Color Is in Full Bloom for Floral Designer Maurice Harris
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For Maurice Harris, nature’s own palette provides the best inspiration. The floral designer, artist, and entrepreneur weaves together exquisitely colorful arrangements—one bloom at a time.
Maurice Harris stands in front of Bloom & Plume, his floral design studio in Echo Park, Los Angeles.
Feeling the design itch from an early age, Maurice sought out creative outlets to nurture his artistic proclivity. "I’ve always had a knack for design ever since I was seven or eight," Maurice shares from his studio. "I was moving around my parents’ furniture as a kid trying to make the best composition," he says as he skillfully assembles an arrangement to pop against the Porsche x Backdrop Riviera Blue walls. "The essence of design is composition—moving things around. That’s what drew me to flowers."
Riviera Blue was first launched in 1994, making head-turning appearances on the Porsche 911, 928, and 968.
Honing his artistic point of view through jobs in design and fashion, Maurice got into window display—landing jobs with Barneys and Juicy Couture. Although he had an affinity for flowers, it never dawned on him to make it a career path. "I kind of fell into floral design," Maurice explains to Backdrop co-founder Natalie Ebel at his shop. "I loved playing with flowers. I used to watch my grandmother make flower arrangements when I was a little kid. So I think there was always a knack there." What started as a knack eventually became a full-fledged passion, with Maurice opening Bloom & Plume in Los Angeles’ Echo Park.
For a new arrangement, Maurice immediately gravitates towards vibrant fuchsia zinnias. "The hot pink against this specific shade of blue just kept calling to me," he says to Backdrop co-founder Natalie Ebel. He then selects yellows, greens, and corals to counterbalance the magenta and create dimension. "It really is all about the push and pull."
As a newcomer to the floral world, Maurice brought a fresh perspective to what had historically been a rigid, stiff industry. "I felt like everything was very constricted and tight," he recalls. "I didn't want to continue to do exactly what was already being done. I wanted something that had a more organic and natural feel to it, an ease." Maurice began to hone a design aesthetic all his own—wild, sculptural, and effortlessly luxe.
"The flower industry had such a look to it when I got into the business," Maurice recalls. "Pavéd and perfect." Bucking tradition, Maurice embraced the natural variation of flowers, turning them into dynamic, sculptural masterpieces. "I like something that has a really deliberate shape, but then is also organic and you can see that it comes from nature," he says.
Maurice’s one-of-a-kind creations come together organically, but always start from the same place. "I really start with color," he says. Immediately grabbing bold fuchsia zinnias, he begins to assemble a cast of supporting characters—all riffing off of the zinnias’ rich magenta. "They're so pretty and they just have such a beautiful, vibrant color," he says of the anchor flowers. "I love the way they pop off of the blue."
"Riviera Blue was such a swift color to me. It was like this neon pastel. It had a quickness. It was refreshing," says Maurice. "I wanted flowers that really contrasted and popped, but kind of had a very similar chroma quality to them." To add dramatic flair to the colorful arrangement, Maurice incorporated sculptural Sago palms as a final touch—hand-painted with Riviera Blue.
Movement is also pivotal to Maurice’s unique point of view when it comes to floral design. He wants his creations to become dynamic forces that take on a life of their own. "I want all of my arrangements to look like they're actually in motion," says Maurice. "Like they're still moving. They're still growing. They still have a flow." One way Maurice creates movement is by incorporating "flyaways"—rogue blooms or stems that are longer or wilder than their neighboring counterparts. "This to me makes it look like it's still in motion," says Maurice. " Like it's maybe still being placed, or it just outgrew [the vessel]."
"Design is design is design," Maurice says of his varied creative interests. His own Los Angeles home is filled with color, texture—and of course, plants. "From my jewelry to my shoes, to my clothes, to my car, to the artwork on my walls, to the furniture—my design principle is, if you love it, it will go well together," he says.
Maurice brings a colorful imagination to the world of floral design, creating arrangements that are wild and sculptural. "Why not be whimsical and a little crazy?" he muses.
In interior design and floral design alike, individuality is key for Maurice. "If you only buy things you love, it will always make sense because it's you," he says.
For Maurice, there is beauty in the diversity and transience of flowers. "Every stem is really kind of different," he says. "I like that I can't totally 100% replicate anything that I do," he shares. "And it's ephemeral. It goes away. It grows again."
Reflecting on the 75th anniversary of Porsche, Maurice muses on the iconic car’s heritage appeal—picking up on similarities to his design approach with florals. "I like design that is rooted in something that is traditional, but then breaks and goes somewhere modern," he says. "Everything that I do is rooted in tradition, but then I try to break that a little bit."
Each of the four, limited-edition Porsche x Backdrop paints are available in custom-designed, co-branded collectible paint cans. Full gallons are $75.
Shop the colors at backdrophome.com/porsche.
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