New York City has a weird habit of turning art into a contact sport. If you were anywhere near Roosevelt Island in late 2024, or Rockefeller Center in 2025, you probably saw the evidence: thousands of people standing in a line that looked like it led to a miracle, just to touch some fabric. That was the CJ Hendry Flower Market. It wasn't just another Instagram backdrop. It was a 120-foot-long greenhouse filled with 100,000 plush flowers that felt like a hug for your brain.
Honestly? It shouldn't have worked. A giant tent filled with stuffed toys? It sounds like a child’s birthday party gone rogue. But CJ Hendry has this specific magic. She takes things that should be "low art" and makes them feel like a high-stakes cultural moment.
The $5 Bouquet That Broke the Internet
Most art shows tell you "don't touch." Hendry's Flower Market told you to grab a basket. The concept was simple: walk into a massive, custom-built greenhouse, marvel at the 100,000 hand-crafted plush blooms, and pick your own. The first one was free. Every flower after that? Five bucks.
People lost their minds.
By the time the second iteration—Flower Market 2.0—hit Rockefeller Center in September 2025, the hype had reached a fever pitch. We’re talking three-hour wait times. Why? Because in a world where a "real" CJ Hendry drawing can cost $50,000 and has a five-year waiting list, a $5 plush lily is a steal. It’s a democratic entry point into a world that usually feels locked behind a velvet rope.
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Why Clé de Peau Beauté Joined the Party
This wasn't just a solo mission. Hendry partnered with the luxury skincare brand Clé de Peau Beauté. Usually, brand collaborations feel forced, kinda like an ad you can't skip. This was different. The whole exhibit was inspired by the botanicals in their "The Serum"—specifically the Radiant Lily.
- The Radiant Lily: The "hero" flower of the show, pure white and elegant.
- The Roosevelt Tribute: Since the original show was at FDR Four Freedoms State Park, Hendry included yellow Eleanor Roosevelt Roses and red roses.
- The Variety: Sunflowers, tulips, dahlias, and even some "whimsy" flowers that don't actually exist in nature.
The Shift From Pop-Up to Permanent
If you missed the traveling circus of the Flower Market, don't panic. The biggest news in the Hendry-verse isn't a temporary tent anymore. In November 2025, she finally did what everyone wanted: she opened a permanent Flower Shop in SoHo.
Located at 172 Prince Street, this isn't a gallery. It’s a retail space that mimics a classic NYC flower stand, but nothing here needs water. The prices jumped slightly—$10 per flower instead of $5—but considering they never wilt, it's still the cheapest way to own a piece of her vision.
The shop is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s a small, white-canopied sanctuary where you can escape the SoHo chaos and just... squeeze a plush peony.
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Why It Actually Matters
We spend so much time looking at screens. Hendry’s work is the antidote. Whether it’s her hyper-realistic drawings that look like photos or her 50-foot inflatable pools in the desert, she forces you to deal with the physical world.
The CJ Hendry Flower Market was a manipulation of environment. She took a cold, architectural monument like the Louis Kahn-designed park on Roosevelt Island and softened it. Literally.
"The garden is somehow a personal kind of control of nature," Kahn once said. Hendry took that control and turned it into something you could put in a tote bag.
What Most People Get Wrong About CJ Hendry
People think she’s just an "Instagram artist." That’s a mistake. While she’s a genius at social media, her technical skill is terrifying. She uses a "scribbling" technique with colored pencils to create images that look more real than reality.
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In the 2024 Flower Market, she displayed 12 original drawings alongside the plushies. They were massive, framed, and perfect. In the 2025 Rockefeller version, the drawings were actually left out because the sidewalk was too uneven to hang them safely. It shows that she cares more about the integrity of the work than just checking a box.
How to Get Your Hands on the Flowers Now
If you aren't in New York, getting a piece of the CJ Hendry Flower Market is a bit of a hunt.
- The SoHo Shop: This is your best bet. 172 Prince Street. It's the only place with a constant supply.
- Resale Markets: Check eBay or specialty art groups. Prices for the original 2024 "Radiant Lily" have already started to climb.
- Online Drops: Keep an eye on her Instagram (@cj_hendry). She occasionally does online releases of "bouquets" (usually sets of 27 flowers for around $135), but they sell out in minutes.
- Top of the Rock: During the 2025 run, there was an exclusive 28th flower only available to people who bought a ticket to the observation deck. Those are now rare collector items.
Actionable Insights for Art Lovers
Don't treat this like a typical museum trip. If you visit the SoHo shop or a future pop-up, go early. Even with a permanent store, the "limited edition" colors disappear fast.
Understand that this is a "gateway drug" to art collecting. You might start with a $10 plush flower, but you’ll find yourself falling down the rabbit hole of her larger installations, like Epilogue (where she dropped millions of paper petals in a London church) or Plaid.
The CJ Hendry Flower Market proved that art doesn't have to be serious to be significant. It can be soft, it can be $5, and it can be something you share with your grandmother or your toddler. In a city that’s often hard and cynical, a field of 100,000 plush flowers is exactly what we needed.
Check the official CJ Hendry Studio website for the most current inventory at the Prince Street location before you make the trek.