For former freelance florists Ivanka Matsuba and Amanda Luu, joining forces stemmed from a mutual admiration: “We kept running into each other weekend after weekend, and grew to love [one another’s] designs and, more importantly, how the other worked,” explains Bay Area native Luu. And with that, the pair formed Studio Mondine, their nearly two-year-old floral company rooted in the Mission District, which borrows its hardworking ethos as well as its moniker from the weed-picking Mondine women of 19th-century Italy.

Each of their discerning and seasonally dictated creations seeks to balance an overgrown, lush English garden aesthetic with the sculptural art of Japanese ikebana, resulting in high-impact arrangements made with everything from immature blueberry branches to gray reindeer moss and foraged, dried clematis puffs. “The more unusual and special, the more we love them,” says Matsuba.

The duo notes that this fall’s wedding palette will see a shift toward more earthy, muted colors as well as dried elements and minimalist moments, aligning perfectly with the studio’s new ikebana-inspired vessels in collaboration with local ceramist Daniel Karvasales. To that end, Matsuba and Luu also offer design consultation on details down to stationery, linens and flatware, each bestowing their own unique touch. “Ivanka looks at the trees, and I look at the forest,” explains Luu of their differing perspectives, which add up to one shared philosophy upheld since day one: “Keep it simple, yet striking.” studiomondine.com.

Written by LINDSAY KINDELON.