Take advantage of the current rattan furniture trend and learn how to create a stunning tropical arrangement at our Tropical Blooms workshop!
Utilise the last of the summer blooms and make summer last all year round by creating contemporary interpretations of this staid classic.
Think St Tropez, think Barbados, think drinking Barcardi cocktails in Cuba!! Book through the link!
This stunning design & 
is from the style makers @onekingslane NY
Flashback to a few weeks ago when our classroom was buzzing with activity with all our Flower Basics students!
We absolutely love our work benches which are what is called an “Ikea Hack”! The table tops are from Ikea, then the legs have been custom fitted to make the height correct for standing and arranging as well as having wheels added to the bottom for movability. Then a nice thick coat of gloss added to the wood to make it more robust and resistant to scratches and water damage!
Thanks to our lovely teacher Natalie’s husband Cos for sorting those out for us!! X
Dahlias really are a magnificent flower. Adding colour, and body with their many layers of petals. Their exquisite beauty comes from the daisy family.
Originally from Mexico and parts of south America, the symbolism of the Dahlia can vary depending on the colour.
Some common meanings of the Dahlia flower include:
The Victorians used the Dahlia to signify a lasting bond and commitment between two people, so Dahlia’s are absolutely perfect for wedding bouquets, or perhaps an anniversary gift!
R.I.P. Karl Lagerfeld. Love him or hate (his politics), it is undeniable the mark Karl Lagerfeld has left on the fashion design community and arguably, the complete design zeitgeist of the 20th & 21st century.
Always cutting edge but never forgetting the founding principles of Coco Chanel herself, Lagerfeld became Creative Director of Chanel in 1983 up until his death yesterday.
Lagerfeld’s body of work starting from just age 21 in 1954 is prolific. Here we see Lagerfeld using the beauty of flowers as inspiration for his Chanel SS15 collection.
Take a moment today to have a look back at some of Lagerfeld’s work and gain inspiration from a designer who was inspired by so much!
There are 173 Banksia species, and all but one occur naturally only in Australia. The flower heads are made up of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of tiny individual flowers grouped together in pairs.
The colour of the flower heads usually ranges from yellow to red, browns and orange. Many species flower over autumn and winter so they should be becoming available soon!
Banksia’s are a very rich source of nectar, and indigenous Australians would use them as a sweet boost! Either sucking the nectar straight from the flower or soaking it in water for an energy drink!
Don’t forget about these beauties when creating an arrangement, they add unique colours and textures both with the flower and the leaves!
We had a question recently about completing the Career Change Course online.
The Career Change Course is a fully immersive, hands on, classroom focussed course. So it is not currently available as an online option. However, we do have many specially curated online courses for those who can not make it into the classroom, or live outside of Melbourne.
The Art Of Floristry contains the most comprehensive and comparatively similar video instructed arrangements to the Career Change Course. You will learn all the basics such as vase arrangements, table designs & bouquets as well as more advanced wedding floristry asymmetric and organic designs. We encourage students completing courses online, who are looking to work as a florist to also check out our online business courses. Our Getting Started course is an excellent introduction to this learning style and is a bargain at only $22! It will give you a taste of what you can then go onto learn as part of our 3 Week MINI Course.
We also have smaller online floristry courses such as Bloom Basics & Flower Fundamentals to give you a taste of online learning!!
If you have any questions about any of these courses, don’t hesitate to contact us via email at enquiries@bloomcollege.com.au 💚
The Lotus flower has a deep connection with many religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Egyptology & Bahai.
In Buddhism, they represent purity of mind, speech & body. The Lotus grows in muddy water and blossoms at the top, still attached to it’s long stem in the mud below.
Lotus look so gorgeous on their own in a simple bowl/vase on your desk or bedside, and are a great reminder to be present and breathe.
It was an absolute delight having Andrea in our Career Change classroom in 2018. Andrea had already started her floristry business before coming to Bloom and since graduation Andrea has been moving forward in her floristry career in leaps & bounds! We are so thankful for her giving up her time to tell us about her floristry journey…..and her pooch Prince!
Before studying floristry I travelled quite a lot and lived overseas. Prior to that I completed a Diploma in Interior Design at RMIT, I always knew I wanted to do something on the creative side career wise.
I grew up in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne in Blackburn for most of my childhood, we then moved overseas to South Korea for 3 years (yes I know crazy right!?). By 10 years old we came back and settled in Croydon North, our family home where I still live. I will be moving to Croydon Hills with my beautiful partner very soon! So excited as I’ve wanted to live in Croydon Hills ever since I can remember. I love this area, green everywhere you turn and so many cute cafes. I have so many favourite things! Don’t we all!? But to name a few… my dog Prince, he brightens every single day, he’s a gorgeous border collie we like to go for walks in the reserve behind our house where I can admire all the greenery and nature while he can prance around! I love the beach it heals me and is my happy place and gives me clarity, as well as the Warrandyte river. Outdoors is a big yes for me! Ahhhh I could go on and on, just going to a cafe for breaky with my partner, mum and brother is gold, spending time with the fam, travelling and of course creating. Floristry is my therapy, my creative getaway and other happy place. And lastly, chocolate chocolate & more chocolate.
I have been saying for quite a few years that I really wanted to complete a floristry course, years!!! It was just about finding the right time and letting everything fall into place, which it did! I worked at a cute local florist around my area for a few years while completing my Interior Design course but thought nothing of it in terms of my future in floristry until I started to travel, see things, the beauty of nature and stepping into every florist shop front I came across. All my experiences have lead me to this floristry path.
I chose Bloom College because it seemed like the perfect fit. I would go to the Melbourne Flower Show year after year and would see the Bloom College stand every time and loved the work they did and kept looking into it the courses they provided online. I saw that they offered a 6 month course which I thought was great, not too short and not too long! Their course structure appealed to me as well as their style and the hands on part of it too. So, I had to do it! I had enough of umming and aahhhing, it’s the best choice I ever made! Woohoo!
Happiness, therapy, satisfaction & a challenge. The four best and most important things for me.
I currently have my own business, I started it in March 2018 right before I started the course. I already had some experience and thought it would be great to progress along the the way while studying with Bloom College. I don’t specialise in anything particular at the moment I’m giving everything a go to see what I love the most. At the moment though I am loving weddings/events, installs and workshops!
I would absolutely love to have my own studio and shopfront that is my absolute dream and major goal!
All creatives inspire me, I will spend about 30 minutes each day on social media admiring the work of florists, artists and all creatives really!
Organic & flowy.
Find Andrea online here, here & here!
This variety has softer leaves but still has the beautiful red berries – perfect for using in your Christmas themed arrangements this year.
Waratah
Spring is the only time of the year we get to see Waratah, which is second to why they are so special to me. First is their immense beauty. Early in the season, we see them available in Red and soon we will have the choice of stunning pinks and creamy whites.
Although Waratah are in the Proteaceae family, they are native Australia with some varieties growing in Southern NSW, Victoria, and Tasmania. Many Proteaceace varieties are native to South Africa and some native to Australia such as Grevillia, Banksia, Hakea & Macadamia . Whilst the ever popular Protea varieties including the King Protea varieties are native to South Africa yet do grow extremely well here.
The botanical name is Telopea Speciosissima. Thankfully we use their indigenous name ‘Waratah’
Telopea is derived from the Greek ‘telopos‘, meaning ‘seen from afar’, and refers to the distance from which the crimson flowers are visible. The name speciosissima is the superlative of the Latin adjective ‘speciosus‘, meaning ‘beautiful’.
Understandably the artists amongst the Early European settlers fell in love with the Waratah and it was heavily used in artworks.
Enjoy Waratah in your home while they last,
Yvette