My Life: Nick Priestly

The florist to the stars makes a prediction to P.Ramakrishnan ahead of Britain's royal wedding.
Picture by Nora Tam




TAX LOSS
Before I became a full-time florist, I was a tax accountant in London - as was my wife, Vivienne, who was born in Hong Kong and lived here until she was 15. We met in 1999 while working in international tax consultancy for Arthur Andersen. She decided one day to quit and sell flowers. Somewhere along the way, I realised I was so bored with the rigmarole of accounting life that I quit and joined her. Thus our company, Mood Flowers, took root [in Glasgow, Scotland]. Of course, I never thought while growing up that I'd get into this industry - I don't imagine many people grow up thinking they're going to be florists. Since 2003, this is what I do full time, seven days a week. Now, I'm obsessed with flowers. When my wife and I see a film, especially a romantic comedy where, inevitably, there's some big wedding scene, after the movie, we talk about the floral arrangement in the shot. Alfie, Wedding Crashers, Sex and the City all had great flower arrangements. We notice it in the background of bedroom shots, we notice it if the flowers are aged. Most Hollywood film productions have lavish production budgets and we see it well spent on the flora - we can then try and recreate it if requested.

We don't have a standalone shop, we have an office and we deal mostly with hotels and weddings - more than 200 weddings a year on average. From classic white weddings, using peonies and roses, to winter wonderlands using iced flowers, and exotic weddings using hundreds of stems of vibrant pink phalaenopsis orchids; we've done them all. Budgets vary anywhere from GBP1,000 [HK$12,500] to GBP25,000. We make movable centrepieces so that after the wedding dinner, guests can lift the bouquets and take them with them - I hate to see them wasted. We can't take them back, it's bad form and bad luck to recycle wedding flowers.

WEDDING CRASHES
Out of the hundreds of weddings we've done, only twice have we had to reject a client. They had dozens of ideas but couldn't make a decision. I knew we had to walk away as nothing we did could make them happy. Sometimes a client's ideas can't translate into an attractive arrangement. We get clients who want to go for a symbolic look: 11 white roses with one red stuck in the middle - it looks horrible, like a target. Despite our protests that this won't look good in a photograph or on the table ... well, we do have to listen to our customer as they are always right. I offer my opinion and then we try to work around their ideas. We've had to do strange things like spray-paint roses blue or purple. Dyed flowers look so artificial but how do you argue with someone who insists on purple roses, which don't come naturally in nature? And no, it wasn't Victoria Beckham [she did have a purple and gold wedding, but the flowers were tasteful].

STAR TREATMENT
We have designed for many celebrities such as Rihanna, Kylie Minogue and Keira Knightley. Keira was staying at a serviced apartment and had a rather famous admirer who wanted a bouquet delivered to her doorstep on Valentine's Day. I delivered it to her front step personally. She had a secret pseudonym and there were passwords and codes and all that entails celebrity life. No, I really can't say who the admirer was; I respect the privacy of my clients.

When any major celebrity comes to Glasgow, they end up staying at the luxury/boutique hotels and we get the call to deliver specific flowers to them from either the hotel or PR agency. We get to dress their rooms before they arrive and arrange for a bouquet as they come in. No one's been particularly difficult or diva-esque. Michael Jackson, Elton John and Madonna, they've been very happy to receive flowers, as most people are. I've seen people's faces light up upon receiving them. It's a very different expression I see now, from when I was a tax accountant.

SCENTS AND SENSIBILITY
It hasn't been confirmed yet who will do the flowers for Kate Middleton and Prince William. The relationship with Kate's florist will not be unlike the one she has with her dressmaker; it's very personal. When she steps out of Westminster Abbey, apart from the dress, the flowers will be one of the first things people will notice. The florist and Kate will obviously discuss her preferences but will also look for flowers that symbolise something of her life. Throughout history, royal brides have had a duty to follow tradition. However, it is clear that each had their own preferences considered when choosing their wedding bouquet. The Queen chose mainly whole sprays of orchids, signifying her role as leader of the Commonwealth, while the Queen Mother included white heather, symbolising her native Scotland.

THE KENYAN CONNECTION
It's unlikely Kate will choose anything too far from the royal norm. As a contemporary princess, she would suit a spring-themed, hand-tied bouquet of white ranunculus and lily of the valley. Many celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and royal figures love lily of the valley on special occasions. An alternative twist would to be to add a touch of sapphire blue, to match her stunning engagement ring, in the form of muscari, hyacinths or delphiniums. My prediction is Kate will have a traditional shaped bouquet including calla lilies [her favourite], white daffodils, to signify the fact that William is a prince of Wales, and Fair Trade Kenyan roses, to signify William's charity work in Africa and the place of their engagement. Her bouquet is also likely to include royal staples such as jasmine, lily of the valley and a sprig of myrtle, which has been included in all royal bouquets since Queen Alexandra's back in 1863. I think it would be good if the bouquet was more petite and elegant than some royal bouquets in the past, which would reflect Kate's understated style. I also think it's unlikely that, in a recession, Kate's bouquet will be too ostentatious. Similarly, I don't think the dress will have a long train, as Diana's did. Times are very different now.

FLOWER POWER
Whatever Kate chooses, her floral preferences will filter down to the 'commoners' over the coming months and years. Kate's flowers will be as hotly coveted by future brides as the style of her wedding dress. Brides will be looking to their florists to get the royal feel without the royal budget. Brides have become much more knowledgeable about flowers and often know exactly what they want, and there are many who follow the tastes of brides in the public eye. I look forward to recreating Kate's bouquet in the months and years to come.

Great Minds: Post magazine fashion shoot: Menswear Editorial: Shot in Hong Kong: South China Morning Post

Men's smart-casual gets a geek-chic makeover.

Photography Gabbard Studio
Production & Creative direction P.Ramakrishnan
Styling Reema Khanna
Hair and Make-up Karen Yiu
Model David O at Models International
Location Courtesy The Space, Cat Street Gallery, 210 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan




Trench coat, Burberry ($21,000)
Shirt, Hugo Boss Black ($2000)
Dark Grey Silk Tie by BOSS Black ($1000)
Trouser, Burberry ($5300)
Belt, Hugo Boss Black ($1050)
Glasses Alain Mikli ($8486)
Bag, Yves Saint Laurent ($17,500)
(not seen in pic -Shoes, Gram ($700))




Jacket, Gucci (15,000)
Linen shirt, Salvatore Ferragamo (TBC Cost)
Trousers, Burberry ($5,300)
Green and Taupe Horsebit Cashmere Print Cotton Carre' ($1,350)
Glasses, Alain Milki ($8,486)
(not in pic – Watch, Calvin Klein ($1,150) and Sandals, Burberry ($5,200)

T-shirt and Jacket, Salvatore Ferragamo ($23,900)
Trousers, Gucci ($5,300)
Belt, Gucci ($2,100)
Shoes, Tods ($3,500)
Watch, Void ($1,600)
Glasses, Alain Mikli ($3,588)

Cardigan, Valentino ($9,100)
Shirt, Shanghai Tang ($1,480)
Grey pants of striped Suit set by BOSS Black ($7450)
Shoes, Hugo Boss Black ($3,450)
Glasses, Alain Mikli ($3,354)
Watch, Calvin Klein ($1,800)

Jumper, Salvatore Ferragamo ($20,500)
Glasses, Alain Mikli ($8,486)
Watch, Calvin Klein ($1,150)

Top, Gucci ($6,200)
Grey pants (part of striped suit set) by BOSS Black – ($7,450)
Belt, Burberry ($4,500)
Briefcase, Bothos ($4,300)
Watch, Void ($1,400)
Glasses, Alain Mikli ($3,588)
(not seen in pic Shoes, Cipher $1,170)

Jacket, Burberry ($45,000)
Vest, Burberry ($2,900)
Trousers, Valentino ($5,500)
Shoes, Cipher ($1,170)
Sunglasses, Void ($600)
Bag, Tods ($21,700)



Published in Post magazine, p31
April 17, 2011

See earlier post The Making of...

My life: Sunidhi Chauhan: Indian Singer rocks Hong Kong

Having kicked off her Asian tour in Hong Kong, one of India's most prolific singers talks to P.Ramakrishnan about her musical heroes. Pictures by Douglas Pieterse. Shot exclusively for South China Morning Post.

SMALL STEPS

I was five years old [when] my dad’s friend said to him, “There’s a show for the local community [in Delhi], let her go up on stage and sing. It’ll be cute. She’s so little - people will love it”. At first my father didn’t agree. Then he said fine and he knelt down on his knees, said to me, right before the show, “Go right there in the middle of the stage, sing your song to the mic, and then come back.” That’s exactly what I did. I didn’t notice the applause, see the audience (the stage lights were too bright). There was no fear. I liked to sing but which child doesn’t? I had no concept of whether I was good or not.

But after that show, people kept going up to my parents to say, “You’ve got something here, she can really sing. You must pay attention to it”. Since then, I’ve been singing on stages, small and big. And I’ve never been in awe of performing. Because my first experience was so casual and matter-of-fact - go to the centre, sing, come back, that’s the approach I took for years after. Other singers moved and danced along. I was painfully shy, finally at one show, I started moving along and dancing a bit to the song, I started enjoying the experience of being on stage, years later.

FANATICAL BEHAVIOUR

The only time I slightly panicked was at Hisar (a small state in North India). There were around 100,000 people there and I was the only singer with my troupe of musicians. They wanted to hear the song “Beedi”, which was a rage that year. I usually save it for the finale, as it leaves an impact, but the people started chanting for that song. It kept getting louder, so I finally told my background musicians, lets change it up and for the fifth song, I started singing the intro to the song. The crowd went wild – they torpedoed towards the stage, broke the barricades. It was manic. Thank God we had cops and security, I was escorted out – the show ended right there. I’ve never seen that kind of frenzy for anything. I don’t know how I feel about it, happy they loved the song or in alarmed at the reaction.


HITS AND MISSES

I can never really tell when a song’s going to be a hit or a flop. When I sang “Dhoom”, it was for a film with a cast that wasn’t that famous (at the time), it became a rage. In India, if the film is a hit, the song becomes a hit, I mostly sing for films so if its well picturised on a lead actress, the chances of it becoming a rage is stronger. But times are changing with music videos focusing on singers, with reality TV appearances, singers are more recognizable, a song can run on its own merit.

I love to sing soft, melodic, romantic numbers, but I keep getting the pop hits that you hear in clubs everywhere. Not that I’m complaining, but I do love to sing every genre of song. I have no favourite music director or co-singer, I genuinely like them all. From [Oscar winner] A.R. Rehman, who’s the most humble, soft-spoken soul I’ve met in the industry, to the newcomer music directors or co-singers. I have no qualms about singing for anybody, with anybody.


LEARNING TO LET GO

Politics in the music industry in Bollywood’s there. There’s no denying it – although I try to block it out. There have been instances, when I’ve sung a song, recorded it for a film… and then months later, I can see/hear that some other singer’s done the version on the album. I don’t know what happens behind the scenes, you hear things, but I’ve learnt to let it go. I feel, it’s their loss.

The tabloids in India are part and parcel of the game. It really doesn’t bother me what they say or write. A major film magazine wrote that I was dying to get married and settle down – none of that was true. They make up entire features and interviews and I’ve never thought of suing them. The headache of long legal processes, who has the time? I’m recording songs for multiple films, have concerts around the world, music-videos to shoot, I’m judging on reality tv shows, where’s the time, money, energy to waste on the rubbish they print?


REAL LIFE

Joining Indian Idol as a judge has been wonderful. I’ve had so much fun and its great to encourage and support the new generation of singers. I don’t see them as competition. There are over a billion Indians, more than 400 films made each year, most of them musicals, there’s room for every singer, I feel anyone can sing and I love to hear that I’ve inspired the newcomers. It means a lot to me. I must confess, I love the bad singers too. That part’s the most fun – the auditions with the tone deaf. The delusional ones make for great television viewing and I’m always sad when the audition process is done. It gets serious very quickly, the funny parts end.

Reality TV shows get a lot of flack, but how can I possibly say anything against it? It launched off my career. There’s a youtube clip of me online when I first won Meri Awaaz Suno [Listen to my Voice], which was one of the original reality show on National Indian television. I was 10 or 11… competing with other singers who were older, trained and I think most were in college or had professional careers. I’m wearing a ribbon in my hair, a brown knee-length skirt. I sang a classic song Tu Chanda [You’re the Moon], which was originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar – who was the head judge at the finale. My idol, my world, when I won the competition, I had to go up and receive the trophy from her, the living legend… and I burst out crying. Winning the competition or the cheque or the contract to sing for a studio didn’t mean as much then as being blessed by Lataji. She’s a goddess. The petite, 70-year-old (at the time) Goddess gave me a warm hug and it meant the world to me. When I see it now, I still get gooseflesh. That moment changed by life.


CELINE, WHITNEY, LATA AND AASHA

There was no formal training, no in-born passion to be a singer, I never thought like that. I liked singing, I would listen to tapes of legendary Indian singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Aasha Bhosle and mimic what they sing. I’d play the audio tape of the film Lekin, again and again, and emulate the Mangeshkar sisters who sang in the album. Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston are other singers that inspire me. The control of their voice as they reach high octaves, the passion they exude when they sing is great. I love Jennifer Lopez too, her music videos, her fashion, her dancing. The singing.. well, I love her. Can I leave it at that? [She giggles].


I used to mimic Lata Mangeshkar, Aasha Bhosle, and I can mimic other singers and actresses too. I used to perform it as an act in my shows, until too many people… fans of theirs started getting offended. My intention wasn’t to hurt anyone, make fun of them, but people took it wrong. So I’ve stopped. I’m not here to hurt anyone, just want them to enjoy music, so I used to copy their styles. Now, I have a huge catalogue of my own songs – I have no idea how many? 2000? Maybe more.


Working with Enrique Iglesisas was wonderful. I wanted to collaborate with other singers and when this opportunity came up, I grabbed it. He’s so humble, so enthusiastic about music. The bigger the star, the more humble they’ve been. We recorded the song partly in LA and part in Mumbai – the music video was also shot in LA and some parts in India, this fusion of styles. The original idea was different and how its come out is different, but collaborations evolve and grow. I feel it’s a first step for what’s ahead.

ENCORE ENCORE

Last time I came to Hong Kong [five years ago], I performed with one of my favourite co-singers KK. We had a blast of a time, the audience was amazing. Last night, even more so. The show was brilliant, I loved the fact people got up and danced on the aisles. At first, the audience seemed shy to move, but by the fourth song, they got into it. The requests for encores were wonderful. Awards, money, fame… nothing beats a great audience reaction.

Interview courtesy of Jade Group.

Outtakes from shoot.
All images Copyright Douglas Pieterse.

fantastic

Coming Soon....

Shoot for American publication fantasticsmag.

Photography by Cheric Kwong
Model: Alexis Kwong Alvarez
Art Direction: Rama
Styling: Siri

Producer: P.Ramakrishnan

Phir Dhamaal in Hong Kong

Fun on the Run

This weekend, six police-boats chased a large junk ship and several boats swirled around Victoria Harbor in a flurry of lights and sirens. A goateed man was saved from drowning as another jumped in to rescue him. A drug bust or a refugee boat capsize?

Neither! Just the climax of the Indian comedy “Phir Dhamaal” [More Fun] went underway off Wanchai and Central pier as an all ensemble cast of Indian actors Ashish Chowdhry, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffery, Kangna Renaut and Ritesh Deshmukh hit Hong Kong.

Director Indra Kumar, along with film producer Ashok Thakeria, and a film crew of 80 members from the largest film industry in the world – Bollywood - have been in the city for the past week shooting the finale of their upcoming summer release “Phir Dhamaal”, a sequel to its 2007 predecessor “Dhamaal”[Fun].

Said actor Ashish Choudhry, “It’s been the most hectic week of our life and working in Hong Kong has been brilliant. The weather was really good to us this week!”

Actor Ritesh Deshmukh chimed in, “It’s been really tiring, we shot from 10am till 4am the following day for the last scene, a few hours sleep and we’re off to Mumbai to shoot three of the songs that are left.”

Comedian Arshad Warsi has the unpleasant task of jumping off the pier in Wan Chai into Victoria Harbour, “The water was ok,” he said of his big rescue scene in the film. “I was given loads of warnings beforehand of the pollution and I did see some garbage floating around. When I land in Mumbai I’m going to pop every pill to boost my immune system. There’s no business like show business.”

Said one of the Hong Kong film crew, “When Batman [The Dark Knight] was shot here [in 2009], the water didn’t pass muster with the insurance company as they found too much bacteria in the harbour. So they cancelled those scenes.”

Was the Indian film crew similarly insured up?

“We had a dingy boat on standby. That’s about it,” said Deshmukh without a hint of worry. “Besides, stomach of steel dude. We’re all ok,” he said. “So far.”


















Cast of Phir Dhamaal in Hong Kong. Shoot with the uber cool Ike. Above pics by me!

Indian actors Arshad Warsi (boat!), Ritesh Deshmukh (blue denims) and Ashish Chowdhary (brown shirt). Director Indra Kumar (last shot in black T).

Many thanks to the rockin' ladies of Jade Group!

De-lighted!

Whee! I got a shout out from Shobhaa De.

My Kind of Town: Eurasian supermodel Jocelyn Luko's love for hometown Hawaii

Some of the world's mot in-demand models name their favourite hot spots.

HAWAII

Hong Kong based Jocelyn Luko, 25, is one of Asia's Top Models and has graced many a magazine cover and beauty campaign.

First thing I do in Hawaii is ... eat a huge breakfast with my family. Most of the flights from Asia land early morning, so everyone comes to pick my husband Anthony [boyfriend] and I up, and we head to our favourite restaurant Anna Millers. Eggs benedict, fresh fruit juice, Hawaiian/Portuguese sausage, the works.

You will find me on... the beach. It's all beautiful, postcard beaches. There's a beach for surfing, another for body boarding, another for kayaking. I've been lucky to never meet any sharks, and I've been fortunate to swim with sea turtles and see dolphins.

Best beach? Sunset Beach on the North Shore. That's where I got married!

Best for drinks? Mai Tai. It's got great live music. The other place is Duke's bar on the beach. You can see the most glorious sunset, with a drink in your hand.

Best for dinner? Orchids at Halekulani hotel. It's right on the water, it's where I took my parents for their anniversary.

Best market? Watanabe florist - it's famous. It has the most exotic flowers.

In Hawaii I usually wear... flip-flops, shorts, sunglasses, T-shirt; very casual and comfortable. Even sneakers feel weird. It's warm in Hawaii but not humid.

Fragrance that most reminds me of Hawaii is... plumeria flowers (also called Frangipani).

If you want to feel like a real Hawaiian... have a barbecue on the beach. Roasting marshmallows on the beach and eating Smores (roasted marshmallow with chocolate between crackers) is a must.

Best for gifts? Any souvenirs, like flowers, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, and Kona coffee.

In Hawaii I always stock up on... Hawaiian salt. It's a sweet-salty thing - I've never tasted anything similar to it anywhere else.