Early Orchid Shows

Before orchids became a commodity sold at every grocery store, those exotic plants were publicized through orchid shows. One of the earliest in southern California was the Santa Barbara International Orchid Show, established in 1945.  Helen Pastushin, an accomplished orchid grower and early member of the MOS, designed the MOS entries in the Santa Barbara show during the late 1960’s and all through the 1970’s. 

In the mid-1980s, Georg and Gerlinde Stelzner moved from the San Fernando Valley to Malibu and joined the MOS.  Gerlinde had been designing displays for the San Fernando Valley Orchid Society for several years, and soon became involved in similar endeavors for the MOS.  Since about 1985, Gerlinde has been the chief designer of MOS displays at several different orchid shows including the annual Santa Barbara orchid shows and similar shows held in the New Otani hotel.  In 2001, Dr. Birute Anne Vileisis assumed the position of designing our MOS displays.