What Happens…..Yvette

…When a Bloom College staff member (and floristry newbie) takes a class?

I’ve been with Bloom College for a while now, and while I can appreciate the beauty of flowers, and the work that the teachers and students create, I’d never actually had a go myself.

So – when the opportunity came up for me to join a class, I jumped at it!

The class fell just before Christmas – and when I found out we were making Christmas table arrangements I promptly bragged to my family that this year our table would look better than ever (no pressure!).

The day of the class, I was really looking forward to it, but I didn’t quite know what to expect. I was doing the class with another staff member (a devoted flower lover), and when the flowers arrived that morning for our class, I joined in her excitement.

When the teacher (the lovely Nicole) arrived I was still feeling pretty excited, but also a bit nervous. What if everyone else made this amazing table arrangement and mine was no good?  Most of the other students had done floristry classes previously and I worried that I would be left behind as they ploughed on through.

As Nicole took us through what to do, I was feeling nervous – what if I couldn’t remember what she said and mine looked nothing like it should?  Nicole patiently took us through the steps involved – but it seemed like so much to remember!

It was then our turn to have a go.  I moved to my workstation (with my beautiful bucket of flowers waiting for me) – and I dived right in.  Once I got going I found myself blocking out everything around me as I was fully immersed in what I was doing.  I loved the feeling of being free to do what I wanted to, of placing the flowers in a way that spoke to me, and where I thought they should go.

Part way through I turned to my colleague and realised we hadn’t spoken for at least ½ hour.  This was extremely unusual for us, but highlighted how ‘in the moment’ we’d both been.

As I looked around the room I noticed that everyone’s arrangements were quite different.  I really enjoyed seeing how each person had interpreted what we were doing in a slightly different way.

After I was done I proudly took some photos of what I’d created – I couldn’t wait to share them with my family and friends.

Taking my flower arrangement and adding it to my family’s Christmas table was a proud moment for me, as they all gushed at how great I’d done.

Taking this class has given me a new appreciation for how enjoyable working with flowers is, and how great it makes you feel (both during and after the class).  I also now know first hand how it can feel a bit overwhelming at first, but once you dive in and just get started, that thoughts of being nervous get pushed to the back of mind.