt blue hydrangea, and apple green viburnum.
“Perennial Designs lives on. While there is no shop to walk into, nothing has changed in terms of the quality, style, and service of the business. It is still very much focused on exceptional, face-to-face customer experiences,” Calderone said.
Perennial Designs caters to residential, corporate, and retail clients, and offers seasonal and event services. Please visit perennialdesignsma.com for more information, or contact Lisa Calderone directly at 617-559-0719.