When Danielle Casali was in college, she would take public transportation into Chicago’s Loop to go to Macy’s. She would stand in the former Marshall Field’s building and look up at the Tiffany dome ceiling to witness the world’s largest example of an unbroken favrile iridescent glass mosaic.
Now, after nearly 15 years working as a professional artist, one of Casali’s glass mosaic murals is a permanent fixture of the State Street store. Her piece “Gather & Hold” was produced as part of the 2026 Macy’s Flower Show installation in Chicago.
The event is one of the department store’s cornerstone events for its “Celebrations Start at Macy’s” campaign. In addition to the pop-up at the retailer’s Chicago flagship, the Flower Show is currently being held at its Herald Square store in New York City, which has been the host of the event for 51 years.
The Flower Show this year has a Homegrown theme, which focuses on the floral landscape in the U.S. and is illustrated by craftsmanship, artistry and multisensory experiences. The theme is “a love letter to America’s gardens and greenhouses,” according to Will Coss, executive producer of the Macy’s Flower Show.
“Each year, our talented team of artisans and production specialists at Macy’s Studios challenge themselves to bring never-before-seen, immersive experiences to life for our customers,” Coss said in written comments. This year, the event has integrated handcrafted florals, fibers and fragrance with over 50,000 stems and 200 varieties of flowers.
The Macy’s Studios team that creates the Flower Show also produces the 4th of July Fireworks display and the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
For Macy’s, the Flower Show is the official kickoff to spring.
Chicago Macy’s in full bloom
Visitors to the Chicago floral experience are greeted with a number of greenhouse vignettes that go from the first floor all the way to the Marshall Field’s Walnut Room on the seventh floor. Real seasonal flowers, including tulips, hydrangeas and calla lilies, as well as blooming dogwood, forsythia and peach trees, are incorporated into displays, among handcrafted paper botanicals.
Other displays include a spotlight on Coach, where the brand’s fragrance bottles, bags and shoes can be customized, and people are invited to experience the ingredients that go into their scents. Fossil is also highlighted via a pop-up where shoppers can receive complimentary engraving.
The show also includes an interactive experience, dubbed The Confetti Celebration Wall. Shoppers can write a note on a card about who or what they are celebrating this spring and pin it up. In November, the notes will be used as confetti in Macy’s 100th Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
The Flower Show also offers a limited-edition souvenir collection, with commemorative items including apparel, printed tote bags, a watercolor paint set and specialty chocolates, among other items.
Overall, the Flower Show is more than a year in the making, according to Coss. Once the show is ready to be installed, a team loads the production pieces and florals and sets up the experience overnight. The effort “showcases the exceptional talent of our Macy’s Studio team and underscores the important role our stores continue to play as destinations for shared experiences and inspiration,” Coss said.
But, the artistry of Chicago's pop-up now extends into something more permanent through Casali's work.
A (floral) work of art
As an artist, Casali has worked with other types of clients before, including municipalities such as public libraries and schools, along with private collectors. But, the Macy’s opaque glass mosaic mural “Gather & Hold” was her first commercial project.
The department store had the idea of creating a custom mosaic for the Chicago store, and Casali was contacted to create a piece.
“It was really joyful and easy to work with the Macy’s team to establish the design,” she said. “They gave me a lot of creative freedom for the composition. They did come to me specifically with the subject and the imagery of those flowers.”
The final work features chrysanthemums, the official flower for Chicago, and violets, the state flower of Illinois.
“As an iconic cultural landmark in Chicago, our State Street flagship presented a natural opportunity to feature a handcrafted piece by a local artist tied to this year’s ‘Homegrown’ theme, while honoring the store’s history and legacy,” Coss said.
The piece is all hand cut and, in a big push, Casali completed it in four weeks. With “more realistic hours” she estimated the piece would probably take around three months to produce.
The piece is also an homage to the Tiffany dome.
“To be contacted … by Macy’s for a commercial project it’s very high profile, but in this very special Chicago historic building, under a famed Tiffany dome ceiling, feels like a pinnacle of my career,” she said.
