Laura Dowling served as Chief Floral Designer at the White House for 6 years from 2009 until 2015. In this position, she planned and implemented decorations for major events at the White House, including the White House Christmas, state dinners, the presidential family quarters, the public tour route displays, and Camp David, an imposing portfolio of literally thousands of large and small events, floral arrangements, table settings and innovative volunteer projects.
Flowers: A Tool for Innovation and Change
Laura Dowling’s Ted Talk. Ted x Mid Atlantic
Inspired by President Obama’s message of hope and change, Laura created floral designs to reflect these sentiments and chats about using flowers as a strategic approach. Focus may be environmental, cultural traditions, symbolism, and much more.
Photo by Stichting Kunstboek
Promise You a Rose Garden: Ex-White House Florist Tells All
New York Times
The former White House florist Laura Dowling, in New York City’s flower district.
Credit Tawni Bannister for The New York Times
By Katherine Rosman
Laura Dowling’s garden style bouquets are exquisite gatherings of lush and vibrant seasonal blooms, poetic arrangements that evoke sentimental memories and inspire ethereal dreams. Highly original in concept and design, Laura’s bouquets weave layers of blooms, fruits and entwining vines with fabricated materials such as paper, ribbons and wool, blurring the lines of traditional floristry to fuse flowers with nature and handcrafts in new and unexpected presentations. At once fanciful and whimsical, refined and elegant, her colorful bouquets exude a friendly and approachable aesthetic that have inspired a First Lady, high-level dignitaries and legions of fans from around the world with their great charm and liveliness. She believes that flowers – the ephemeral but enduring mementos of special occasions and everyday life – convey a vast range of emotions and meanings that words alone cannot express, unlocking a powerful tool for uplifting spirits, telling stories and enriching our lives. In her new book “Bouquets,” due out later this year, Laura shares her secrets and insights for creating 75 innovative designs that focus on l’art du bouquet – the most personal and evocative form of floral artistry – including detailed step-by-step tips and techniques for crafting her unique, signature-style bouquets for all settings, seasons and occasions.
“ I think we need more opportunities for thoughtful, collaborative problem-solving and creative expression vs. devolving into cliques and group think – a challenge in the social media era. The bottom line is that the appeal of flowers is timeless and enduring – and will continue to play an important role in our increasingly hectic and busy lives – creating new opportunities for everyone involved in the floral world.” Laura Dowling
New 2019 Holiday Wreath Stamp Collection will soon be available. Laura shared this wonderful news about her latest project years in the making. Antonio Alcalá served as the art director Laura Dowling designed the festive wreaths for the holiday stamps. Photographed by Kevin Allen.