Wreath-Makers Tap Their Inner Artists At LongHouse In East Hampton

Wreaths of evergreens, tied up with bows and bulbs, holly and tinsel, adorn the doors and hearths of many a home and business this time of year. Their placement is a sign of the times: The holiday season is here.

On Saturday, instead of going out and buying a ready-made wreath, three people journeyed together in the art of wreath-making with florist and wreath-maker Florence Rewinski at a workshop at LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton.

The experience was an aromatic one—not only could one smell the freshness of the balsam wreaths, but plant clippings from the LongHouse grounds brought their own wonderful scents to the pavilion in which the event was held. On squares of burlap, Ms. Rewinski laid out a multitude of different clippings and brightly colored or uniquely textured flowers, berries, pinecones and fruit. The possibilities were endless, which at first overwhelmed students new to the craft.

“You’re the artist,” Ms. Rewinski told them. “I’ll teach you the mechanics of it.”

And before long her pupils were filling in plain balsam wreaths with clippings of their choosing.

Alex Feleppa, the LongHouse horticulturist, set to work on his second-ever wreath, selecting mixed cryptomeria, white pine and accents of purple and red. The end result, like the others, was stunning.

“The wreath is the canvas,” Mr. Feleppa said. “You can do as much as you want. You can go to the moon.”

The other students also realized they had myriad options. They said at first they were a bit overwhelmed, but that with time they began to feel in touch with their creative sides.

Doreen Quaranto said she never felt she had a creative side, but saw it make an appearance during the wreath-making session.

“There’s a sense of creativity inside that is unbelievable,” said Ms. Quaranto, who described her own personal style as relatively simple. “It’s like, ‘You got it, girl!’”

Ms. Quaranto finished off her wreath with a bit of oregano that had flowered and been dried beforehand.

Ms. Rewinski, a native of Southampton, teaches wreath-making from time to time and when she was just a teenager started her career as a florist under Winston Pettaway, a nurseryman at Frankenbach’s Nursery on Narrow Lane in Southampton.

“Back then the standard wreath had red bows and white pine cones,” she said. “I stepped it up a little bit, but what a teacher he was. What patience he showed an 18-year-old.”

Ms. Rewinski clearly knows her floral arranging. As she walked her students through their wreath-making, she made her own wreath, snipping clippings swiftly but gently and placing them in just the right spots.

Others picked up on her zen.

“At first there was a little trepidation, but your eye gets conditioned to it,” Mr. Feleppa said.

As the finishing touches were put on, the students were silent, deep in thought with laser beam focus.

“I feel like I just served dinner … we’re all content,” Ms. Rewinski said.