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
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!
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!
Yvette was recently asked by Wellness Daily to offer her top 5 favourite stress relieving creative hobbies. Follow the link to read on; https://www.wellnessdaily.com.au/balance/5-creative-hobbies-help-alleviate-stress-busy-career-woman
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.
MEET CATHERINE MC GRATH,
Catherine joined the Bloom College Career Change Course in March 2017 and has been creating beautiful results. Here’s an insight into Catherine’s journey so far. You can follow her on social media to watch her progression into her new career.
Before studying floristry I had been a Nuclear Medicine Technologist at the Alfred Hospital for about 12 years.
I’m a mum of 3 (6yrs, 2yrs & 1yr old), I have been living in Point Cook for 10yrs now & living in Melbourne for 17yrs. I grew up in a very small rural town called Gerangamete – in between Colac and Apollo Bay. My parents house is on acreage and my mum was always a very keen gardener, so I was lucky enough to have grown up surrounded by a large garden and lots of flowers! My mum has also been an amazing cake decorator for as long as I can remember – her cakes with icing & fresh flowers have always been an inspiration for me, its fair to say that my family have always been on the arty side. I had always loved art subjects throughout high school, but changed in a science direction when going to Uni. Having been down the science path & no longer being so happy to go into my job everyday – I had just felt the need to get back to my creative side, so after a few years of thinking about it, I decided to make the change. The thought of working with flowers everyday just makes me very happy!
I first looked into Bloom College as I was originally planning to study in Geelong – upon looking into the course, it looked great & just felt like the right fit for me.
Eventually I would like to have a floristry business of my own, However until the kids are all in school I will probably look at working in a shop or for someone else whilst I build up my confidence and floristry knowledge – I’d like to feel like I have a really solid base before jumping in on my own. I also don’t think that I could fully commit to my own business until the kids are all at school.
I love bits and pieces of lots of different floristry styles, so haven’t settled into my own yet & am still very open to the direction that I will take – I’m hoping that that will all just fall into place when its right!
Some more of Catherine’s beautiful work so far;
INSTAGRAM: cath81mcgrath
FACEBOOK: Catherine McGrath
Email: catherinegarraway@hotmail.com