Press
The Austin-American Statesman, Sept. 2010:
"Turning the corner into a dance studio for dinner, all one could do is gasp at the themed floral arrangements by the Mandarin Flower Co. Filling the room, they rose from 10 tables, each representing a major ballet from the Mills era. To say that they were creative is to understate the case in the extreme."
- Michael Barnes, The Austin-American Statesman.
To read the full article, please visit: http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/outandabout/entries/2010/09/12/ballet_fete_at_1.html
Best of Austin Critics' Picks 2010: Most Fabulous Floral Arrangements
The Austin Chronicle, Sept. 2010:
"Sumptuous calla lilies become tutu chandeliers for the ballet fete! Lavish orchids for the Hispana Leadership Summit gala! Bamboo and ginger for the Austin Bar Association's gala! If you're going to do flowers, you might as well do fabulous flowers, right? Mandarin Flower Co. has made a big splash on the local charity circuit. Working with Ballet Austin, the Center for Child Protection, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and Caritas, Mandarin's impossibly glamorous founders, Sofia and Victoria Avila, represent a new generation of Austin floral designers. "
- Stephen Moser, The Austin Chronicle.
To read the full article, please visit: http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Awards/BestOfAustin/?Year=2010&Display=Long&BOACategory=Services&Poll=Critics
The Austin Chronicle, Sept. 2009:
"At Ballet Fête*ish, Eric and Maria Groten (seated) are flanked by Mandarin Flower Co.'s designers, Victoria Avila (l) and Sofia Avila (r), with mama Rosa Maria in back. Mandarin's flowers are to-die-for. Or to-get-married-for. Or to send a loved one (or maybe yourself)."
"These were not like any flowers we've seen at most events; the sculptures were flights of fantasy created by the Mandarin Flower Co. (www.mandarinflower.com), a local family-run operation that has been around for about six years (...) Mandarin Flower Co. – remember that name."
- Stephen Moser, After a Fashion
To read the full article, please visit: http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid:860198
The Austin American Statesman / Austin 360 Blog
" Every year, anticipation builds …
To see how Ballet Austin will top its previous Fête …
Some pretty amazing folks have organized the annual fundraiser in the past …
But this year, celebrity lawyer Becky Beaver and her team outdid them all …
First, dinner guests were ferried by construction elevators to the 33rd floor of the unfinished Austonian condo tower …
Where the views were stupefying. I mean, I couldn’t recognize certain parts of downtown Austin, so high up were we. And there were another 20 unfinished floors above us …
Then there were the floral arrangements — always a Fête eye-opener — this year from new florists Mandarin Flower Co. The couple used black and white calla lilies to suggest tutus for 'Swan Lake'…"
Sofia Avila and Victoria Avila (in charge of the amazing decor)
- Michael Barnes
To read the full article, please visit: http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/outandabout/entries/2009/09/13/ballet_fte_and.html