FLORAL REEF & CO

a floral studio, a cultural space,
a journey through nature to craft.

Surreal Stems, Real Memories

A Surreal Bouquet by man-made stems

While wandering through San Luis Obispo, I stumbled across the Human Kind Fair Trade store in the city center. The moment I stepped inside, my eyes caught these handmade artificial flowers, and I simply couldn’t help but fall in love.

At first, I thought of choosing just the stems I liked most. But then I realised this was a chance to pick something I rarely see in real life, the surreal side of flowers. That’s how I ended up with stems in soft beige and an unexpected shade of blue. I combined them into a little bouquet, mixing round shapes, spiky forms, and a large leaf at the back to frame it all.

The most enjoyable part was when I asked if I could wrap the bouquet myself. The kind lady at the shop laughed and told me, “You’ve just taken my job!” I carefully layered a few sheets of craft and wax paper, three layers in total, to build a structure that held the flowers beautifully.

It was such a joyful, imaginative moment, creating a bouquet in the middle of my travels. I knew I couldn’t bring it back with me to Scotland, so I gifted it to someone who is allergic to pollen. Handmade flower stems like these are so thoughtful: they last forever, can be rearranged endlessly, and make the loveliest keepsake or home decoration.

Location: Malibu Beach, Los Angeles, California, United States
Methods: Kodak Vision 3 500t

Malibu in the Fog

After San Luis Obispo, I continued my journey south to Los Angeles—a city I’d always wanted to wander for a long time. Most of my plans were in the heart of the city, but there was one destination I held close in my mind: Malibu.

For almost a decade, Malibu had lived in my imagination through LANY’s Malibu Nights album. It wasn’t tied to one particular memory, but it always carried me back to my university years—long nights working on art projects, friendships, the rhythm of student life, and even memories of my ex-partner at the time. The songs gave me that bittersweet nostalgia, so finally stepping onto Malibu felt like meeting a place I’d known from far away.

What surprised me most, though, was the weather on that day (11/04/2024). Los Angeles greeted me with an unusual mood, foggy and cloudy, the entire beach and the houses wrapped in a soft grey veil. My travel companion and I both felt the weight of the atmosphere; there was a sense of distance between us, like a quiet wall of gloom. That’s when I held the bouquet I’d made and the photos were captured with Rolleiflex. Despite the heavy sky, the flowers stood out beautifully, carrying light into the frame.

Looking back at those photos now, I see more than just fog or flowers. They remind me how travel itself can hold so many layers of feeling, joy, nostalgia, melancholy, and beauty all at once. That little bouquet carried my memories with it, and I like to imagine it still holding onto them, sending its care forward into whatever future moments are yet to come..

I highly recommend stopping by the place in SLO, and another must visit spot while visiting LA.

📍Human Kind Fair Trade store
Monterey St, San Luis Obispo, California, 93401, United States

📍Malibu Beach
Malibu-1, Los Angeles, California, 90265, United States

Location: San Luis Obispo, California, United States
Methods: Iphone 13 Pro

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