Flower power Written by Ina Michel Photography by Alison Engstrom
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f you take a walk down East 10th Street in New York’s East Village, just past Tompkins Square Park, you’ll come across a small bakery called Brooklyn Floral Delight. Painted in cool tones of navy, aqua and white, it’s a serene and welcoming space with a communal table in the center. But owner Jiahn Kang is no ordinary baker. The petite Korean-born founder has a designer’s sensibility; she has translated her background in fashion, jewelry and graphic design into a genuinely unique visual aesthetic. The icing flowers and plants that grace her signature cakes bear no resemblance to standard birthday cake roses. A student of flora, she specializes in creating lush, layered blossoms like peonies and green succulent plants so realistic they could fool you at first glance. Why the drastic career change? “I was going
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