Some things never go out of style. Tom Bowling AIFD, PFCI shares some of his perennial favorites in a demonstration that combines timeless traditional elements with current on-trend details. 

The star of this video is the beautiful hobnail vase from Pioneer Imports & Wholesale. Tom describes hobnail containers as one of those products that may fade away for a while, but then comes back and becomes collectible again – always favored for its charming vintage character.

Tom wants to mix the classic with the new. His new component for this arrangement includes elegant permanent botanical grasses, an element easy to find on the pages of seemingly every current shelter magazine. Tom mentions how customers should be able to go from browsing those shelter magazines to finding the same elements right at your shop so they can emulate those looks in their own homes or at their own events.

He will also be using some silk fern material that coordinates well with the permanent grasses. Tom points out the wonderfully subtle blush coloration that develops toward the top of each piece of grass, and how it adds such delightful dimension. The silk fern foliage echoes this palette to draw that dimension all the way through the arrangement. 

You'll notice he adds a bit of wire to give the stems extra length. He simply takes a small length of floral tape and secures the wire in place. Tom repeats this process with a bit of silk wisteria foliage he had left over from another project. Tom likes to use all his permanent botanical trimmings – always seeking out new pairings to ensure that no material goes to waste. 

For this project, Tom is doing a simple hand-tied look. He keeps the composition very casual. He does not avoid considerations like structure and balance, but he doesn't really pursue the sense of formality you might find in other arrangements. 

Once the pieces are loosely gathered in his hand, he secures the composition with a length of floral tape. Tom notes that you could wire this arrangement if you wanted, but you'd still want to cover up that wire with some tape or decorative material. He drops this arrangement right into the hobnail vase – old and new coming together with style! 

This type of arrangement works great as a simple drop in. But Tom really likes this tied bundle format because it can be used on a basket, inserted into a planter, or even placed into a gift basket to bring up its value. 

One of Tom's favorite techniques is to use multiple components like this together. He shows off an array of bundles placed in hobnail glass containers – both the transparent hobnail glass and the milk glass. He shows off the multiplicity, mixing sizes and components. 

Tom describes an example scenario. As customers see these pieces displayed together, they may think "oh I really like this one". But when they take it away, they realize they need another. Tom also suggests placing them in a linear arrangement with a table runner kind of feel – great for events and weddings. 

Have fun looking for creative ways to mix the old and the new! You can find the hobnail glass vases here available from the Pioneer Imports & Wholesale catalog.