PLANT WORLD

BY DANIELLE BRODY

I walked into a terrarium class at Luludi Living Art in Astoria thinking I’d make a glass vase with dirt and a succulent, and walked out with a mini mystical world featuring a fairy.

Luludi Living Art is a retail plant shop that provides design services for events and businesses. It also offers classes that give people the opportunity to create a variety of terrariums and put their own spin on them. These traditionally include plants in a glass globe, but when you make your own, it becomes something personal.

“Terrariums are like looking at your own piece of artwork in a mini living world,” said owner and Astoria resident Liza Fiorentinos. She added that plants are proven to boost your mood — and there’s an extra benefit when you’re involved in building their home. “It’s a wonderful feeling, especially in New York.”

I was one of 10 women participating in the workshop. Most participants seemed to come with a friend or family. We all sat around a table and passed colored moss, pebbles, rocks, plants, tools and, the biggest conversation starter — buckets of toys — back and forth. Fiorentinos and another instructor circulated, offering tips and answering questions.

“People are usually nervous about working with plants, so when you add a creative

aspect to it ... I think people feel like they can make it their own and they’re not so intimidat- ed,” she said.

Queens resident Kenya Salley, who has watched YouTube videos about how to make terrariums, came with two friends for a belated birthday celebration. She thought, “Let me see if I can do it.”

Participants can choose to build a home for succulents, which require dirt, or air plants, which don’t need to be rooted and can live on top of pebbles or moss.

Given my low success rate with succulents, I chose to go with two air plants. I laid down a couple of inches of pebbles. The instructors reminded me to add enough height so the dis- play would be visible. When making these, Fio- rentinos asked us to envision where it would be situated in our homes: What would the vantage point be? Would you be looking at it eye level, from above or from below?

She said participants build camaraderie dur- ing the process, and she was right. We passed moss and pebbles back and forth and walked around, checking out each others’ creations.

“There’s laughter and shared excitement,” she said. “People just naturally want to support each other.”

I didn’t have a vision in mind, but I didn’t expect to incorporate toys. Then I saw a plas- tic tree that matched the colors of my pebbles and moss, and once I placed it inside the glass, I realized I needed some creatures to sit under- neath. I found a toy fairy with a very lifelike face who was stretched out and leaning on her fore- arms, and chose her as the focal point.

Things moved quickly after that — she needed sidekicks. I announced I needed to add a dog, and multiple people passed them to me as they sifted through the toys and found them. I found an orange puppy to place inside. It was cute, but didn’t stand out. The woman next to me agreed when I said I needed a lighter dog to pop. I end- ed up with a small white puppy and a thin white goat flanking my fairy. It looked just right.

Other creations included a Caribbeanthemed terrarium, an underwater world and a mossy succulent home for a toy horse.

About halfway through, Fiorentinos encour- aged people who were overthinking or doubt- ing their creations to do what she calls a “walkaway” — get up, walk around and come back.

“When I do [classes] with kids, they finish in 15 minutes,” Fiorentinos said. “They know exactly what they want to do. Adults get stuck being creative.”

Photos courtesy of Luludi Living Art

She has vision boards around the studio to inspire her students when they walk around. Often when they come back, they have a new perspective and can finish building their terrarium, Fiorentinos said.

Brooklynite Michelle Quinones said she liked the idea of leaving her creation and coming back. It ended up helping her finish her piece.

“I added a few more rocks,” she said. “I’m pretty satisfied.”

Quinones got the class for her mom as a Christmas gift and brought her sister so they could experience something together.

“I loved it. [Liza] explained everything to make things easier,” Quinones said.

Salley, who made a terrarium with a suc- culent and colorful pebbles, said she found the process fun and easy, too.

Fiorentinos reminded people the ter- rarium isn’t permanent; it’s a living space, so you can change parts out. If you go on a vacation and bring a shell home, you can put it in there, she said during the class.

For those who want to bring more plants into their lives, she suggests ZZ plants or any kind of violet because they bloom on an on- going basis if the space has good light. In

lower light, try a peace lily, ivy, vine or spider plant. She also loves the crispy wave plant. Don’t be afraid to get a fake plant, either. Fiorentinos said studies show they can boost moods as well as a real plant. As part of her business working with corporate clients, she often installs faux plant scapes in buildings.

Luludi offers sand art terrarium classes, crystal terrarium classes, herb classes, kids’ classes, holiday classes and more. They range from $40 to $75. She attracts all types of people, such as women in bachelorette parties — a group walked in as I was on my way out — dates, men, women, families, Wall Street workers who want to be creative and unemployed people who need a mood boost. She has taught terrarium classes for companies for groups as large as 500.

Fiorentinos started Luludi in 2012 as a cart in Roosevelt Field Mall, but after Hur-

ricane Sandy Hit, mall traffic plummeted. She opened her store in Astoria seven years ago. She got into the business because, af- ter working in the corporate media world, she wanted to do something creative.

“I love people; I love plants,” she said. “I love the combination of the two — to see how their world starts and what it ends up with.”

When we all left, we had a living plant world wrapped up in a box with care in- structions — and for me, the confidence to bring plants into my home and the motiva- tion to keep them alive.

LULUDI LIVING ART 2307 24TH AVE., ASTORIA LULUDICORP.NET 888-958-5834 @LULUDILIVINGART

41 Photos: Danielle Brody/BORO

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St. Michael’s is proud to feature two upcoming talented artists who have been recognized for their accomplishments: Olga Tourkina, violin and Philipp Petkov, piano, accompanied by four musical counterparts to complete a Fab 4 and more.

For further information contact Ed Horn.

Fred Chernow, 10 year North Shore Towers resident and Board of Directors member When you live at North Shore Towers and Country Club, you don’t have to go very far to find something to do all year round thanks to the wide variety of amenities and social activities made available to residents.

Just ask Fred Chernow, who’s been a resident there for 10 years and has served on the North Shore Towers Board of Directors for eight of those years. In that time, he has coordinated many events for residents.

“I’ve been elected four times to four two-year terms,” he said, noting he’s “involved in many things and the residents see me all the time.” For one thing, Chernow pointed out he originated a program with Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y in which, after public figures speak at the Y, North Shore Towers is able to stream the presentations a few weeks later to residents without any admission fee.

For example, United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg was interviewed at the Y in the fall by David Rubenstein, a founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group.

The stream of that event was “so popular that I had to do it twice – once at 4:30 for a packed house and then again at 7:30,” Chernow recalled.

North Shore Towers has also presented “lighter things from the Y,” including presentations with actor Alan Alda and others with authors, Chernow noted.

Each year, there are also special programs that he’s involved with. For example, each November, North Shore Towers holds a salute to veterans, in which local members of the military are invited and there are patriotic songs in their honor, he noted, pointing out there are several veterans who live there who fought in World War II, the Korean War and other wars. “It’s really a lovely evening,” he said.

Pointing out that each North Shore Towers board member has a responsibility, he said: “I’m in charge of screening” people who want to move to North Shore Towers, “to see if they fit in” to the co-op’s lifestyle. As chairman of the board’s screening committee for the past six years, each month he selects a different board member to help him interview the 10-12 applicants there typically are, he said. Then, at the next board meeting, he gives his recommendations to the full board, which votes on the applicants. “Since I’ve been in charge of screening, we have admitted a more diverse group of applicants” than in years past, he said, many who “shop in our stores and they’re very active members [who] participate in many things” at North Shore Towers.

“Fred Chernow moving here was a tremendous addition to the North Shore Towers and Country Club community,” said North Shore Towers General Manager Glen Kotowski, adding: “He hosts many professional programs for our residents and has been provided continuity to our Board of Directors with his many years of service. We are fortunate to someone of his stature choosing to live and serve here.”

Chernow, meanwhile, is also an author who has written several books. “The most popular one, that Oprah Winfrey liked, is called ‘The Sharper Mind’ – it’s how older people can do exercises that will improve their memory,” he pointed out, adding: “Because of this book, I’ve been invited” to lecture “on cruise ships around the world.” Published by Prentice Hall, it’s available for sale on Amazon.com. Chernow also writes for the North Shore Towers Courier newspaper.

After serving as a New York City school principal for 37 years, he retired, but continued to teach at St. John’s University, he told us.

Chernow lived in Westbury 19 years before moving to North Shore Towers, and he’s been really happy to make the move, he said. “I love it. It’s just a perfect place for me,” he said, pointing to the arcade/mall that connects all three residential buildings and includes a bank, a movie theater, two restaurants, a supermarket, a dry cleaner, a beauty parlor, a hearing aid center and other stores.

“You really don’t have to leave the building if you don’t want to [because the mall] connects all three buildings,” he said, explaining: “I live in building one. I have a lady friend in building three. If it’s snowing outside, I could visit her in shirt sleeves. I just take the elevator down to the arcade in my building. I walk to the other end, which is building three. I get in her elevator and I’m up there in maybe five minutes altogether.” Plus, “when it’s very hot, the arcade is airconditioned,” he pointed out, noting he regularly gets exercise by walking around the arcade and using the club’s gym, as well as using the indoor pool and two outdoor pools in the summer.

“There are wonderful facilities here and you really don’t have to leave,” he said, adding: “It’s just a great place to live. And there are many clubs. I’m part of the men’s club. We meet monthly. We have speakers. We go on trips. We go to ballgames.” There are also a women’s club, card clubs, Mahjong and much more, he noted.

For more details about the Towers Country Club or to book a tour, call Mary Anne Langone, country club manager, at 718- 428-5030 ext. 0. North Shore Towers Keeps Residents Busy All Year Round

HAVE WE MET?

MEET DAREN DEBEL

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Daren brings over 10 years of experience in operational and sales team management. As a top producing agent in Manhattan, Daren knows how to get things done. Daren’s sales and rental experience, and coaching background, make him an obvious choice to lead Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty into 2020 in Queens and beyond.

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