Last Thursday our designers were invited over to the Ultrafabric showroom, for an evening of mindfulness and green-fingered creativity.
Their showroom had been transformed into a plant lover's paradise, with everything from Bonsai trees, to mother-in-laws tongues... complete with a truly epic cheeseboard, that we dove right into, before our hosts had even finished pouring our drinks!
Stefan Thomas, of TranquilPlants had come to teach us about Kokedamas, which translates as 'moss ball'. As we sipped away on our cups of jasmine tea, he talked to us about the need for 'fresh air plants', and how we can utilise them to create calming greener spaces.
With eco-friendly design at the forefront of many projects, the team were hooked on the beautiful installations he'd created for numerous brands, with striking simplicity to create incredible aesthetics.
After watching Stefan effortlessly produce a Kokedama in front of us, he sent us off to attempt to recreate our very own...
Needless to say, when we struggled to even get the plant out, we realised we might've bitten off more than we could chew!
A Kokedama is a ball of soil, covered with moss, on which an ornamental plant grows. For those brave enough to attempt to create this ball of green beauty, you effectively wrap the roots of a potted plant with thread; loosely, but tight enough to maintain it's shape. You then 'cloak' the roots in sheet moss, which can be picked up at most garden centres, before again loosely binding the moss in place, to create your ball. Simple!
Affectionately described by our Designer, Manon, as a 'confused pineapple', we finally produced some pretty impressive plants after a lot of laughter - and in some cases - a rather haphazard approach to it all!
With our Kokedamas proudly placed on the table in front of us, we sat with Stefan for a meditation session, before heading home after one of our favourite team events!
