Elegant, timeless, and in full bloom, find out here how the actress Marian Rivera created Flora Vida Home.
In the works for 2 years, Flora Vida Home represents the effort of Marian Rivera to bring happiness into the homes of all her customers. An online boutique that started with bouquets and dried flowers, she shares her affinity towards what flowers represent in her life through a home collection. She recalls seeing a toile fabric during one her trips to Europe. The fabric known for its romantic and pastoral pattern sparked her interest to create home decor. Having this engraved in her mind, she told herself, “sana balang araw magkaroon rin ako ng ganito.”
Unlike with her first venture with Flora Vida, where she was able to travel to Japan and take quick floral arrangement lessons by an expert floral artist, this time, she had to fully self-study to learn more about creating with the toile fabric. “Given the chance, gusto ko sana pero sa ngayon na may pandemic and wala naman nag-o-offer ng classes online, self-study talaga. Sa madaling salita, sariling sikap,” she says.
Her Helping-Hand
Hands-on with her work, Marian relied on thorough research and inquiry from the closest ones around her to get feedback, specifically her glam team and most of all, her husband, Dingdong Dantes. Unafraid of constructive criticism, she was open to accepting their suggestions to make the line better, but she shares that mostly from the get-go the pieces all passed and gained their approval.
Dingdong, who played a big part in the first collection of Flora Vida, does the same with this home collection. “‘Di naman lingid sa kaalaman ng mga tao na si Dong talaga ay isa sa mga greatest cheerleaders ko,” she fondly expresses. Seeing her passion and joy in creating the line, Dingdong couldn’t help but be supportive of his wife by being her videographer, consultant, and photographer. They work as a team, Marian reveals.
The Inspiration And Her Personal Favorite
Her personal style also translates in the design. The pieces are clad with floral elements and pastel colors that we easily see Marian constantly sporting in her everyday style. The collection includes a table runner, throw pillows, placemats, and lamp shades, which Marian reveals is her personal favorite. She shares how the lamp shades were inspired by her decorating her children’s future room. “Sa bahay kasi namin, lahat kami na sa isang kwarto lang, pero syempre balang araw lalaki ‘yung dalawa. So naisip kung ano ‘yung kulang sa kwarto nila,” she shares.
Incorporating these home decors can give your home a cozy, shabby chic, and timeless vibe. The floral motif is also an aspect that she is sure that people will gravitate to.
Even with the pandemic ongoing, Marian feels that there’s no other time to launch Flora Vida Home than now. She was already able to lay everything down and source the fabric beforehand. It was just a matter of releasing the collection. A factor that played into this decision is that Marian wanted to help everyone have a safe space inside their home to recharge. “Kahit ano mangyari sa buhay, ‘yung bahay talaga dapat maging tranquilo na lugar para sa’yo,” she says.
Marian’s View On Necessity
From a standpoint of balancing needs and wants, Marian made sure that the pieces would make a room feel personal, so the owners can feel that they can sneak away in it for some solitude to relax. She personally made sure to have the pieces created for her home first, to make sure that it would actually bring her happiness. Her top tip as well in designing a home? “Start from the standpoint of necessity. Ano ba ang kulang na pwede ilagay dito na pang pa-good vibes.”
Also coming from her yearly talk with Dingdong, she says that the pandemic changed their priorities, especially when their family is growing at the same time. She explains that everyone needs an outlet during this difficult time and for her, that was Flora Vida Home. We’re all looking for the same thing and that’s happiness, which she hopes the line will bring to her customers.
The Brand’s Top Priority
Flora Vida Home is locally-made and eco-concious. They support local communities by using wood of salvaged Mango Trees from Laguna and employing local crafters to help Filipino livelihood. When asked why she made this a priority for her brand, she simply says, “Pilipino ako.”
She explains that the fabric of the collection is outsourced internationally, but the creators of the products themselves are all Filipinos, “’Di talaga mawawala ang suporta ko sa Filipino. Yes, ‘yung fabric ay outsourced internationally, pero ‘yung lumikha ay Filipino. Sila ang yaman ng bansa natin. Ang gagaling nila at magugulat ka na lang. Ba’t pa ako magtitingin sa iba?”
All pieces are available for pre-order and you can also shop their website, floravidabymarian.com
