At the beginning of this month we, along with 7 other gals, spent the day gettin' flowery with the babes that are Ellie and Anna over at the Flower Appreciation Society and we LOVED it!
The day started off with coffee and pastries (YES) along with an introduction of each person, a little bit about themselves, how they'd got to where they were in life thus far and where they saw their floral journey heading. Being self employed, I spend a lot of my time on my own, so it was really lovely to be surrounded by other girls that share my love for the floral industry and it was great to see so much ambition around the same table!
Next up, we had a lovely demo of how to make a loose, natural hand tied bouquet by the lovely Ellie. Then it was our turn to get hands on with some blooms and to create our own bouquet... whadd'ya think of mine?
Shortly after we were shown how to make a bespoke floral crown - something I had never done before so I thoroughly enjoyed getting stuck into this one! We also had a lovely photographer on hand to capture all of the behind the scenes, as well as get some gorgeous shots of the finished products hence the amazing images in this post!
Flower crowns were follow by the most incredible lunch, coincidentally just across the road from the studio at Sweet Thursday if you're about in Hackney looking for some grub, check them out for some seriously good pizza! Lunch also gave us a good chance to get to know each other better and it was so fascinating to learn what brought these other girls to flowers, as well as to share and learn from our experiences so far!
After lunch, Anna showed us all how to make a free form vase arrangement, without using oasis - which I found particularly useful as I much prefer the natural style it has in comparison to a very precisely placed oasis design! We then had the opportunities to get hands on again and make our own arrangements, which were followed again by some pro shots in their own home-made studio! Seriously though, just look at that natural light!
Last but definitely not least, we all sat back at the demo area and watched/guided Ellie in making the most beautiful hanging installation. This was fascinating to watch so useful to learn the mechanics of such an arrangement as I've often seen incredible pieces and wondered just HOW they managed it!
We left with a copy of Anna and Ellie's book which contains an A-Z of all things floral - a must-read for those new to the industry and wanting to soak up every piece of floral info they can!
As a little side note, it was extra special that almost all of the blooms we got to grips with where home grown by the girls or at least British. This has definitely spurred me on to make sure I source British flowers as much as physically possible when creating my own designs!
Heres some more photos from the day for you to enjoy, and if you're ever considering attending a floral workshop yourself and are put off by the price, or worried that people will be better than you, please DONT fret! I was so conscious of being inexperienced or 'not as good' as the others but you quickly realise that you are surrounded by nothing but support and like minded people - so just go for it!
Speak soon,
Elise xo