In a city synonymous with beauty and elegance, it’s no surprise that Paris possesses an enduring relationship with floristry and nature. There are florists and flower markets on nearly every street corner, ideal for filling homes and offices with seasonal and exotic blooms, or ample opportunities to admire the verdant greenery along the city’s sidewalks.
Against this backdrop, award-winning Singapore botanical design studio This Humid House (THH) has been flourishing. Since opening its Paris outpost two years ago, the team has forged strong relationships with growers, foragers, and suppliers.
It unveiled its latest venture in late May: florist-in-residence at luxury streetwear label Palm Angels’ new flagship store in Paris’ 1st arrondissement at 217 Rue Saint-Honoré.
“When Palm Angels approached us, we thought it was the perfect opportunity for THH to interact with a new audience. Besides growing our presence outside Asia into Europe, we wanted to reach a different demographic.
The Palm Angels customer embodies a youthful, bold and forward-looking spirit, and we hope the store will allow THH’s love for nature to resonate with them,” said Francoise Ozawa, co-creative director of This Humid House.
No stranger to the unorthodox, THH’s experimental spirit aligns with Palm Angels’ passion for American culture and Italian sophistication, which values creativity, individuality, expression, and freedom.
Customers can choose from assemblages of discerningly selected floral and plant materials to be assembled at home, bouquets of unexpected combinations, or a medley of plants hand-picked for their resilience and unique characteristics.
eager to break norms
However, despite its status as a globally established market, clichés still prevail in Europe, Ozawa tells us in a video interview. For example, pine trees are still mostly associated with Christmas and hydrangeas with summer.
The majority of the flower varieties at the market are what you will typically find, and the common perception is that a flower is most valuable when it’s blooming—before and after are “not as interesting”, she says.
Eager to do away with such notions, THH experiments with unconventional materials and formats, and connects with like-minded friends and collaborators through the residency. The intention is to create products that delight and provoke, incorporating gorgeous seasonal varieties with materials not commonly used in floristry, such as cut versions of succulents such as agave and larger cuttings of branches and foliage.
“We need to be respectful of people’s strong tradition with flowers and if we came on board, it had to feel and be different,” says founder John Lim.
This Humid House Paris has been working closely with florist Clément Bouteille, who grows uncommon or special species of plants and collects wild varieties and other botanical curiosities during his walks at his family’s sprawling farm in Lyon. Rather than focusing on the perfect bloom, Bouteille prefers to emphasise how flowers can bring more to the world—stems, buds, roots, and more.
When you blend things differently, it gives people a new-found appreciation of the materials, says Ozawa.
Take pine, for instance, which Bouteille harvests for THH. There are many varieties available year-round, not just for Christmas. Some have branches with gestural shapes that lend dynamism to any arrangement. Their various shades of green, from a dark forest green to a silvery, almost greyish green also lend pine trees a subtle beauty.
A similar approach is taken by THH. The company does not shy away from using vegetables, such as leeks for their versatility, as part of a bouquet or floral arrangement.
And while some European customers have inquired if THH plans to use tropical flowers, the idea is to be “local first” for reasons of sustainability and staying authentic to a region’s climate. “We bring this approach wherever we go,” says Lim.
Vessels play a significant role in each artful arrangement. THH has collaborated with guest artist Étienne Mauroy on a collection commissioned for the Palm Angels flagship store, designed by Studio Henry.
A ceramicist who honed his skills in France and Jingdezhen, China, the birthplace of porcelain, Mauroy explores the relationship between materiality and transcendence through his pieces.
The goal is for the store to serve the community of the 1st arrondissement, just a short walk away from the Louvre, shops, and other residences.
Putting Singapore on the map
THH has firmly integrated itself into Singapore’s creative ecosystem since 2017, serving the art, design, event, food and beverage, and hospitality industries. It also has the support of many public and private organisations.
Its services include landscape design, creative direction for events and gala dinners, commissioned art installations for institutions, and collaborations with international luxury fashion houses on editorials, campaigns and activations. Additionally, it specialises in staging destination weddings and botanical design for events in Norway, Greece, Italy, and the UK.
In recent years, plants and flowers have emerged as a kind of “storytelling medium” and a way to express one’s identity, according to Lim, a former architect turned botanical designer. Similar to the culinary scene, floristry is also all about flavours, textures, colours, palettes and arrangements, and much more.
For its staff, having a strong point of view, articulating their views, and telling the story behind each creation has become second nature. As Lim reflects on THH’s early beginnings, he observes that people understood what they were trying to achieve from the beginning.
“Our message has always been about opening your eyes to the surrounding nature, to appreciate the flowers that survive in this humid house we call Singapore. People understood that implicitly and quickly. Our growth is really a barometer of people feeling seen and represented,” he says.
The majority of people may perceive flower arrangements as Western art, but
that is simply not the case, as Lim explains.
A long and rich history and tradition of using flowers in Asian art forms also exists. Among their many uses, they have been incorporated into religious offerings and Japanese ikebana as well as Chinese ink paintings depicting birds and flowers. “With so many permutations, we wanted to celebrate these different cultures wherever we go,” says Lim.
The expansion to Paris—both with its studio and the residency—has been pivotal in pushing THH to the next level, he muses. It represents a tremendous opportunity to experiment “in a completely different playground with new ingredients and distinct seasons.”
Education is the end goal. THH wants to teach and inform people about plants and flowers in new ways. In Singapore, the studio has witnessed the burgeoning home-grown landscape of artisanal florists, boutiques, and the like since its founding.
Though competition keeps THH on its toes, it is excited about the challenge of coming up with new ideas and constantly reinventing itself.
Says Lim, “It’s incredible that a small country like ours can produce work on this level. I can’t emphasise this more. It brings us so much joy to see an entire profession being raised.”
