Education | floralove

During the fall, I signed up for a CCSF floral design course that focused on event design, taught by Jenny Tabarracci AIFD. Though I work in the industry and have seen and worked on lots of events, it is always great to take design courses and learn from (and be inspired by) fellow designers. During the semester we learned new designs and techniques, heard from guest speakers, went on a “field trip” to a Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA) event, and most importantly, we practiced designs, mechanics, planning, and production.

A couple of weeks ago we completed our final design where we practiced all of the above in a team environment. It’s one thing to design something on your own, it’s quite another to get a group of individual designers to agree on one idea and execute it. But, that’s how it works in the real world so it was a fitting task. We were assigned to groups and asked to provide floral decor for a corporate event food station…..our team got desserts, yay!. Other teams were assigned martini, sushi, coffee/tea, and fruits/vegetable stations. We wanted to create a simple design with lots of impact.

My team (Shinta, Gwen, and I) sat down several times over the preceding weeks to discuss decor, mechanics, floral material, and production. We selected a “winter wonderland” theme and brainstormed on various designs and props. Our overall design would be winter white with “icy” (crystal) accents. I was excited to use a pasting technique I learned while in Vancouver at the EMC course. Our design consisted of three parts:
1) A “forest” of mitsumata branches rising from birch and pine cone containers, adorned with hanging white floral balls and crystal icicles.
2) Tabletop decor of floral balls, pine cones, and illuminated cylinders filled with tulips sitting on crisp white linen.
3) Pasted glass risers (thanks Tomas!) with white trays to display desserts.

We could only prepare a few things in advance; the majority of the design had to be assembled in class. Everyone had great ideas and the final design was the collaborative vision of all three team members. I loved the end result……and I loved eating the desserts afterwards!