How Laura Clare Pugsley Crafts Ephemeral Luxury Through Botanical Artistry

How Laura Clare Pugsley Crafts Ephemeral Luxury Through Botanical Artistry

Laura Clare, a floral and event designer, built a design studio and creative practice driven by curiosity and a lifelong relationship with flowers. Trained in horticulture, Clare spent time working alongside high-end floral designers in Europe. Those experiences reframed her understanding of what floral design could be. There, she highlights, flowers became the central focus in large-scale visual narratives.

“These were big productions. Florals were the medium they were working with, but the work they were creating was art,” Clare explains. With that exposure, she developed a deep respect for the art of storytelling and creating with purpose, which continues to inform her work today.

Returning stateside, Clare immersed herself in the New York design ecosystem. “It was a hub of creativity, and I sought ways to hone my craft across different artistic environments,” she says. Each collaboration and project, she emphasizes, added texture and depth to her perspective. She learned new techniques and delved into various art philosophies, all of which catered to sharpening her instincts. “You pick up and learn a little bit from everyone you work with,” she reflects. Over time, that culmination of influences crystallized into a voice distinctly of her own.

Eventually, that voice carried her into founding her floral and event decor studio. “It felt like the next step in the progression of my career,” she says, noting how the studio emerged organically. The experiences she accumulated over the years became the bedrock of her studio. Today, her business operates as a decor company, producing floral work across intimate gatherings to expansive, bespoke celebrations.

The studio primarily curates designs for weddings, yet the scope extends to corporate events, showers, private milestones, fashion shows, and large-scale productions. “Essentially, I create an ambiance. Some people do it with fabric, some do it with lighting. I do it with flowers, and sometimes, with all of them,” Clare explains.

She likens her work to interior design operations compressed into a single day. “It’s like a pop-up. You pull together linens, lighting, structures, textures, everything, and then, it’s gone,” she says. She emphasizes that this impermanence defines her work. “Flowers, by nature, are perishable. And our botanical scenes capture that. The designs invite presence, they ask guests to focus on being present in the moment and experiencing,” Clare adds.

After delving into the realm of fashion, Clare discovered an additional dimension to the studio’s creative output. According to her, fashion environments offer an unbounded expression that differs from the functional requirements of weddings. “I love the fast pace and the creativity that comes with the world of fashion. More boundaries can be broken,” she says. Witnessing that freedom enabled her to explore florals as a sculptural element, responding to movement and energy.

Client collaboration remains foundational to the studio’s process, where the art of listening serves as the compass. Clare explains, “Sometimes people tell you what they think they want, but what they’re really describing is a feeling.” According to her, translating that feeling into form requires discernment and dialogue, and that’s where the studio brings its expertise. “We offer technical and creative guidance without overshadowing their vision. Our goal is to bridge our expertise and bring their vision to life.”

Behind each floral installation stands a team that champions technical fluency and creative instinct. “I admire florists, but I hire artists. The floral side can be taught, but you can’t teach someone to have a creative eye. Here, experience isn’t the determiner, creative edge is,” she says. As team members arrive from adjacent disciplines, Clare helps them grow into the nuances of horticulture and large-scale event logistics and executions.

The studio envisions its growth through creative evolution and new locations. Clare seeks to travel more to garner inspiration and immerse herself in fashion-driven floral work and personalized events, while maintaining quality across existing offerings. As she continues studying new market trends to elevate her designs, Clare remains committed to shaping environments that exist briefly yet leave an everlasting impression.