NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S SOLIFLORE

PLUS LES SOLIFLORES DE NOS GRAND'MERES

In France in the late 70's, the "soliflore" , a vase for one flower, or sometimes 2, was a hit "classic" wedding gift among elderly aunts and the elderly friends of the elderly aunts wanting to take no "design" risk... I for one got 5! and they looked somewhat like these. 

All of them were offered with much kindness and generosity and sincere warm wishes.

All of them were not at all my cup of tea. I was into modern and plastic and steel and.. well, I was into the 70's. 

Soliflores have come a looong way! They are fun and creative and definitely not your grandmother's soliflore any longer. 

You now have a choice of new classics, elegant and pared down and perfect anywhere at all times.

There are also the very creative ones, a testament to creative attitude and design savvy.

Some are definitely trying to be vases without being vases, if you know what I mean.

This one, a very clever plastic bag parading as a vase, from Merci in Paris, is a perfect gift to bring back in your suitcase: light, flat when empty and surprisingly stable when filled. I gave one to my son Kevin that he was too happy to take back to Australia. No going over the weight limit here.

The fun part of a soliflore is that you can, but are not limited to, displaying one flower only. The grouping of like vases dress a table with fun and wit. 

These, from the French design group Tse Tse, are called vases de 7 jours: one for each day of the week. You start with a full length flower and transfer it to a smaller vase as you keep cutting the stem to make it last; or you just fill them all at once.

Some, you can even hang on the wall if you are short on table space. Like those little flower vases in which they stick orchids on prom night, but for the house.

images gadgetsharp, mybadpad, ebay, delamaison, daum, todayandtomorrow,merci, onedesignperday, serax, vaso

au revoir.