On my recent trip to the US, I stopped by Flower Girl NYC in New York. Owner and renowned florist Denise Porcaro and I broadcast live online from her shop to share insights into the Floristry industry and to create their signature arrangement, Flower Girl. You can watch the recording below.
And here’s a few of my favourite photos from my time there.
We had the pleasure of getting to know Carly in our classroom during 2016. Her caring nature that so perfectly suited her to caring for animals has been translated into the Floristry industry and is now being experienced by her fortunate customers. Enjoy learning more about this special lady and florist, as we introduce you to Carly Young..
What did you do before studying floristry?
I have always been fascinated by the natural world and grew up in country Victoria where my spare time was spent hanging out with our numerous pets (Dad was a local vet), playing in the garden, visiting the beach and horse riding through the countryside. This upbringing led me to study Zoology, Botany and Environmental Conservation at university. I then spent the next decade advocating and caring for both native and domestic animals, working mainly within the animal welfare industry.
What inspired you to make the change to floristry?
My Mum was a keen gardener and also into handcrafts. From a young age, she taught me and my siblings to make and value handmade items and gifts. I always enjoyed art and creative activities but never thought it was something I could legitimately make an income from. At the beginning of last year, my husband and I found an opportunity to move from Melbourne back to regional Victoria. At this time, I felt I was ready to embrace a possible career change and floristry seemed like the perfect way to explore my creative side.
Why did you choose Bloom College?
I compared lots of different floristry courses but Bloom offered the most flexibility and also seemed to be a lot more up to speed with current trends and styles. I started out doing some workshops and then signed up for the Flower Basics course. I was hooked! When the five week course ended, I really missed going to class each week and knew I wanted to learn as much as possible about floristry. At this point, signing up for the Floristry Career Course was a no-brainer and one of the best decisions I have made. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I was entering into a community offering ongoing advice and support, access to expert teachers and mentors, plus I have made some wonderful new Flower Friends.
What does working with flowers give you that your previous career/s did not?
Floristry perfectly links my love of nature with creativity and a chance to make people happy every day. I get to explore different colours and textures, look forward to the constantly changing seasons and enjoy working with clients to make their floral concepts a reality. I also have the flexibility to work from home which means I get to hang out with my fur kids a lot more!
Tell us about your business, what are your core products?
Currently I enjoy making and delivering weekly posy jars, visiting the fresh flower markets, or local growers to choose seasonal and Australian grown flowers. I aim to provide high quality products, while making things easy for my customers, offering three sizes to choose from plus a range of luxury, locally made add on gifts. I also specialise in making terrariums and kokedamas (moss balls) as a unique way to display indoor plants. This year I will be offering bespoke wedding and events services, customised to each couple’s distinctive style and relationship.
What is your vision for the future of your business and or the industry?
I would love to see the floristry industry move towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. This is something I strive for in my own business. I also enjoy partnering with other local businesses, with a strong emphasis on supporting locally made products.
Who inspires you?
I was so fortunate to have scored one of my floristry idols as a teacher while at Bloom College. Alice from She’s a Wildflower does beautiful work and has built her business on the strength of her talents and social media profile. I was thrilled to be offered an internship with Alice at the end of my course and was privileged to work alongside her and my classmate Prue (aka Miss Thistle) to produce florals for several weddings – including one I’ll never forget, which had a grungy, carnival theme! The additional skills and confidence I gained from completing the internship were invaluable.
I’m also inspired by my Nan’s gardening skills, but unfortunately I seem to have missed out on the green thumb genes. Luckily she lets me raid her garden whenever I like.
What is your preferred design style? or flowers?
I love natural, loose and flowing styles, although my tendency towards perfectionism has made this a challenge to master. I enjoy foraging for unusual foliage or other botanical pieces to add to my designs. I also like to get a bit crafty and add personal touches to my work. For example, I recently handmade around 70 tiny toadstool figurines from glow-in-the-dark polymer clay, to use in my terrariums.
My favourite flowers change with the seasons, but right now I am obsessed with dahlias. I’ll look forward to the beautiful foliage in Autumn, then hellebores in Winter, poppies and ranunculus in Spring.
Contact details
Blue Wren Floristry is based out of my home studio in Ballarat, Victoria.
hello@bluewrenfloristry.com
Instagram: @little.blue.wren
Facebook: Blue Wren Floristry
Pinterest: @bluewrenflorist
From School teacher to Florist, meet the lovely Alice founder of Love Alice & Co. An inspiring person with a big heart and a vision to match.
Floral Stylist: Alice Hall
Love Alice & CO.
What did you do before studying floristry?
Before studying floristry, I worked as a Primary School Teacher within multicultural schools across Melbourne. I had the privilege of facilitating an environmental program for children on Heron Island and have also worked in Recruiting and Business Development for leading organisations in the Health Sector. I have always enjoyed working with people and the opportunity to create hand crafted designs.
What inspired you to make the change to floristry?
My childhood is filled with an abundance of fond memories of the flowers growing at our family home. We had the most beautiful garden window in the kitchen, which looked out on to an arch in the front garden, with miniature pink roses cascading and meandering over it. The intricate detail of each petal and the vibrant colours that Mother Nature displays is breath taking. My Grandfather is a spectacular water colour artist and often paints various types of flowers. My family, are a very large and special part of my journey in launching Love Alice & CO.
I was inspired to make the change to floristry because I see flowers wherever I travel and am continually brainstorming new and exciting colour combinations and textures. When I personally deliver a bridal bouquet to the bride and see the look on her face, when I facilitate a workshop and hear someone say, “I can do this” and when the whole team stops for a moment, after we have set up for a wedding or special event, it is the best feeling, knowing we have made such a positive impact in the lives of others.
When people walk in to the Love Alice & CO. store, they say, “This is my space of zen,” or “It is so relaxing and I feel so calm in here.” “I am so happy we have something this beautiful within walking distance, they say with a big smile.”
Why did you choose Bloom College?
I chose Bloom College as I had called many leading florists across Melbourne and all of them had spoken extremely highly of Bloom College. I knew I was very passionate about weddings and events and they highly recommended gaining contemporary experience at a private college such as Bloom, as the course is structured in a way that allows you to learn state of the art techniques that are relevant and up to date with what is happening in the industry right now. I also liked that you can take your floral creations home with you to practice with and learn about their vase life, what flowers are suitable for corporate arrangements, etc.
What does working with flowers give you that your previous career/s did not?
Working with flowers gives you the freedom to be creative every day. Flowers nourish the soul and there are so many areas you can be involved in such as weddings, events, consultations, creating corporate arrangements, shop management, accounting, business development, marketing, ordering, selecting from the local markets, travelling to beautiful destinations world wide and learning about the meaning of each flower, interior design, the principles of colour, texture, line, composition, movement, shape, balance, mood and meeting so many extraordinary people.
Tell us about your business, what are your core products?
Love Alice & CO. specialises in weddings and events. Our store focuses on creating a personalised experience for our customers, where people can choose their favourite wrapping paper and the colour of ribbon or lace. We are a bespoke floral design studio so our clients can pre order their favourite types of flowers or colours of their choice and we will order them in especially.
What is your vision for the future of your business and or the industry?
My vision for the future of my business is to gain government funding for a school based incursion so children can learn the art of floristry as part of their curriculum.
I am also very passionate about supporting our Victorian growers in the floristry industry as the quality is superb, the flowers are not in transit for long so customers are able to enjoy their flowers for longer and it promotes a healthier work environment without the nasty chemicals.
Who inspires you?
Family are my inspiration. My amazing partner will often assist me in conditioning every single flower and remove all thorns from roses. Our family have donated vintage furniture made curtains for my store and often assist with deliveries. My Uncle made a custom water trough and also a beam across the ceiling of the store to attach garlands to. My Mum is an absolute angel. She comes to every single wedding to help set up, pack down and is an inspiration!
My family have instilled the values in me that I hope to pass on to our children one day: “Everything and anything is possible if you dare to dream, believe it can happen and take steps each day towards that goal”.
What is your preferred design style?
My preferred design style is wild and rambling, as though freshly picked from the garden, featuring textures which are unique and unexpected. I enjoy foraging across Victoria to hand select each individual bloom to ensure the highest quality and include elements which are special to my clients, such as the flowers their grandmother wore in her hair on their wedding day, or the flowers which symbolise the two cultures of the bride and groom. Love Alice & CO. is all about the details and creating from the heart.
When I was researching different fonts for my logo, the font I loved the most stood out due to the beautiful ampersand. I checked the name of our logo font and it is actually titled ‘Alice.’
Instagram: @lovealiceandco
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lovealiceandco
Phone: 0478 808 292
Email: create@lovealiceandco.com.au
Store address: 18 / 37-39 Albert Road, Melbourne 3004
We’ll be at Stall C01, where we’ll also be running our super popular competition yet again – where you’ll have the chance to WIN A FREE FLOWER BASICS COURSE!! Our 5-week Flower Basics course is one of our most in demand floristry courses – and regularly sells out way ahead of time. It’s perfect for beginners – or basically just about anyone who loves flowers!
You’ll automatically be entered into the competition when you come along to our stand, take a selfie, and upload it onto Facebook and/or Instagram. Make sure you tag us @bloomcollege, and also use #MIFGS and #bloomcollege.
The lucky winner will be drawn on Tuesday 22nd March. Please see below for full Terms and Conditions. By entering this competition you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions.
Terms and Conditions: The winner is entitled to a free 5-week Flower Basics Course at Bloom College. The 5 weeks must be done in succession (no day, time or location class transfers are possible). The prize must be used within 6 months, and can be only be used at our Port Melbourne location (subject to availability). The course is transferrable to another person.
The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) is almost here – and Bloom College are super excited to be a part of it once again!
The theme is ‘Discover an Inner City Oasis’, and it’s being held from Wednesday March 16th to Sunday March 20th.
New this year is ‘Gardens by Twilight’, which is being held on Friday March 18th 6:00 – 9:30pm.
Along with everything else that’s going on (from the ever popular Great Hall of Flowers, to the Sculpture competition, to the Show Gardens) you’ll also have plenty of opportunities to see Bloom College:
Bloom teachers will be on hand to chat about all things flowers – and you’ll also have a chance to WIN a FLOWER BASICS COURSE with Bloom College!
Or
It’s being held on the Main Stage on Friday 18th at 1:30 – 2:15pm AND Saturday 19th at 1:00 – 1:45pm. Yvette and Rebecca have plenty to share with you!
To book your tickets, and for further information head to the MIFGS website.
DON’T MISS OUT: We’ll have 10 MIFGS tickets to give away – stay tuned for competition details.
At Bloom College Flower Design School we create Floristry Courses and Flower Workshops for beginners, the hobbyist and those wanting to pursue floristry as a career. Our classes are a place where participants have fun, meet new friends and find their inner creativity. No prior experience is necessary, and we have a range of Courses and Workshops available across our three locations: Port Melbourne, Collingwood and Geelong.
Tesselaar Tulip Festival is now on!
In it’s 62nd year of being held, this festival is back again – bigger and better than before!
What you can do while there:
Special events for you to enjoy:
Tesselaar Tulip Festival is open 10am until 5pm daily from 10th September until 6th October, 2015, and is being held at The Tulip Farm, 357 Monbulk Rd, Silvan, Victoria.
For tickets and further information head to their website.
[Image Credit: http://tulipfestival.com.au/]
At Bloom College Flower Design School we create Floristry Courses and Flower Workshops for beginners, the hobbyist and those wanting to pursue floristry as a career.
Our classes are a place where participants have fun, meet new friends and find their inner creativity. No prior experience is necessary, and we have a range of Courses and Workshops available across our three locations: Port Melbourne, Collingwood and Geelong.
I was very privileged to recently attend a workshop, thanks to Bloom College for sending me! It was put together by Wedded Wonderland, held at the beautiful Intercontinental Sydney, in the Double Bay Grand Ballroom. They invited the very well-known and well regarded florist, Jeff Leatham, to visit us down here in Australia – and he accepted!
The presentation by Jeff was magical. He was engaging, personable, inclusive, and very funny. His stories of celebrity brides, large installations, and his involvement with the Four Seasons Hotel in Paris, were captivating.
He also did a practical demonstration of some of his most popular designs, using beautiful orchids, peonies, roses, callas, alliums and magnolia branches. His signature designs demonstrate bold groupings of the one botanical material, colour blocking and angling of bouquets into beautiful vases. He also enjoys submerging blooms beneath the water line to create bold magnification and dominance to the flower variety.
Going to events such as this really makes me realise how lucky and blessed I am to be a part of this fantastic industry. As Florists, we get to be creative, tactile, work with beautiful botanicals and engage with clients who share this love of flowers with us. I also love being able to pass these skills, knowledge and love of flowers on to all of my students too, and a big part of this enjoyment is that I get to watch them bloom into fantastic florists.
Jeff’s story from a country upbringing in Utah, to an International star of floristry that is globally recognised, and also the florist to so many well-known celebrities – shows us all the excitement and wonder that flowers bring to people all over the world. It also demonstrates the increased importance flowers now have on us as individuals. The demand for large scale floral installations in weddings and events is now evident in the work we do, and shows how the floristry industry is evolving into an important design addition at any event, party, corporate setting or wedding.
I highly recommend attending one of Jeff’s demonstrations if you ever have the chance. It’s also worthwhile keeping an eye out for any other professional development opportunities similar to this that you can attend. It’s important at any stage of your floral journey to do this – whether you are only just starting one of our floristry courses, or have been in the floristry industry for a while. It’s the perfect way to keep your knowledge up to date, and your excitement of the floristry industry blooming.
Rebecca Findlay is a Teacher at Bloom College. Here at Bloom College we value and pro-actively support the learning and continual growth of our staff, and as part of this we were pleased to make possible Rebecca’s attendance at this workshop.
EXCITING NEWS!!: Bloom College is developing some upcoming events with well-known designers – and we’d love for you to attend! To stay in touch with us, and to find out about such events, please sign up to our newsletter, or keep an eye on our Facebook page.