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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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].”

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.

Related Reading:

Makeup Entrepreneur Deepica Mutyala Embraces All Hues

Mixing Old and New, Interior Designer Dabito Brings Colorful Spaces to Life

Artist Thai Mainhard Paints Memories With Color

Porsche x Backdrop Is a (Color) Match Made in Heaven

An Architect’s Minimalist Home Gets a Splash of Color Inspired by Porsche