Eric Buterbaugh (born February 28, 1960) is an American florist and perfumer.
Career
Early career
Eric Buterbaugh was born in Cherokee, Oklahoma, and left his hometown to pursue a career in fashion in Oklahoma City in the early to mid-1980s. He later moved to Dallas, Texas, where he met Victoria (Torie) L. Steele and worked at her exclusive boutique in the Highland Park Village Shoppes, representing both women's and men's high-end clothing. After she divorced her husband Sam, Steele closed the store in Dallas and set her sights on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. There, she opened a shop very similar to the one in Dallas. Unfortunately, she ended up closing it, due to debt. Buterbaugh was able to parlay his personal style into his next job: at Gianni Versace in Beverly Hills, just across the street, where he would work for several years. After a fortuitous meeting with Sir Elton John, Buterbaugh left the Beverly Hills boutique and relocated to
Gianni Versace
Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...
in Milan, followed by a move to London to oversee
Versace
Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as ...
’s flagship Emporium. Later, after leaving Versace, he worked with fashion icon Valentino and then celebrity jeweler Theo Fennel.
He left the fashion industry in 1998 and moved to Los Angeles, where he first established himself as a florist when he offered to design an impromptu arrangement for a friend’s birthday party. Over the next two decades, Buterbaugh established himself as one of the most prominent florists in the United States, describing his work as ”Opulent flowers presented in a modern way.”
Floral Design
In 1999, he established Eric Buterbaugh Flower Design, LLC, and took up residence at the
Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. His progressive designs and opulent arrangements have attracted clients among celebrities, society figures, charitable organizations, political leaders, and fashion houses. His high profile client list includes
Gwyneth Paltrow,
Nicole Richie,
Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...
,
Tory Burch
Tory Burch (née Robinson; born June 17, 1966) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of her own brand, Tory Burch LLC. She was listed as the 88th most powerf ...
,
Michael Kors
Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...
,
Madonna,
Dior,
Valentino,
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather ...
,
Chanel,
Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A., rebranded in September 2022 as Ferragamo, () is an Italian luxury goods company headquartered in Florence. It specializes in designing and manufacturing footwear and leather goods, which together account for over 86% ...
,
Cartier, the
British Royal Family,
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...
,
Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver (born November 6, 1955)
is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to ...
, and
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
.
Since establishing his company, Buterbaugh has been called upon to design florals for events including Princess Beatrice's 18th birthday at Windsor Castle, becoming the first American to receive such an honor. In 2006, he was asked to design a calendar for the King of Thailand entitled "60 Beautiful Years 1946-2006 Celebrating His Majesty the King's Accession to the Throne."
In 2010, he served as co-host and judge of
The Arrangement, an American competitive reality television series featuring ten floral arrangers. The series aired on
Logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
on October 4, 2010. In each episode, the designers face a "Seedling Challenge" followed by a "Weedout Challenge." The bottom-ranked designers must tackle a final head-to-head challenge, which eliminates a designer from the competition. In 2012, he was featured in the short documentary Herb Ritts ‘LA Style,’ providing commentary as himself on the life and career of
Herb Ritts
Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black ...
.
Perfume
In 2014, Buterbaugh was introduced to fragrance marketing executive Fabrice Croisé by former
MySpace CEO Mike Jones. The two formed a business partnership and created a line of floral-inspired perfumes “EB Florals”. The brand launched in 2015 with a flagship location in West Hollywood, featuring a perfume boutique and art gallery space. The launch party was attended by a variety of celebrities including
Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...
,
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...
,
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...
,
Gwen Stefani and
Nicole Richie.
Filmography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buterbaugh, Eric
1960 births
Living people
Florists