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Meet The Floral Designer Behind Beyoncé's Famous Pregnancy Shoot

Photographed by Stefan Simchowitz.

#Beyonce

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beylite) on

It wouldn't be fair to call L.A.-based floral designer Sarah Lineberger up-and-coming anymore. After all, as Vanity Fair pointed out earlier this year, that old red Porsche with all of the flowers bursting out of it? That's a piece of art called Ask the Dust, a collaboration with her business partner and artist Awol Erizku in which Beyoncé participated.
"That piece has a life of its own; it's fantastic," Lineberger tells Refinery29.
Lineberger says she can't really talk about her work on the Beyoncé pregnancy photo shoot (although it's been confirmed that she's the floral designer for those iconic photos) for confidentiality reasons. We totally get it, but we wanted to pick her brain anyway to discuss her inspirations, her advice for young women, and a very exciting new project she's working on. Read our interview, ahead.
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What are you working on right now?
"I'm working on a new business called Hand & Rose. It's a flower truck and then were going to open up an online marketplace... The idea is to make the flower market more mobile, more accessible, tailor it to our audience of peers. It's not going to be traditional mixed bouquets, but more in my aesthetic, the monochromatic color tones I work with. We'll focus on routes in L.A. that have landmarks, like Venice Boulevard, Abbott Kinney, and more. I'd love to get an app going, too. It's all in the works. I have a meeting to find a truck today!"
Photo: Courtesy of Sarah Lineberger.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
"Saturated colors, vibrant. Vivid colors. Single ingredients. In terms of my design, I like to keep things more clustered; I don't do things wild and sticking out to the side. I'm a big fan of monochromatic flowers and of local California roses.
"In terms of trends, I've been seeing people lean away from the pastels into the brighter tones. It's great for us. It's what you see on social media; everything is bright with saturated coors and bright lighting."
Photo: Courtesy of Sarah Lineberger.
How did you start out?
"I started my career when I was in high school. I needed an after-school job and I worked in a flower shop... I was washing buckets, cleaning flowers...I wasn't allowed to design yet... I ended up not finishing high school — it wasn't about college for me. It was about, how can I stay in the industry I love? I had this huge appreciation for flowers and the life of flowers. Flowers have the ability to alter moods and make people relax and feel at home."
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What's your advice for budding floral designers?
"You just have to understand the life of a flower, and you have to know your mechanics. You could make something beautiful, but then it falls apart the minute you walk out the door. Then, what are you going to say?! ... And then, especially if you're freelancing, you have to be able to work with any type of aesthetic."

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