• Durable, decorative, dried flowers are more and more popular.

  • “What pleases is that we can play with heights, shapes, everything is possible according to people's tastes,” said Brice Nicoleau, who opened the first dried flower bar in Nantes.

Whether it's at the local florist, on Instagram, in decoration magazines, or at your cousin's wedding, they are everywhere. For some time now, dried flowers have made a strong comeback alongside the more traditional bouquets of peonies or fresh roses. "It's trendy and there is a sustainable side, we can keep them for years," explains Chloe, 32, a bunch of wheat ears under her arm. You just have to take care to protect them from the sun, to prevent the colors from fading. "

To find these bouquets that we thought out of fashion not long ago, this decoration fan is now spoiled for choice, on the Internet or in physical stores. In Nantes city center, for example, the first dried flower bar opened barely two months ago: at the Atelier de Brice, around thirty different varieties, sometimes available in several colors, await customers (in majority of thirties) who can compose their own bouquet, to be paid by weight.

"What also pleases is that we can play with heights, shapes, everything is possible according to people's tastes," says Brice Nicoleau, who has therefore opened a second store specially dedicated to dried flowers, which already represent 20% of total sales.

For the colors, we are asked for naturalness, shades, but bright colors also work very well.

»The average basket is 30 or 40 euros, or roughly the same price as for fresh flowers, except that they do not go in the trash after a week.

Rods, bells, crowns ...

More than 600 km away, in the Ardennes, Yves Paulais did not imagine that the organic flowers that he produces, harvests and dries upside down (before dyeing some of them) with his wife would be such a success. one day. While the vast majority of flowers sold in France come from the Netherlands or even further afield, this producer struggles to meet all demands. “We struggled in our lives and today, we are short of arms!” Says Yves Paulais, who will soon be retiring. I have been making dried flower for 34 years, and it is true that there has been a resurgence of interest in the last year or two. Today, I ship it everywhere in France, even in trendy designer boutiques in the Marais! "

Because if a few pampas stems or a bouquet of statices will add style to your living room, dried flowers are also sold in a bell, in wreaths to hang, to wear on the head, in buttonholes or in candles ... "It's purely decorative. , explains the Nantes designer Clothilde Chauvet, of Salem Herboriste.

My candles are like little bouquets that will never fade.

Moreover, many of my clients do not turn them on, to keep this eternal side.

»Boosted by the DIY fashion, dried flowers also attract people through floral art workshops, where we leave with their creation.

“There is no real need for knowledge, believes Manon, saleswoman at the Atelier de Brice, where sessions take place on Saturdays.

Just let your imagination run wild.

"

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