A bouquet of fresh flowers can be an instant cure for dejected spirits, a thoughtful gift, or a cheery way to beat back winter doldrums … until a week or two goes by and you’re left to deal with the wilted, browning eyesore on your dining table. But a bouquet sculpture, crafted from wood and wire, yarn and paper, or even LEGO bricks, can be kept on perpetual display without ever bearing witness to the ravages of time. With no aspirations of imitating the real thing, these sculptures lack the chintziness of artificial silk flowers, instead asserting themselves as objets d’art in their own right. Below, we’ve rounded up our favorite flower sculptures that boast all the mood-boosting properties of a real arrangement.
Lego’s flower arrangements have been a runaway hit since they launched in 2021; A$AP Rocky even gifted Rihanna one for Valentine’s Day last year. The Lego botanical collection now contains orchids, succulents, and a bonsai tree, among other designs, and for 2023, Lego has introduced two new styles: a dried-flower centerpiece in muted autumnal shades, and daisy-fresh, spring-themed wildflower bouquet filled with lavender and Welsh poppies.
If these whimsical specimens have a bit of a vintage feel to them, that’s because designer Bunny Williams was inspired by antique botanical sculptures originally created for education. The flower structures are built from galvanized iron, resin, and wood, then hand-painted to bring out their natural details.
Philippines-based makers Carmi Plaut and Loly Gomez sculpt their wildflower bouquets from shimmering fragments of recycled glass, set off with wire grass and planted in an alderwood base. (If you look closely, you might even spot a few winged friends, also made of glass, fluttering among the foliage). There are 12 different flowers, one for each month, making these bunches a perfect birthday or Mother’s Day gift.
Global Goods Partners’ home-décor pieces are ethically sourced from female artisans from all over the world. Each felted flower in the brand’s stylish wool bouquets is dyed, cut, and stitched by hand in Kathmandu, Nepal. Choose among several ready-made arrangements in an assortment of sophisticated color palettes from subtle peach to this zingy citrus.
You can also buy stems individually if you’re looking to create your own unique arrangement.
Artist Lane Walkup’s playful arrangements, crafted from only steel wire and paint, are striking in their simplicity. Each one is custom made and priced depending on the size and specific details of the sculpture.
This elegant Vahz Studio vase containing a single calla lily was laser-cut from birch wood and hand-painted. It comes with a matching vase stand so you can display it in a window or on a mantelpiece, but you also have the option to remove the stand and hang it up as a wall accent.
It’s all in the name: Unwilted Flowers are fashioned from wire and Italian crêpe paper, so they’ll remain frozen in peak bloom for years to come. (Just make sure not to expose the arrangement to direct UV light, which may cause the paper to fade.) This splashy Gin & Juice bouquet pairs sunflowers with orange ranunculus and tulips, highlighted by cool-blue hydrangeas.
Lovepop’s adorable pop-up cards are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, so we’re sure their selection of paper-rose bouquets will be just as much of a hit. This 12-stem arrangement of pink and yellow “roses” is mixed with vibrant greenery and baby’s breath and comes with a blank card so you can include a thoughtful note.
If you can dream it, Jenju Flower Shop owner Vicky Hsu can crochet it. Here, a froth of crocheted gladiolus is set off by lavender stems, all wrapped in butcher paper like a real bouquet. Hsu even suggests perfuming the flowers with a spritz of your favorite fragrance to act as a room diffuser.
These sculptural stained-glass stems are bound to be an eye-catching (and light-catching) centerpiece. If this particular pairing of ipomoeas, snowdrops, and bleeding hearts isn’t your style, feel free to a request a custom arrangement from the artist, Zoka Kurylov, who offers everything from eucalyptus to forget-me-nots.
Another glass option, this sweet bouquet depicts wheat stems, hydrangea heads, roses, and chrysanthemums in lifelike 3-D. For an extra fee, you can also receive a video clip of your bouquet being hand-crafted in artist Donna Marie’s Northamptonshire workshop.
Book lovers who delight in objects that reuse old tomes will appreciate this bouquet made from pre-loved pages. Available in multiple color schemes, each handmade bloom is accented with a faux-pearl center and set off by a smattering of greens and dried caspia.
These lush-looking blooms are actually crafted from sola wood, which is derived from a tapioca plant root. The wood’s flexibility and pliancy means it can be hand-shaped into a variety of intricate designs, such as these sunny roses and peonies. The Wood Flowers brand actually began as a fresh-flower shop before transitioning to forever bouquets, ensuring that each arrangement is expertly designed.
These life-sized flowers made from perler beads will transform your living room into a scene from a vintage eight-bit video game. Maker Megan Jackson offers ferns and succulents as well, if all your orders from the Sill have ended in sorrow.
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