When a person thinks of artificial plants, “art” may not be the first word that comes to mind. When I was growing up, artificial plants were made of plastic. That’s it – just plastic. And, they looked like plastic. While they created a spot of green wherever they were placed in the home or office, no one really believed that they were real. Only rich people has silk flowers in their homes.
Quality Materials
Fast forward 40 years, and you have artificial plants that not only look real, they are affordable. Part of the reason for this is the quality of materials that have become easier to manufacture. Silk flowers may be out of the budget, still, but there are so many synthetic fibers in today’s world that portray the same elegance as silk that the field is wide open.
You can find elements from nature incorporated into many floral items you can find at your decorating center. Mosses, lichen, river rock, baby’s breath, ferns, and many other natural items are affordable, and make stunning additions to arrangements.
Finer, stronger materials and better adhesives mean that the artificial plants used in home and office décor these days look lifelike. Artificial Office Supplies Rose petals may actually feel like the real thing, and the fine detail possible with quality materials make for a more visually pleasing arrangement.
Design Techniques
Design techniques for modern day artificial plants are far more sophisticated than they were decades ago. Digital renditions make it much easier to achieve near-perfect proportions of stems to leaves, and within the vagaries of blooms. The digital measurement of living plants can be more perfectly reproduced than ever before, resulting in a natural look to the plants.
This is especially noticeable in places on the plant in which branching or joints occur. While the rod/pocket design is still a mainstay of most manufacturing techniques, there are more subtle finishes involved that can make the progression from stem to leaf and from stem to flower head.
The digital translation of the structure of blooms makes artificial flowers look ever more realistic. Even inexpensive bouquets these days often look like single-piece construction.
Manufacturing Techniques
Manufacturing techniques, too, have improved over the last decades. A lot of finer artificial flowers and plants are hand-assembled, while machinery is capable of fine work that was impossible in years past. Part of this is due to the advancement in die cut machines. Improved cutting edges, along with resilient yet beautiful materials, make it possible to achieve finer results than ever.
Laser technology is also to be credited with the improvement in artificial plants. This makes it possible for manufacturers to produce detailed die cuts, or to even cut the plant materials themselves.
Painting Materials
Dyes have come a long way, too. The dyes used for many of the artificial plants you see are eco-friendly and durable. In the past, the colors would fade terribly, but now, colors are more stable and pure. This makes it possible to create works of art with durable plants, rather than dying ones.
