Simply Elegant Flowers With Michael George | 
| Authors: Michael George, Bob Shuman
Publisher: North Light Books
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy New: $12.99
You Save: $17.01 (57%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 24421
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 10 x 1
ISBN: 1558708065
Dewey Decimal Number: 745.92
EAN: 9781558708068
ASIN: 1558708065
Publication Date: March 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New - I ship every business day!
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Book Description
New York's premier fashion industry florist, Michael George is known for his signature graphic, modern arrangements that are as popular in Manhattan hotels and storefronts as they are on the pages of Vogue and on the set of Good Morning America. In Simply Elegant Flowers, George shares his secrets for creating these beautiful arrangements as he guides you, season by season, through a year of flowers. George's philosophy of living and creating with flowers is contagious, and soon you'll agree that fresh, seasonal arrangements can enhance your life every day, not just on special occasions. His compositions recreate flowers as they are in nature--which, as he reminds us, is already perfect. Typically overlooked blooms, like carnations, take on a stunning new character when arranged en masse in a perfect dome, while more exotic stems, like dendrobium orchids, are at their most elegant when allowed to stand alone in a simple vase. Easy to follow, step-by-step instructions and photographs show you how to master George's techniques for building clean, contemporary floral compositions with his trademark architectural precision. Along the way, George shares helpful insights from a lifetime of working with flowers, and his recommendations of choice blooms for every season give you the confidence you need to begin creating your own unique arrangements, regardless of your budget. Beautiful photography brings the flowers to life on every page as he shows you how simple it is to apply these basic techniques to virtually any bloom. With Simply Elegant Flowers as your guide, you'll be arranging flowers like a professional--and displaying them like a celebrity.
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| Customer Reviews:
 I Thought This Book Was Boring! June 30, 2008
Not what I expected. Just ok but not enough to hold my attention. I prefer really cutting edge arrangements and this was a little to pedestrian for me. I wanted latest, greatest, hottest. It was none of these things. Simply Elegant was too simple.
 Simply beautiful!! May 4, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
My mother ordered this book after she and I went to see a Michael George lecture at a local museum. To begin with, we really liked Michael George as a person and that made ordering his book an easy decision. He has a great sense of humor and, despite having celebrity clientele, is down to earth and without pretense.
The book itself is stunning. Each glossy page features pictures full of color and life and the arrangements are truly inspiring. Michael's philosophy is to "keep things simple." He feels that, the more natural, the more beautiful and therefore one does not need to go crazy when arranging their flowers.
The book is divided in the following manner:
Foreword by Martha Stewart
Introduction by Michael George (in which he explains his philosophy)
PART 1: Floral Design
Chapter 1: Flowers in Today's World
Chapter 2: Tools & Tricks of the Trade
Chapter 3: Signature Flower Arranging Techniques
PART 2: Four Seasons
Chapter 4: Spring
Chapter 5: Summer
Chapter 6: Autumn
Chapter 7: Winter
Index
One of the best features of the book is Michael's explanation of his "Hybrid Tabletop" technique. He shows the reader how to do it (step-by-step) with classic and miniature calla lilies. The result is a gorgeous arrangement with stems that appear twisted (I'm not doing the way it looks justice with that explanation but I don't know how else to describe it). Michael uses all glass containers which really show-case the bright green stems. He gives instruction on stacking the flowers, before cutting, how to cut (and what tools to use), how to gently manipulate the stems of certain flowers to achieve varying looks, how to use clear rubber bands to hold your arrangements together, what temperature water to use in your arrangements and many other helpful hints.
In conclusion, this book is perfect for a coffee table but it is also so much more, given that it offers loads of instruction. Do not hesitate to purchase this for yourself or as a gift for someone else (this would be a great Mother's Day gift for any mother who enjoys flowers).
Simply Gorgeous March 28, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. The photography is fabulous, and I learned so much about the different flowers. I bought it as a coffee-table book and put it out in the living room. Then I saw my 12-year-old daughter reading it, completely fascinated. We went to the Korean market to buy flowers and started to arrange a bouquet back home--which is actually something Michael George recommends doing with the family. Our simple arrangement of tulips is holding up and continues to make us smile when we pass by it. We're already planning on doing more. A very nice book, which isn't in the living room anymore!
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