Beautiful flowers

We have done it again. Ten real women, a photographer and a wonderful space to create a new campaign where you, our clients, are the protagonists. We introduce you Beautiful flowers, a fantastic collection of images taken by our favorite portrait artist, Sunlight, in a dream place, Botanical Matter, the flower shop that Dani Pando opened last December on Fruela Street.

After the success of Beautiful ladies, the campaign we ran in autumn as a tribute to real women, with their sizes, their ages, their beauty standards and their particularity, we wanted more. We have many clients and we would like to photograph all of you, make you participate in our ideas, so that you feel part of the old Iriarte which, as you know, is much more than a business. It is a place of meeting, of talks, of many laughs, of the occasional tear, of debates, of confidences and, of course, of style. To find your identity among dresses, bags and shoes that we choose always thinking of you.

We didn't know if Mujeres Bellas would continue as such, but our doubts were cleared up immediately and by chance. I already told you in another entry (New York's Fifth Avenue in Oviedo) that one day in December I discovered by chance Botanical Matter. I liked it so much that I went in to meet its owner, Dani Pando, and to propose doing something together. “What do you think if later, in spring, when the new collections arrive, we come here with some dresses and take some photos? I believe a lot in synergies and it would be a nice collaboration between two small neighborhood businesses. And your store is so pretty…”, I told him. “I am delighted. I also believe a lot in synergies and we little ones have to support each other,” he answered.

The rest was a breeze and start scheming. Since Materia Botánica is so full of flowers, exotic plants, vases, candles, and various wonders, we thought that we had to wear dresses in solid colors and no other decorations. Barefoot and without many artifices. Natural, like the matter that surrounded us. Even the chosen fabrics (linen, cotton or silk) come from nature. Unique women among unique flowers, because although some look like others or are even of the same species, they all have a particularity that differentiates them, perhaps a detail, a nuance that is barely perceived but that distinguishes them.

We agreed to meet on a Saturday afternoon. There were ten of us and we met at El Antiguo Iriarte to get dressed there and go ready to Materia Botánica. You had to see us! All dressed in beautiful spring dresses but wearing thick boots or winter shoes and wrapped in coats and down jackets because, even though the day was sunny, it was cold. This circumstance already caused us a lot of laughter and a wonderful complicity. So we set off, in this way and in a platoon, heading for the photo session.

Materia Botánica closes on Saturday afternoons and Dani left the store to our liking. We made it ours. Literally. Luz, who was in a hurry because she had just become a grandmother and was dying to be with her offspring, acted masterfully and quickly. One by one, she chose the most beautiful corner. Or the one that best suits the dress, or the most original, or the one with the best light. She executed with professionalism and resolution while the rest of us flitted around the space taking photos in turn with our cell phones. All of us talking at the same time, advising each other, posing together, separately, laughing, admiring flowers and sharing hugs. I am fascinated by the magic that is created in these soirees. We were all happy and excited, feeling a little like fairies, with our pretty dresses and barefoot among spectacular plants.

We didn't take long. Between our dedication and the beauty that surrounded us and enveloped us, the photos came out with amazing spontaneity and speed. Some were in a hurry and as soon as their posing was over, they left. Vane felt terrible, with criminal back pain, and he also left. Of course, his photos do not convey the discomfort he felt. It comes out beautiful.

The four of us left, after leaving the dresses back in The old Iriarte and returning to our Cinderella clothes, we went to have a coffee. And more ideas came out, with more poses, with other decorations, with new approaches... What excitement, what dedication, what desire to create, to build, to participate! We saw the photos taken with the cell phones, we exchanged them, we laughed, we exchanged emails and we chatted a lot.

For this campaign, which begins on Friday, March 30 and will last throughout spring, we will put posters in the windows with the photos that Luz Sol has taken of all the participants and flower centers created by Dani Pando for the occasion. Floral art, photography and fashion, a perfect combination, and two neighborhood stores, Botanical Matter and The old Iriarte, with a lot of charm and a lot of ideas.

The climate that is achieved with you is incredible. It happened with Beautiful ladies and it has happened again with Beautiful flowers. It is pure magic, complicity and joy. Thank you Luz for making it possible, once again. Thank you Dani for leaving us your Botanical Material, for your humility and generosity and for having that wonderful taste. You are a creator of the first order, an artist with capital letters. And thanks to you girls, to the two Elenas, to Patri, to Ana, to Marianne and María. Thank you Vane for being doubled over in pain and, despite it, putting on a good face. And thank you mom for having the spirit of a 20-year-old girl and the most beautiful smile in the garden.

More things will occur to me, I'm sure. I'll mess it up again. Therefore, be careful. The following could be any of you.