When I say to imagine an Iris, what do you picture? Is it a ruffled peach? Perhaps a bright purple? Maybe you’re like me and instantly visualize that deep blue petaled iris with a streak of yellow! That’s the striking color I chose for my February’s Flower. As I searched the internet for the birth flowers associated with each month I had a tough choice to make. It seems there are always two flowers listed. The flowers for February being the Violet and the Iris, and I knew instantly I wanted to create the Iris on leather! The old Farmer’s Almanac didn’t list the gorgeous iris as February’s birth flower however it listed the violet and the primrose. As lovely as I find the violet and primrose, I couldn’t give up on that creative energy pushing me towards the iris.

So, let me tell you a little about the strikingly gorgeous flower that stole my heart. It’s pretty well known that the name Iris, comes from the Greek. The goddess Iris was a messenger for Hera and Zeus that traveled between the lands of humans and gods on a rainbow. And as the name implies, irises come in a rainbow of colors! It implies a message or promise of hope.

Even since ancient times the Iris has come to represent power and majesty. The flower was dedicated to Juno- the Roman equivalent to Hera, and is believed to be the origin of the scepter, a symbol of power. The people of Egypt placed an iris flower on the brow of the Sphinx and on the scepter of the Egyptian kings which identified three leaves of its blossoms as symbols of valor, wisdom and faith.

During medieval times the Iris was associated with the French monarchy as a fleur-de-lis. The legend says that this lily flower was given at the time of Clovis baptism. It has become a symbol for royalty, heraldry, and faith. It beckons the symbols strewn about castles on tapestries, the flag of New Orleans, even a beautiful garden.

In my creation of the Iris, I just couldn’t shake the color blue! My initial plan was blue, then I thought, “wouldn’t a pretty peach iris be beautiful, and unique”, but I returned to blue. I’m a sucker for blue flowers. Ah! Etre fleur bleue! I have yet to meet one I don’t like. As for the decision on blue, I wanted a background that would make it pop! And my leaves turned, much like the fleur-de-lis, into a whimsical take on reality. The jade green of the suede and seed beads was a nod to the art nouveau movement which you can find architectural details of all over Paris. I lined the bag with a deep blue suede which really makes the flowers come to life. The handles are a beautiful supple tan. Everything is stitched by hand in ivory. And, like the Iris itself having three petals, I made three flowers splayed in a fleur-de-lis like shape.

The bag is made out of ivory and tan calfskin, blue and jade pigsuede, matching seed beads, tan edge paint, and ivory polyester thread. Its large enough for your laptop computer and files and richly deserves a trip to the museum. Perhaps you’ll sling it up over your shoulder and walk along the Seine. Even though it is a blue iris it conjures images of la vie en rose. Where would you take it?