Putnam & Putnam share the secrets of their success in London
NYC’s flower power couple took an invited audience at the London Flower School through their floral achievements
From tiny seeds, great blooms grow. That’s the take-away message from Michael and Darroch Putnam’s talk at the London Flower School. The NYC floral designers dropped by this British institution a few days ago, to share insights into their work and their career to date, with such British flower luminaries as Paula Pryke, Cyrill Tronchet and Frida Kim.
Darroch was a photographer, and Michael was an interior designer, when they first met. Together they began to create small displays, which they photographed and posted on Instagram. Their following grew, commissions came in, and soon Michael and Darroch became Putnam & Putnam, the flower power couple of NYC.
Pretty soon they realised they needed a reference guide that catalogued different floral varieties in colour order, and, together they began work on a private version of the book that Phaidon has just published, their Flower Colour Guide (also available in US English as Flower Color Guide).
This book, though, is only one of 2018's career highlights for the pair, which also included overseeing the floral decorations for Gwyneth Paltrow’s wedding, and collaborating with Steven Klein and Grace Coddington for a Vogue shoot. Despite Klein and Coddington’s statute, the pair gave Putnam & Putnam free rein, enabling them to produce a definitive floral collage.
Indeed, the pair will probably add this trip to 2018’s highlights. “Thank you for having us, such positive energy and vibes,” Michael and Darroch said, “we love you!”
The feeling is certainly mutual. For more on the book that Putnam & Putnam wish they had had when they started out, order a copy of their Fower Colour Guide (or Flower Color Guide for US readers) here.