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Saying It With Flowers

Olivier Dolz’s floral arrangements have a true haute couture air about them. Catering to the affluent and beyond, Dolz tells us why it is so

The delicate floral and crystal combination on one of the centre tables in the Dolz suite speaks volumes of the opulence, which the Dolz brand represents. Even while the region is getting used to the term ‘floral designer’, Dolz ,who has been in the region since the past two years, has already made his mark.

Exclusive florists to renowned names like The Address Hotel, Palace Old Town as well as business giants like Cartier and Mont Blanc, the group which caters to floral designs for weddings, and venue decoration is quickly gaining popularity with the niche clientele of the city.

“We have 20 florists basically from France as well as the Philippines. We have five master florists, two of whom have a universal ranking that ranges between one and five in the industry. Our creations can be seen in the Address hotel as well as the Palace old town where we do the lobbies, the rooms and the restaurants. I have three florists in these hotels seven days a week through out the year and we change the design every week,” says Dolz.

Still curious to know how a floral designer is different from the ordinary guy who fixes up a quick combination of stems for you, I prod the man to go on. A telecom engineer by profession, Dolz followed his heart but still maintains that it is a combination of his technical skills as well as his passion that proved successful, a reason why he feels every good floral designer needs to come from a different background.

“The creativity depends on where you are from. I am a floral designer but am also working as a telecom engineer. I know how to design fibre channels from England to India as this was something I learnt but I also design gowns, events and floral bouquets as this is what I love to do and what comes naturally to me,” he says.

He thinks for a while before he adds on to a floral designer’s traits “a good deal of travelling, shopping and observation as well” and then maintains strongly that those are the most important traits. “When we travel, we are more open to ideas, we see more things and that becomes our inspiration,” adds Dolz.

Having installed 20,000 vases in the UAE, Dolz has clearly marked his clientele in the high end category and as would be normally expected with the league, he does customisation but with a difference. “I never remake a creation. Once I make a design, I never do it again. It goes to the trash. That is why we are unique and why people like to have us do their weddings because then they know that there would never be a repeat. Even if the client wants a repeat, we don’t do it. We can’t. That’s the way we work,” states Dolz.

That is not all. For every client who meets him, the group goes back to the client’s residence, tries to understand their lifestyle, their likes and where they come from so as to know their tastes and suit their clientele needs better.

Evidently, there are no compromises for their after-service either as Dolz cites an example of how one of his master florist visit the Cartier showroom every single day to ensure that the vases are clean and well maintained.

“We represent luxury and luxury represents us,” states Dolz with a style that is unmistakeably Couture.

jethu@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE