Masters in the Making · Table styling · any Sunday

Table styling brief

What we're making

Reference: fruit and flower vessels down the centre of the table

The look we're going for — scaled down for 4 kids on a shorter table.

The one thing to aim for: colour. Matisse's whole thing was that colour should be felt — bold, joyful, alive. That's exactly what the table should radiate too. When you're choosing and placing fruit, veg and flowers, lead with the brightest, happiest colours you can find and let them clash and sing. If the table makes you smile with colour the moment you look at it, it's working.

1 · Shopping list

Fruit, veg & skewers from Coles (or any greengrocer). Flowers most likely from Prahran Market on Sunday morning (opens 10am, about 5 min from the venue). Prices are just a guide.

Buy	Item	Approx
2–3	Mixed flower bunches — enough for the centre and the 6 vases the kids make. Firm stems hold best: iris, natives, daisies	$35
6–8	Mandarins or small oranges	$5
1	Orange capsicum	$2
1	Eggplant	$2.50
1	Cucumber or zucchini	$1.50
1	Bamboo skewers, 1 pack	$2.50

Roughly$50

Handy to bring from home for the fiddly bits: a small sharp knife, a few small cups or jars (to hide water inside the veg), and some Blu-Tack or museum putty (brilliant for stopping fruit rolling).

2 · Give the flowers a drink

Trim the stem ends on an angle and stand them in a bucket of water. If you get them Saturday, leave them somewhere cool overnight. If it's Sunday morning from Prahran, just give them a good drink while you set up — even 20 minutes helps them perk up.

3 · Ideas for the vessels

Honesty first: the photo's a styled shoot, so we're a bit reverse-engineering how they did it. Treat the below as starting points to play with rather than exact rules — see what actually holds and looks right on the day.

See it done for real: here's a page full of real examples of this exact fruit-and-flower style to copy from → Pinterest: produce flower arrangements. (The look in our photo is by the stylist @artlifepractice if you want to search them too.)

Getting the fruit & veg to stand

A few things worth trying: slice a thin flat off the bottom so it can't roll; if it's still wobbly, a blob of Blu-Tack underneath usually sorts it, or sit it in an egg cup or jar lid. For a stack of fruit, a skewer down the middle seems to be what holds the pieces together and upright.

Getting the flowers to poke out

The likely trick is to poke a hole with a skewer first, then slot a flower stem into the flesh so the fruit grips it. Firmer stems (iris, natives, daisies) should hold better than soft floppy ones, and shorter stems are less likely to tip the fruit over. If you want a few stems clustered together and staying fresh, you could hide a little cup of water inside a hollowed-out capsicum and stand them in that. Have a play — keep whatever works.

Roughly which looks like what, in the photo

Eggplant & cucumber

Look like a single stem poked straight into the top. No water — firm veg holds a stem for the morning, and it's heavy enough to stand on its own.

Capsicum

Opened up with a few stems sitting in it. A little hidden cup of water inside would keep them fresh and stop it leaking.

Citrus stack

Stacked with a skewer through the middle, flat-bottomed so it stands — with a stem or two tucked into the top so they fan out.

Please don't stress about matching the photo. A few stems tucked into some fruit and veg, kept low down the centre, will look lovely. It's meant to be playful, not perfect.

4 · Lay it all out

Line your vessels down the centre of the table, spaced out.
Fill the gaps with a few flower stems laid flat along the table — this is what makes it look styled rather than just objects in a row.
Keep it all low — the kids need to see each other across the table. If anything's much taller than about 30cm, trim it.
Leave the leftover flowers in the bucket nearby — the kids pick their own stems at the end to fill the vases they make.

When it needs to happen

SaturdayBuy the fruit, veg & skewers. (Flowers too, if you'd rather not rush Sunday.)

Sun 10:00amPrahran Market opens — grab the flowers. It's about 5 min from the venue.

Sun ~10:15amFlowers in water, then build the vessels and lay out the table.

By 10:55amStep back and check it looks low and full. Doors at 11am.

Quick checklist

Flowers, fruit, veg & skewers bought
Flowers given a good drink of water
Fruit & veg standing steadily (flat base / Blu-Tack)
Stems poked in where you want them (kept short so nothing topples)
Vessels lined down the centre + stems laid flat between
Everything low enough to see across · leftover flowers in the bucket

Masters in the Making · by La Vita Nova · South Yarra