Floral Design Skills – Do They Really Matter?
I’m now back on US soil…feels good after floating and sailing for the past 10 days. In a recent post, I wrote about cruise ship flowers and expressed my disappointment with the lack of professional expertise and design skills of the hired floral personnel on the ship. It really does a disservice to the floral profession and customers when non-trained individuals are employed as designers when it is quite apparent they lack the necessary skills to deliver quality products and creative designs. Floral design skills do matter!
The floral industry trade groups and organizations really should take this one under their wings and develop some floral training standards, requirements and certifications to work in the field. I initially fought this idea as a floral boutique owner arguing that there are some extremely creative people out there that can out-design many who have taken floral design education courses. Even though this is true, I’ve come to realize is that all it takes is for one poor designer to ruin the perception of the importance of flowers and their positive impact on people’s lives. Floral design skills do matter!
It’s the poor experiences that can cause customers to put down the florist field, and minimize the effect that flowers can truly have on people’s emotions. They will look for alternative means to celebrating special occasions or substitute different items in place of flowers. Floral design skills do matter!
Fortunately, those who truly care to learn and be a part of this incredible field will take the time to receive the proper training to excel in floristry. There are numerous educational opportunities available to enhance one’s skills including courses offered through this site. In my next post I will write about the flower designs that I observed on the ship and highlight the the areas that indicate the lack of proper training and floral knowledge. I do this as a way of providing further education to the public, the viewers of my site, and to provide good design information to help improve floral design skills. Remember, floral design skills do matter!
Until then, please remember to enjoy your flowers (or someone else’s)…and take the time to learn as much about flowers, their proper care and good design skills if you intend to share your trade with others.
July 19th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
I am a current student in floral design, done with the master program net wednesday, and I was wondering if you will be offering classes for the post grad of flower design people out there? I would like to take extra courses that specialize in weddings, corporate accounts, etc. I am thinking a kind of continuing education type.
Thanks
Tracy Tammaro
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:31 am
Congratulations Tracy! That is a terrific accomplishment. The short answer to your question is – YES! I have numerous educational classes in development with many more still to get underway. As you can imagine it takes quite a bit of time, effort, and support to pull it all together. Please be watching for the releases – they’ll be announced on the website and through email to subscribers. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to get on the subscriber list by registering for the free course – Intro to Floral Design 101. You’ll get instant access to the online course, and receive my top 13 insider tips & tricks for florists.