End Page: The Personal Touch
July 1, 2005
When the distinguished River Course clubhouse on Kiawah Island in South Carolina opened eight years ago, interior designer Amelia Handegan called upon her cousin Becky Davis to create a series of floral arrangements. “Amelia wanted something with a natural look–nothing too done that looked like it came from a florist,” explains Davis, for whom flower arranging had long been a favorite hobby. “The owners liked the look so much that they asked if I would stay on as the island’s floral design consultant.” Davis is now in charge of all three clubhouses, where new arrangements are created twice a week. She also takes commissions from the island’s residents, which include everything from designing arrangements for weddings to creating custom-framed botanicals from her clients’ own gardens.
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Photograph by Marni Rothschild Pictures. (Click image to
enlarge)Culling her materials mostly from the Low Country’s indigenous flora, Davis often uses large lotus pads, magnolia branches and palmetto leaves to create the kind of seemingly simple arrangements that are, in reality, difficult for amateurs to produce. “I have a cabin in the woods that’s next to a wildlife refuge where I pick a lot of things for the arrangements; everything there is untouched and a lot healthier-looking than what you might find in the city,” explains Davis. “It also takes an eye for scale and an instinct for the right time to pick something, so that it continues to bloom even after it’s been cut.”
Recently, Davis has devoted more time to her framed botanicals, opening a gallery this summer in what was once her family’s antebellum home in Summerton, a small town just northwest of Charleston. “Up until now, I’ve been selling the botanicals exclusively through Amelia’s showroom in Charleston,” says Davis, who arranges the framings like scientific specimens, complete with the date and common and scientific names. “I can’t stand pressed flowers from the Victorian era. I love plants and leaves so much that I want to see them in their natural state.” Davis’ botanicals typically keep their color for about six months to a year, after which Davis recommends refreshing them. The 18-by-24-inch frames cost $400 to $600; the largest frames (40 by 60 inches) are priced at about $1,650.
Becky Davis, Carolina Botanicals, 803.485.3375
Amelia Handegan
Interior Design, 843.722.9373, www.athid.com
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