The Empowerful Podcast was created to share the profound stories of movers and shakers who are positively impacting the world. Together, we believe we can amplify that change. We live by the motto of an old African Proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Our Artist in Residence (AIR) program celebrates makers with a vision for creating a more beautiful and equitable world. These limited artist collaborations align with MiiR’s passion for making positive change, with greater impact, together.
In today’s Empowerful Podcast, we sit down with our newest AIR artist, Maurice Harris – the visionary behind Bloom & Plume, a bespoke floral design studio located in Los Angeles. Maurice's unique point of view, sense of humor, craftsmanship, and dedication to his community has made him both one of the most sought after floral designers in LA and most followed florists on Instagram.
Maurice is the designer behind our web exclusive Coffee is Black Gold collection, showcasing his creative vision across a new medium. Check out the full collection here.
We invite you to tune into our podcast conversation to learn more!
Also available on: Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Maurice Harris has found a unique niche in the blossoming LA art scene. After getting his start designing window displays for Juicy Couture, Harris was quickly recognized for his knack in selecting and arranging florals. Following a few gigs designing floral arrangements for friend's weddings, he decided to break out and start his own floral design studio.
Harris' current clients include some of the biggest names in Hollywood as well as top tier brands such as Louis Vuitton, The Row, Goop, Opening Ceremony, Dior, Nike, Gucci, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Warby Parker, MOCA and LACMA among others. Harris has been featured in Vogue, W Magazine, LA Times, Hollywood Reporter, Saint Heron, Rip + Tan and appeared on-air for Viceland. Additionally, Harris' art career has been emerging with a flower sculpture at MOCA, photography at the San Diego Art Institute and a performance piece at the Broad. Most recently you can see him on his TV show "Centerpiece" for Quibi and the reality competition "Full Bloom" for HBOMax.
We first met Bloom & Plume through our 2020 Small Business Support campaign, where local small businesses were nominated on our social channels to receive $5,000 of custom product as a way to support one another during COVID-19 and exercise more conscious support of Black-owned brands. Bloom & Plume was one of the 20 Small Business Support winners.
MiiR x Bloom & Plume is the coming together of white and Black-owned businesses to create more beauty in the world. Donning fluid, floral artwork by Maurice that touches on fancy and fantasy, this artist collaboration celebrates a modern day history that calls on all of us to participate for a better, more equitable, future.
Maurice's personality matches his floral arrangements: bold. From the second we saw his zoom username, "badb*tch," joining our call, we knew we were in for a fun time with this recording. In the podcast, we dive into the past, present, and future of Maurice's journey, as well coming together of our two businesses. We explored Maurice's small business journey, from lows to successes (hint: Beyoncé may be involved). Tune in to get a little glimpse of the man behind the flowers.
We were honored to have Maurice put his unique touch on our drinkware and hope you love this new collection as much as we do. Thank you, Maurice!
