The Green Vase
Livia Cetti is a prop stylist and paper flower artist perhaps best known for her studio, The Green Vase. Livia and her team create paper projects, flowers, and plants that can be enjoyed all year round, even during the cold, gray days of winter. An educator as much as an artist, Livia is the author of two books on the subject and partners with brands on larger scale installations oftentimes incorporating live florals as well. Here we speak to the paper artist about what inspired her to work with this medium and what continues to drive her work.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BEGIN WORKING WITH PAPER?
My parents were both artists, so it felt like a natural progression. The materials available and how I could manipulate them inspired me – I started off using doublette crepe paper and bleached it to remove the color. While I had experimented with origami it was not in a way that has influenced my professional work.
TELL US ABOUT THE GREEN VASE. WHAT SPARKED THE IDEA
AND HOW DID YOU LAUNCH THE BRAND?
“I started making paper hibiscus flowers for a recurring project with Sandals Resorts while I was a senior editor at Martha Stewart Weddings.”
I really fell in love with it and started experimenting with other flowers. I made a whole box full, and took them to John Derian who placed an order on the spot.
WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS LIKE?
“It all comes from a lifetime of observing nature.”
But when it comes down to making a specific flower, I’ve usually been thinking about it in my mind for a while before trying to make it in paper. So yes, nature definitely inspires my work. We even offer a series of flowers called the Paper Garden Club – a flower for every season of the year.
IN A BUSINESS THAT IS CENTERED AROUND PAPER, HOW DO YOU ADDRESS STAYING ECO–FRIENDLY AS A COMPANY?
Sustainability is always on our minds, but it is difficult to achieve the level we’d like especially as a small business. A few different things we’re doing right now:
“We’re using tissue paper from recycled sources, and 80–100% of the paper flowers themselves can be recycled at their end of life.”
We’ve been actively working on moving towards a packing system that’s single stream recyclable.
HOW HAS SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCED YOUR BUSINESS?
Instagram has really helped my business grow and expand, probably more rapidly than it would have otherwise.
“There’s more opportunity to interact on a global scale versus locally or regionally.”
YOU’VE WRITTEN TWO BOOKS ABOUT THE ART OF PAPER FLOWERS. WHAT WAS THE CREATIVE PROCESS LIKE TO CREATE THESE?
It was a bit challenging to be honest – there was no existing format for paper flowers (compared to something like knitting). It took a lot of time to decide on how the book would be organized. Once that was done, it was an interesting process to break everything down step by step and assign precise measurements to everything, especially since I work much more intuitively in the studio.
“Nothing is measured really. Everything is eyeballed and by feel.”
NOW THAT THE WORLD HAS OPENED UP AGAIN, WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER DOING AN IN PERSON EVENT OR WORKSHOP?
Yes! We just did a pop up shop at The St. Regis in New York and will be resuming classes, similar to the ones I taught pre–pandemic. We actually have one coming up: Paper Zinnias on 11/5.
CAN YOU SHARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE BRAND PARTNERSHIPS THAT YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF?
All of them really.
“I’m really proud that my business has come this far, but some that are extra special to me – John Derian, The Conran Shop, and Moda Operandi.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
Right now, I’m really focused on getting through the holiday season and hopefully a nice vacation at the end of that!
© All Photo Credit via The Green Vase