Vase-off — 3 S.L. florists to compete at Art in Bloom event

Robert Upwall is known for his love of bold colors, especially orange. He is also known for his armatures, those funky ladders of curly willow, sticking up from the pot.

As for Emily Brooks, in addition to arranging flowers, she is known for her garden designs. Lately she's been thinking about the difference between European and American gardens, thinking about the way Europeans blend pastels with bright colors.

And then there is Shelly Huynh Lewis. She is Asian and also a sculptor, and she believes she draws on both aesthetics when she works with flowers.

Next week, these three Salt Lake floral designers will compete in a flower-arranging race as part of the festivities surrounding Art in Bloom at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

As always, the main event at Art in Bloom will be 40 floral arrangements by 40 Utah designers — each one a reflection of a different work of art within the museum's collection. The floral arrangements will be on display from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. June 3 and 4. There will also be a gala dinner, luncheon and fashion show, and a design class taught by guest designer Rene van Rems.

And this year, there will be a Live Floral Design Challenge, with van Reems as master of cerermonies, on Saturday afternoon. Upwall, Brooks and Lewis will each be given the same flowers and containers and will compete against each other three times within an hour.

There is sure to be variety in their arrangements. Even though they make their living the same way — arranging flowers for weddings and funerals and businesses and homes — they have distinctly different styles.

• The first time she did a flower arrangement, Shelly Huynh Lewis says it took her 12 hours. She's so much faster now. Still, to this day, if an arrangement doesn't work the way she wants it to, she'll keep coming back to it.

Lewis looks forward to the Art in Bloom timed challenge. She figures it will be good practice for becoming certified by the American Institute of Floral Designers, which she plans to do later in the summer in Washington, D.C. The AIFD accredits members who pass a written test and also do five designs within a certain time.

Lewis won't know what designs she'll be assigned until she gets there. She needs to be prepared to do everything — from a funeral wreath to a bridal bouquet. She says accreditation is where she really wants to go next in her career.