{"id":57413,"date":"2021-06-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ae.com\/aerie-real-life\/?p=57413"},"modified":"2021-06-24T17:13:33","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T17:13:33","slug":"east-olivia-interview-with-kelsey-olivia-time-lapse-of-install","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ae.com\/aerie-real-life\/2021\/06\/24\/east-olivia-interview-with-kelsey-olivia-time-lapse-of-install\/","title":{"rendered":"Pride in Bloom: East Olivia’s Double Rainbow Brought Color & \ufeffJoy to an NYC Flower Show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the entrance of the L.E.A.F. Festival of Flowers<\/a> in Manhattan\u2019s Meatpacking District, visitors passed by two archways made from a rainbow of fresh flowers. This Double Rainbow installation was created by East Olivia<\/a>, a NYC-based, women-led design studio that specializes in one-of-a-kind floral works. In partnership with Aerie<\/a>, East Olivia signed and built the installation to honor the city\u2019s LGBTQ+ community and its rich history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

East Olivia\u2019s founder, Kelsea Olivia, sat down with us recently for a discussion on Pride Month, the inspirations behind the Double Rainbow installation and a few of East Olivia\u2019s future projects. Keep reading for the full Q&A!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tell us a little about yourself and East Olivia, for those who don\u2019t know.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before founding EO, I spent a decade working in the music industry in LA and about 10 years ago I decided to leave the music industry wanting to explore an even more creative career. I ended up landing a visual role in retail for Anthropologie and BHLDN in NYC, where I began my visual work with flowers and the NYC Flower Market. Through that experience I fell in love with flowers. From there my passion for flowers and for bringing life and beauty into a space and EO was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

East Olivia was originally very rooted in the events space and we were known for our large-scale installations. During the pandemic, we launched a direct-to-consumer online Forever Florals shop in order to share the beauty of flowers with more people during the lockdown and social distancing. As events return, we will continue to grow and expand both sides of East Olivia, online and in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the three words that come to mind when you think of Pride, and why?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Resilience. Representation. Joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though I am not personally part of the LGBTQIA+ community, this incredible group of people are a big part of the fabric of NYC, America and the world. Pride represents so many people who have fought and suffered to achieve equality and to be able to celebrate, with great joy, their own identities and lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This community has fought so long and so hard, alongside their allies and Pride represents that hardship, that fight and that resilience that comes from pure commitment. Through change, equality and progress the joy only grows. Pride is one of only a few spheres in our world that effortlessly encapsulate all of those feelings of the human experience and I love that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you describe the visual and conceptual inspirations for the Pride installation?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Inspiration around the Double Rainbow installation was a desire to give New York City (after being dormant for so long) a gift of color, life and love. In the true spirit of Pride, resilience, representation and joy, coming out of the pandemic hardships was an opportunity to reflect and celebrate. With the simultaneous timing of New York Flower Week and Pride, it was important to us to honor that story with a rainbow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there the idea of infusing downtown NYC with bold colors, optimism and vibrancy through an interactive, aspirational visual moment was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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