A couple of weeks ago we returned to teaching (after many months of lockdown and restrictions which meant we had to close) and our first course back was PROFESSIONAL FLORISTY. Not only was it great to be back teaching but even more exciting was that we were in our new location - Lansdown Stores, Bath. On this first course we were joined by six students, all coming from different backgrounds, all wanting to learn ‘the everything’ in order to change their current careers and become Florists. For those of you that don’t know what our PROFESSIONAL FLORISTRY course is all about, we thought you might like to know exactly what we and the students get up to in these two weeks.
It's a bit of a long one, as we pack quite a lot into this course. You might want to grab a cuppa before you sit down and read…
DAY ONE - INTROS, KOKEDAMA & HAND TIED BOUQUETS
It was a busy and exciting first morning, with getting to know the group, with introductions, chat about floristry equipment, health and safety, what they should expect from the course etc
With the introductions out of the way, we eased our students in gently by getting their hands dirty and making a Kokedama, which is a hanging moss covered plant. Starting as we meant to go on, we then got them to photograph their work and work out the costings: how much all the materials cost, how long it took to make, adding a mark up and profit and coming up with an amount that would need to be charged to the client. We start the process on day one of talking about the business behind the flowers and their creations. The students photograph and price everything they make: for reference, for the future, for instagram, for their portfolios and for their websites. By the end of the course this process will have become second nature.
After a busy and slightly giddy morning we introduced the students to what is probably one of the hardest techniques for any new floristry student - the art of spiralling a hand tied bouquet! With the most beautiful British flowers from Sarah @comptongardenflowers and some technical training – our students totally nailed it. Their bouquets were awesome! After completing their bouquets we had a gift wrapping session. We also discussed and explored different ways of wrapping, keeping the flowers hydrated, delivery, and different styles of bouquets and how they might be presented.
DAY 2 - MEADOWS & COMPOTE ARRANGEMENTS
This day was all about flowers in containers. How to arrange them in a sustainable way using different techniques in order to achieve certain designs. The students found the meadows freeing as they were quick and easy to put together, whilst the compote arrangements were a little trickier as they had to consider many elements of floristry including scale, shape, texture, colour and balance. Afterwards the students explored the school building and came across some inspiring places for their work to be photographed. - it was just as well as they were to be joined by Emma @heartfuloftea for their photography workshop the very next day.
DAY 3 - MEDITATION, PHOGRAPHY WORKSHOP & VASES
First thing in the morning, the lovely Madeline @soulspa.uk came to visit and delivered one of her amazing meditation sessions, tailored specifically for our Professional Floristry students. We sat outside in our lovely courtyard space and Madeline led us off into a meditation journey. Her sessions are such a great way of getting the students to leave behind their inhibitions and visualise their tasks ahead. The emphasis in these sessions is about helping the students to believe in themselves, to be prepared to make mistakes, and about really getting the most out of the course and realising their potential. 20 minutes to sit and be in the moment was the perfect start to the day.
Feeling totally relaxed and inspired we moved on to our photography workshop with The Bath Flower School resident photographer Emma @heartfulloftea. In Emma’s session she teaches the students photography basics, how to get the best out of their camera (or phone mostly) and how to take successful images of their floristry work so that their images will be Instagram worthy. The students really enjoy this session as they get to see immediate results. It’s an important skill to be able to capture and share images of their beautiful arrangements. We (including Emma) were really blown away by the standard of the photography the students achieved.
In the Afternoon it was back to flowers. This time the students got to go bigger than they had previously by making large vase arrangements. They all really enjoyed the freedom of this session. It was lovely seeing their individual styles starting to come through and their confidence starting to really grow. As teachers it’s always fascinating to see everyone’s individual interpretations and see six very different creations made with their chosen selection of flowers.
DAY 4 - SYMPATHY FLOWERS
Today we were joined by the rather wonderful independent funeral director Catherine Miller. Catherine talked with our students about the process of how to best deal with funeral directors and grieving families. The students and Catherine had an open chat about funerals as a celebration and how flowers don’t need to conform to set traditions. This is such a refreshing and enlightening session with a few tears and some laughs too.
With funerals becoming more and more progressive, we showed the students that flowers need to reflect this. In this session, they did just that. The students made graceful, sustainable, naturally styled, interesting, casket arrangements.
DAY 5 - SOCIAL MEDIA WORKSHOP & LIVING WREATHS
We handed over the reins to the lovely Lou @spark_social for the morning session. She chatted with our students about INSTA’s ins and outs and advised them how best to use the social platform to elevate their business. One of the biggest takeaways from the session was the importance of them sharing their stories and bringing their real selves and personality to their accounts, in order to stand out on INSTAGRAM. Thank you Lou for a really insightful workshop and inspiring our students!! This session is delivered in such a way that whatever level of understanding you have of social media, you will come away with new skills, tips, tricks and an understanding of how best to use it to your advantage.
Social media covered, we then moved onto make living wreaths - there’s something very therapeutic about getting your hands dirty and working with the earthiness of the moss and plants. The making of living wreaths is a really versatile technique to learn as they can be adapted to any season and used in many different ways from funerals to gifts to table centres.
DAY 6 - CONDITIONING, BRANDING & MARKETING WORKSHOP AND BRANDING BOARDS
Learning about conditioning is not the most creative part of our intensive 2 week course, but possibly one of the most important jobs for any florist. We talked to the students about the correct conditioning methods and how important it is in order to get the best out of flowers and foliage. Knowing these techniques and understanding flower care and the different methods needed for different varieties of flowers, is essential for any florist. Of course, not forgetting the importance of having immaculately clean buckets and vases to maximise the lifespan of flowers.
Another day, another expert!! In fact, today we were joined by not one, but two lovely experts…for branding we had Kate @koopdesgn and for marketing there was Jo @jo_mcdiarmrd. It was their first time at the flower school teaching on our PROFESSIONAL FLORISTRY course. Their workshop completely fired up the students, giving them endless ideas and possibilities about how to develop their brands and how best to market them. Thank you Jo and Kate for the informative and inspiring workshop. Afterwards the students were buzzing with ideas.@soulspa.uk
Following on from the branding and marketing workshop, we tasked our students to create business mood boards. Yes, they got to cut and stick interesting images on a board – and yes, it does slightly feel like being back at primary school.
Being at the start of their floral journey, we know that their heads are constantly whirling with thoughts about the style of flowers they want to produce, their type of customer, their floral dreams. By putting these cut out images onto a board, it gives the students something tangible to represent all of those thoughts. Therefore, this cutting and pasting is such a worthwhile task, as it enables the students to visualise their style and their brand.
DAY 7 - BRIDAL BOUQUETS & MARKETING AND BUSINESS TICK LIST
Today our students made the MOST beautiful naturally styled bridal bouquets. It was as if their mood boards from the previous day had come to life. Each bouquet really did represent each student's individual style. A big thank you to student @kirstygisbo for putting on the wedding dress. She did a great job at being the bride.
DAY 8 - WEDDING THEORY, WIRING…BUTTONHOLES & FLOWER CROWNS
We kicked off the day by chatting about everything that is required in order to successfully complete a wedding from beginning to end. From the initial enquiry, the consultation, the design and pricing, the ordering of flowers, the making of all the arrangements and pieces, the logistics and delivering, timings, set up and take down. Phew!!
In the afternoon we moved onto wiring, which is always a bit of a Marmite moment (you either love it. Or hate it) Wiring is fiddly and time consuming but extremely satisfying when it all comes together at the end. We taught the students how to make flower crowns, which they made for themselves to wear. We always jokingly say to the students that their flower crowns are a reflection of their inner personality. You can make your own mind up.
FINAL DAY - INSTALLATION
On their last day of this fast paced jam packed course, the students put all their newly learned skills and techniques into practice and created this beauty of an installation. Absolutely amazing!! And so perfectly timed with it being May Day. We took over the bandstand in one of Bath's lovely parks (which also serves as a wedding venue) and decorated it with spring offerings including some gorgeous white cherry blossom. This exercise was a great way for the students to learn hands on about how to organise and carry out a real event in real time. We had many admiring glances and lovely comments and conversations with passing residents and tourists which of course gave the 6 students a great boost of confidence and feeling of achievement.
Celebration…. At the end of the day, the last day, we had a celebration back at the flower school. We drank bubbles and ate some cake, celebrated all the achievements of the past two weeks and had our final time together. This is always a bitter sweet occasion as over the previous two weeks the students and us teachers have got to know each other very well and have got used to seeing each other everyday. We feel proud of their achievements but are sad to see them go. However this is not the end of their learning or their relationship with us and other students. We set up a flower ‘Florum’ where all previous attendees of The Bath Flower School can chat, swap ideas, ask for help, advertise work and support each other. Also as part of the Professional Floristry course, the students are invited back (at a time that is relevant to their needs) to see us at the school for a half day one to one business mentoring session
And there you have it…A day by day account of our PROFESSIONAL FLORISTY course. If you would like to join us on one of these courses or if you have any questions. Please CONTACT US...we will be more than happy to talk to you.