Baccarat: Floral expressions with Gingermite
May 02, 2023
A collaboration between French luxury house, Baccarat, and luxury floral design boutique, Gingermite, is ushering in springtime with a focus on their mutual expressive craftsmanship
It may come as a surprise that the brawn and brains behind luxury floral design company, Gingermite, are mother-and-son duo, Ginger Wong and Mite Chan. The stellar rise of their business culminated in working on some prolific events and as a testament to their popularity, French luxury maison Baccarat has invited the Gingermite co-founders in creating an exclusive Mother’s Day “Baccarat bouquet” for the brand.
In their collaboration with Baccarat, Gingermite created an exclusive bouquet arrangement with a selection of red-hued flowers, including coral and red peonies, strawflower, anthurium, vanda, dark red carnation, Love-Lies-Bleeding and Transvaal daisies among others. “We also used the Queen Protea to refer to Mother’s Day – that all mothers need to be respected and treated like a queen,” Mite explains. “While peonies signify luxury in the same vein that Baccarat does.”
“We looked at the vase first which was going to house the flowers,” he continues. “Baccarat’s house colour is red and because of the light refractions on the crystal vase, the overall result could be different from what we intend it to be. We need to make sure that the red ‘radiancy’ we wanted to express truly comes through.”
The idea for Gingermite’s founding first came to them after another of Mite’s long business trips away. Once, he returned from Paris Fashion Week finding his mother, Ginger, waiting for his return in the early mornings in Hong Kong. It struck him that in all the years she has devoted herself to the family, Ginger may want to venture out for herself.
The choice to start up a floral design business came innocently. Ginger enjoyed taking care of plants at home – an interest that was noticeably far above any other hobbies she’s engaged in. Hence, they took a chance and jumped into this business.
Through Mite’s vast contact list, Ginger soon was designing floral arrangements for the likes of several high-profile, global brands.
From the get-go, Gingermite had garnered the attention of many luxury brands, supplying flowers to their events. Suddenly, their cosy flat was filled to the brim with all sorts of flora, including their bathtub. One of their first ever events had them working on 100 flower arrangements. “We even had to arrange them on location,” Ginger recalls.
It was an encouraging and exhilarating start for a business, where the whole premise started on their dining table. When projects started to pour in at a steady interval, they decided to rent a studio to further their business and now have a boutique in Kwai Chung.
Though they do everything together, both Ginger and Mite are very clear about their role within the company. Ginger is the creative brain behind Gingermite, while Mite takes care of the business and client facing-side of things. “Even though we work together, the things we do don’t really overlap with each other,” Mite reflects.
In their collaboration with Baccarat, the duo was introduced to the brand’s philosophy. Even though Baccarat is in the business of producing fine luxury goods, its wares blend seamlessly with daily life.
“They made us understand that Baccarat vases are to be integrated into and part of our lifestyle and aren’t just simple inanimate objects that simply look pretty,” he says, which strikes a chord with the Gingermite co-founder. The florists aim to drive home the message that the French maison wishes to convey, which is that of joy, simple pleasures and celebrating every moment of life.
“It is close to what we believe when making our bouquets. Many people think that flowers aren’t an absolute necessity – you won’t die if you don’t have flowers. But these days we have a better understanding of what kind of effect they have in our daily lives, having a nice bouquet or floral creation in your space can lift your mood and set the tone for the rest of your day.”
The subliminal effect that curated flora has on us can’t be simply discounted. With their discerning eye, they also observed how the beauty of Baccarat crystals lies in the radiantly colourful reflections when the light hits. “When it comes to luxury, it’s all about the details and Baccarat got that down to a T,” says Mite. “For us, when we considered what bouquet to pair with their pieces, we were very conscious about the reflecting light and how that may affect the presentation and final look of our own bouquet that sits in them.”
“In addition, Baccarat involves a lot of craftsmanship and made-by-hand pieces which means a lot of soul and effort goes into creating each and every single piece,” he adds.
This is not unlike Ginger’s process where it is essential to listen closely to what a client wants and be able to create it from that conversation. “We need their story, so that we can translate it into the arrangement that best conveys the message,” Mite points out.
“What ties our two brands together is in our handicraft – we use our hands to bind flowers together making something new, beautiful and eye-catching. Baccarat does so too with their attention to minute details of each crystal piece, so that they eventually end up with an outstanding item,” Ginger says.
“We both use our craftsmanship to demonstrate the creation of beauty.”
CREDITS
Creative concept and production / #legend
Creative direction / Zaneta Cheng
Photography / Renee Neoh
Videographer / Billy Elvis
Hair / Dickson Chan
Make-up / Sapphire Shen
Styling / Anthony Tong
Lighting / Stephen Cheng
Photographer assistant / Connie Luk
Styling assistant / Gaster
Wardrobe / Joyce, Arto, Demo official, Issey Miyake
Floral Arrangement / Gingermite
Vase / Baccarat Vases
Venue / Baccarat Elements Boutique
