Flowers as Paint: A Jugendstil-Inspired Collaboration with Blumen Mitzi

Years ago I was expanding my photography practice and reached out to florists in Vienna. Nadine was one of those people and the two of us clicked creatively, so we’ve been working together from time to time since then. Blumen Mitzi is her business pseudonym for her flower studio based in Vienna, though I wouldn’t just call her a florist. Flowers are her paint. She uses them to create moods, aesthetics, styles, pairing them with fashion, decoration, jewelry.

Last year I went to Prague three times - I mean, it's pretty close to Vienna, so please don't judge me. It’s just that the city fascinates me: Kafka, Jugendstil, Czech beer... Well, on my second trip I visited the Mucha museum, and walking through it I kept thinking: this looks like Nadine. I want to do this. 

Jugendstil has been part of my visual DNA for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Austria and living in Vienna for the last decade, you can't really avoid it. It's woven into the architecture, the design, the cultural identity of the city. Klimt is perhaps the artist I connect with most deeply in this tradition. But Mucha's poster work has its own particular magic. More commercial, yes, but iconic for exactly that reason. The women framed by botanical elements, the ornamental borders, the combination of decorative craft and feminine presence. It felt immediately right for what Nadine does with flowers.

I bought a book at the museum and came back to Vienna with a pitch. We both loved the idea immediately. At the beginning of 2026 we finally did the shoot.

The Studio

For this shoot I rented a studio for the day. We usually work on location, often choosing collaborators partly because their space provides an interesting setting. This time felt different. The concept was clear enough that I didn't want a location competing with it. The idea was worth investing in a proper studio day. I wanted the subject front and center.

A controlled environment with a white background and well-equipped lighting allowed us to focus entirely on what we were trying to create, without adapting to a space or integrating a location into the concept. It was the right call.

We also brought in another collaborator: Ursula from Serecom, a jewelry craftswoman whose work sits firmly in the Jugendstil aesthetic. Nadine created a bouquet, an arm decoration, and a headpiece. Ursula's jewelry completed the look.

I brought the Mucha book from Prague to the shoot. We used it as a reference point for some of the poses, as well as some compositional ideas. Not to copy, but to have a conversation with.

The Shoot

We conceptualized three basic tableaux. We had ornaments, vases, stands, a chair, various decorative props to build the compositions around. We chose a few images from the Mucha book as guidance and inspiration, emulating some of the poses, some of the compositional ideas.

The plan was to create three vertical poster-style images, very much like Mucha's iconic work. Then get the wide shots and close shots to show off both Nadine's floral work and Ursula's jewelry.

But when I began editing, I found the variety of images more interesting than strictly sticking with those three vertical concepts. I was flowing through the photography on set, and the best images, the ones I enjoyed working on most in post, weren't necessarily the ones I'd planned initially.

I like the work to emerge. I don't want to follow a thread I don't feel completely just because it was my initial plan. Other images tickled me more for their feeling and composition. So the project shifted slightly in my mind.

The Post-Production

We shot everything on a white background: just Nadine, flowers, jewelry, and our decorative props. This gave me flexibility in post-production.

The Jugendstil ornamental elements came from Adobe Stock for now. Decorative borders, flowing botanical patterns, the kind of ornamental detail that defined the Art Nouveau aesthetic. I'm planning to create custom designs for the images I want to print large, but the stock elements worked well for establishing the concept.

Adding these ornaments strengthened the Jugendstil connection. The photography captured Nadine and the floral work, but the ornamental layer completed the visual reference to Mucha's poster aesthetic. That combination of photographic realism and decorative craft.

We found that the images became magical, and I think that comes from letting joy guide the work.

We often get wrapped up in doing things for specific jobs, for efficient purposes, for clear deliverables. But this project was different. We were creating for the love of it. For me, the love of creating images, being in the presence of flowers, working with artists who care deeply about their craft. We were so in flow that we hardly took breaks. By the end of the day we were knackered, but in the best way possible.

The images weren't created for a particular promotional purpose. Of course we wanted to use them on social media, websites, portfolios, but that wasn't the only reason why we made them. We made them because we wanted to see if we could bring this idea to life.

For now, we're using the images digitally for our respective businesses. But later this year, when the images have had time to rest, I want to create poster versions with custom-made ornaments. Take them from digital assets to art pieces. That's one of several creative projects I have on the backburner.

Blumen Mitzi and I already have ideas for our next shoot too. It won't be Jugendstil specifically, but our work together keeps evolving. Each project informing the next, bringing up new possibilities.

This was about prioritizing joy and craft. Taking time with details instead of rushing for efficiency. Understanding art traditions and honoring what artists and artisans bring to the work. That matters more to me than quick solutions.