How do you plan to keep your bridal bouquet after the big day? Typical ways to preserve them include pressing, freeze drying, air drying or using epoxy resin to make a silicone mold. Preserving bridal bouquets in good condition is important for any wedding couples to make memories of the wedding day last forever.
Here is a new idea from a Japanese enterprise, BON ART Inc. The company started a new bridal service called ‘Hananoe’ in April. ‘Hananoe’ means ‘painting of flowers’ in Japanese, which is exactly what this service offers newlyweds: professional artists wll paint pictures of the bridal bouquet with paint pigments extracted from bouquet flowers used at wedding ceremonies.
(Image: lp.bonart.co.jp)
BON ART has been tackling social issues through art. The company mainly deals with floral decorations and room decor. However, through experience in the flower industry, BON ART began to question the custom of discarding tons of flowers every day during the distribution process. This is one reason for starting the painting service ‘Hananoe,’ to materialize the company’s philosophy: ART for good. In this service, extracting pigments from flowers is a way of keeping the special memory as well as upcycling old flowers.
Upcycling your bridal bouquet to create a memory
In many cases people save memories of special events in life by taking photos. The digital data is then stored on recordable media or cloud photo services. However, for someone who is looking for something original, this painting is perfect. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, and paintings are classy and nostalgic in contrast to digital data.
(Image: lp.bonart.co.jp)
Moreover, having art at home may have beneficial effect on life. Today a lot of study shows art has positive impact on human welfare. As a matter of fact, in Finland, art and culture is recognized to increase and support people’s health and social well being. In Japan, art programs for elder people revealed participating art activities have noticeable effects on improving quality of life, raise self-esteem and to reduce depression. This is also true for children too, as art engagement has shown positive impact on improving young people’s self-esteem.
So why not try saving precious memories as art? ‘Hananoe’ paintings are available in three sizes: small, medium and large. Portraits and other requests are possible besides wedding bouquets.
(Image: lp.bonart.co.jp)
[Reference] https://www.lp.bonart.co.jp/
[Reference] https://taikusydan.turkuamk.fi/english/arts-for-well-being/
[Reference] http://www.artsalivejp.org/program
[Reference] https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nyas.14056
(This article was originally published on Zenbird Media.)
Additional Resources
Zenbird Media Homepage
More on upcycling
More Art & Design from Japan