Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Securing a kenzan
- 7 January 2015
- click to send Christine a smile
- and more
A Kenzan is a pin holder (usually made from metal or plastic embedded in a metal base) invented for Ikebana style of arrangements (Moribana style: "Moru" meaning heaped and "Hana" meaning flowers) to hold the plant material in place
Kneed a small ball of floral fix to make it sticky and plyable
Roll the floral fix in a snake
Connect the two ends
Turn the Kenzan pin side down and place the floral on the flat side
Press the Kenzan down to stick to the shallow design container.
Grasp the Kenzan firmly...
... and while pressing down start to twist...
Because the floral fix is in a dougnut shape at the bottom of the Kenzan it creates a vacuum between the container and the Kenzan
Making it very secure and stable so that it will not come loose from the container
See the Tutorial below for detailed instructions on how to place various sizes of plant material in a Kenzan
See the Tutorial below for another example of how I use the doughnut shaped floral fix trick to secure a candle
Sign up for my weekly newsletter
Every week I add a new design with related tutorials. Be sure to subscribe to receive an email notification with design inspiration.
Tutorials
A temporary but very secure way to keep a candle in place in a design
Our goal as designers is to create the best environment for our flowers to stay as beautiful and fresh for as long as possible. When we condition flowers we always remove any...
Break the water flow when you fill a vase with details in that can move with the stream of water
Related Designs
Using a traditional Ikabana Kenzan to place flowers in a shallow container
Glue the most delicate twig table top Christmas tree
Cut stems of Gladiolus to place in a radiating summer design.
Whether it’s a solid foot for floating flowers, the tips of new growth or the curve of a dried twig your design needs help to stay upright.
A small design to display those last Spring snippets from your garden...
A bit of a rethink as the season is getting ready to change. How can I give my design idea a fresh twist?
It's the little sun-washed coloured hints that makes you look again to see if you really saw what you thought you saw... yes! There really are signs of autumn everywhere!