La Bomba is a florist and retail space tucked between a bakery and housing co-op in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood. Prior to opening their flagship store, La Bomba was an established private floral studio within the creative landscape of the city. Owner Marta Sanderson’s work included weddings, events, and installations as well as editorial and commercial styling. It felt like a natural next step for Marta and her team to bring La Bomba to life in a physical space, staying true to her core services while offering customers an elevated shopping experience. 

La Bomba’s muse is personified as understated, cool, and unique. They are romantic at heart, effortlessly stylish, modern, and classic. This description was part of the driving concept behind our design for the store, along with captivating conversations with Marta about the origins of floristry as a profession. Beautiful imagery from the 1600’s inspired us to mix detailed antiques with the otherwise hyper-minimal space, paying homage to the roots of floristry while being decidedly contemporary. By layering bespoke and functional elements into the space, we created and defined intentional areas within the overall store. 

For the front-of-house we chose neutral soft blue shades of paint, a peachy-pink epoxy floor, maroon turf, rich fabrics, custom lighting, and a stone countertop. Design objects from the Roslyn Shop are carefully placed amongst dried and fresh floral arrangements, including pink marble columns, an art deco style candelabra, and an oil painting. 

The 1,000 sq ft space is anchored by a large, antique table used to showcase La Bomba’s flower-forward sculptural arrangements and a curated selection of decor items. It also doubles as a space to host workshops, offering groups of budding florists the opportunity to hone their craft. Counter-height storage provides an additional display area for ceramics and glassware by local artists as well as La Bomba’s selection of apothecary products. Separated by layered velvet drapes, the back-of-house is a florist’s dream with two workstations, ample storage, and a walk-in floral fridge. 

To know La Bomba is to love it, visit this ever-evolving space where the old and new intertwine through storied objects and contemporary floral arrangements.