Flowers for a Corporate Dinner at The Violin Factory

When it comes to flowers for a corporate dinner, the challenge lies in balancing refinement with relevance — creating a setting that speaks to both the brand and the space. For this private event at The Violin Factory, a striking industrial venue on London’s South Bank, Chantal Flores was asked to reimagine corporate dining through the lens of art, architecture, and botanical beauty.

The brief: To create a high end intimate dining experience, memorable for its unique concept, working with the industrial feel of the venue.

The brief was simple yet sophisticated:

To design a high-end, intimate dining experience that harmonised with the venue’s raw industrial character — and left a lasting impression.

Originally built as an instrument workshop, The Violin Factory retains its distinctive concrete textures, steel beams and minimalist geometry. Chantal Flores’ approach was to echo this industrial feel through natural contrasts — soft, organic floral forms against architectural lines, lush foliage softened by flickering candlelight.

Guests entered through a walkway of mixed ferns, seamlessly blending with the venue’s own cacti garden. This gentle progression from the outdoor greenery to the candle-lit interior was designed to transport guests from city to sanctuary, offering a moment of calm before the dinner began. Hidden doors, subtle lighting and natural scent combined to set a tone of understated exclusivity.

At the heart of the experience was a bespoke dining table, crafted to mirror the brand’s aesthetic journey — fading from black to white with gold-leaf detailing along each edge. The gradient effect symbolised transformation and collaboration, while the gold accents reflected both light and luxury.

Down the centre, a luscious runner of fresh flowers in a refined, tonal palette — classic roses, lisianthus, and air plants — created depth and dimension. Each bloom was selected for texture and tone, ensuring the design complemented the industrial backdrop rather than competing with it.
Black and white candlesticks interspersed with gold votives added rhythm and warmth, completing a look that was both sculptural and sensorial.

Ferns and air plants — species often found in reclaimed or derelict spaces — became a subtle nod to the building’s industrial past. Their sculptural shapes and silvery green hues added an architectural quality to the arrangements, while abundant fresh flowers brought life, softness, and movement.

The result was a seamless dialogue between nature and design: wild yet controlled, organic yet deliberate. By juxtaposing botanical abundance with minimalist form, Chantal Flores delivered an atmosphere of luxurious restraint — the kind of beauty that doesn’t shout, but resonates.

In the world of corporate hospitality, floral design is storytelling. It reflects brand identity, sets emotional tone, and communicates values wordlessly. Choosing the right flowers for a corporate dinner can turn a business event into a sensory journey — one that reinforces creativity, connection, and care.

At The Violin Factory, this project achieved precisely that:

• Authenticity — inspired by the building’s history.

• Luxury — through materiality, craftsmanship, and detail.

• Emotion — through scent, light, and organic form.

For Chantal Flores, floral design is never simply aesthetic — it’s experiential design. Her London-based studio works with luxury brands, creative agencies, and event producers to craft bespoke floral concepts that elevate the atmosphere of corporate dinners, product launches, and private events alike.

From seasonal flowers to sculptural installations, her work merges botanical artistry with spatial awareness — a balance that transforms any corporate setting into a scene of quiet drama and natural sophistication.

The Violin Factory dinner stands as a testament to what happens when flowers meet architecture — when history and artistry intertwine. The interplay of steel and softness, shadow and bloom, created an experience that guests described as both unexpected and unforgettable.

Through thoughtful composition and a deep respect for space, Chantal Flores proved once again that even in the most urban environments, nature can — and should — take centre stage.