Taking color cues from clients, Lítill designs exude originality and enlightened thinking.
COURTESY WWW.LITILL.COM
For a company whose Icelandic name, Lítill, translates to “tiny” or “insignificant,” it has gained big attention for its ecofriendly wares: sharply and smartly composed terrariums.
Inside the blown-glass vessels, slow-growing succulents and cacti star in arrangements by Palm Springs native and part-time resident Lauren Coleman. The terrariums can sit on a table, hang from crocheted plastic, or even appear to melt off a surface like a Salvador Dali clock oozing from a tree limb.
Coleman works with a glass blower to create vessels in nine designs (each named for plants, friends, and songs). Clients sometimes impart their color preferences and commitment to care. “Depending on that, I give them the plants that require the care they want to give — succulents, cactus, and tillandsia, which is an air plant,” she says.
Coleman uses polymer walls, moss, preserved and painted gourds, minerals, crystals, and dried plant materials for additional color.
A florist for 10 years in the desert and in her one-time home in Portland, Ore., Coleman had worked mostly with cut flowers. When her Portland employer closed and turned over the client list, Coleman began experimenting with glass and “a greener way” of working: without refrigeration and pesticides.
Today — between a New York Design Week terrarium installation at Trina Turk Boutique in May and a September installation at E.R. Butler & Co.’s New York showroom — Lítill has fulfilled orders from Italy, Switzerland, Canada, and London, thanks in part to press she has received in Dwell, Sunset Magazine, and several blogs.
“Clark Moorten of Moorten Botanical Garden in Palm Springs has given me a lot of rare, beautiful plants — and a lot of advice,” Coleman beams. “He’s really supportive of what I’m doing.”
Coleman has created a limited-edition hanging design, available in the Community Shop at Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs.
Customers receive a pipette, extra sand, fertilizer, and a diagram that details how each element works and what to do if a plant dies. Visit www.litill.com.