Updates on Funeral Work

I must say I surprised myself by how professional the funeral letters myself and 2 university colleagues created for a group exercise.  I was initially horrified with being given the task, but we really did turn the concept of letters on its head and mainly through improvisation with materials we had gathered from the college campus ( some beautiful finds . . . dried star shaped seed heads, conkers).
We ran with the idea that this tribute was intended to symbolise the deceased love of gardening and the overall effect was natural and very textural. The use of very earthy autumnal colours helped make this design seasonal - which also ticks the box for local sourcing of materials. . . Why not use rosehips, twigs and conkers from nearby hedge rows if your a florist based in country villages, as long as you prune sympathetically and leave some berries for the birds over colder months, its a great way to keep costs down,  and brings a real taste of the outdoors inside. 

Doing away with the traditional pleated ribbon in gordy colours instantly transformed the letters. Simply pining some moss round the letter edges created a softer profile and took far less time than creating rows of individual plastic pleats.To redefine the shape and tame the moss, we put to practice our 'hairdressing skills'

Beautiful clusters of Hydrangea created accent points across the tribute. We were mindful to place the groups randomly to create the feeling that the materials just natural sprouting out of the base.

We used Rosemary and Eucalyptus parvifolia for their beautiful aroma. So often herbs and scented flowers are used in weddings designs and bouquets, why not in a funeral arrangement.  The brain often associates memories with a scent. For example, I remember the smell of a particular Rose from my Grandmothers garden and when I smell the rose now I am transported back to the garden where I used to pick buttercups and play.

We softly grouped the materials to create a contemporary look. Instead of a spray, we used contorted salix to link the letters together. This created some movement and completed the design as one unit.

Improvements : I think the salix looks a little lost against such a busy background. A more dominant use of the Salix would soon rectify this issue.

Thoughts on the Bloom Show

Wow, totally exhausted after helping behind the scenes at the recent Bloom show held at Lingfield Rcaecourse and Marriot Hotel.
This has definitely been one of the most valuable experiences for me in my (so far)short career in the floristry industry. At university, gaining work experience is an integral part of the course and must be completed to gain a better view of the industry and how it works and what is expected by employers. On a personal level, I think work experience (if you get the right sort) helps you discover more about yourself and where your heading in life. You loose the safety net of the classroom and therefore you find out more about your strengths and weaknesses. Two days with some very highly skilled floral designers and trade magazine journalists and editors was fascinating, but also a little daunting.

I spent the Saturday morning conditioning a room full of flowers, and in the afternoon I set about making arrangements  to decorate the venue,  ( free rein on style and use of material really was a treat).  Speed really is everything in this industry, and I found myself in awe at the speed of the designers who were partially constructing designs for the Sundays' demonstrations. I began feel almost embarrassed at the speed I was working. Considering and remembering all the basic theories of floral design takes time. . . Correct placement of materials first time, principles and elements etc. However, for the 'seasoned' florist this is a doddle . . . but even so I still felt rather sheepish as I am expected to be working at an 'advanced' level. Nonetheless, attending the show, was a huge inspiration to myself and many others.

Having ranted away in my previous blog about funeral letter tributes and how awfully tacky they are, I have a new found respect for them. Designer, Heidi Lawley used a MUM tribute during one of her demos at the Bloom show.  Subtle colours, Polytear ribbon edging and the traditional spray done away with, and a simplistic use of materials made this tribute look classy. For me personally, letter and other 3D foam tributes will never be my thing but I have faith that florists will start to be more adventurous and move away from the pleated ribbon and massed Chrysanths and educate the customer on how pleasing these designs can look.

Design by : Heidi Lawley

Photography : Grace Walker

         Main Materials

• Lavender

• Waxflower

• Heather

• Eucalyptus

• Berries

BLOOM SHOW and The Horrors of Funeral Letters

Final details have been made for my trip to Lingfield Racecourse this weekend, where the new concept floristry show will be held, run and skillfully organised by the Wordhouse publishing team. Extremely excited about this opportunity to see and work behind the scenes at the show lending a hand where I can. The camera is already on charge for the plethora of photos I hope to snap!  For now though, I will be working on university assignments such as questions for an interview with the talented publisher of Florist and Wholesale Buyer and planning a floral worded funeral tribute with two of my colleagues from college.  The oasis letters are to spell 'NAN'. Personally, I have distinct dislike of these types of tributes  as they are usually garish and unimaginative. Our vision is to turn these letters upside down and shake up the whole concept of  letter tributes. Desperate to move away from massed white chrysanthemums and carnations and use something more wholesome, more unusual is proving difficult due to a tight budget. Our awarded theme is ' Natural' which seems rather contradictory considering the mechanics  of the tribute are made from non biodegradable  florist foam on a plastic rack. However, we have been inspired by the flowing and highly textural work of Claire Cowling and hope to adapt some of the beautiful ideas from her book on funeral design ( see my recommendations box, amazon sells this) to our tribute. A few choice naturally textural pieces such a birch twigs, cones etc to enhance the design seems to be the way to do style on a budget. Updates will follow.

Less is More

This design was certainly a challenge today as we had complete choice over design/style and materials,but gave me great satisfaction in completing. I have learnt a valuable lesson in how use control and restraint when accessorising a single flower.  The technique of layering a variety of materials up the stem of the Lily proved to be a difficult concept for me initially. The flower either became dominated by adornments or looked sparse and unbalanced, both actual balance and visual were affected greatly.  However, after a few scrawled sketches, I took a more architectural/ sculptural approach to the design. By limiting myself to a monochromatic colour scheme, save for the hint of red Hypericum berries and two types of material - aluminum wire and textural ribbon, the overall design came together in a form of sweeping shapes, weaving into one another, and the task less daunting. The finished design varied greatly from the initial sketches due to my curiosity with playing with the materials, offering them up against each other.  My motivation stayed the same throughout the practical - I wanted to create something classical and blissfully simple to look at. . . . . Less is More.

I feel a great improvement in my practical work since my 1st year of training. During construction of a design, I have now found that analysing my work in accordance with the principles and elements of design has become second nature. I feel I can justify material/ colour choices more confidently through a growing confidence of knowledge about colour harmonies and the 12 'golden rules of floristry'. Texture and Rhythm feature heavily in all of my designs because they are very adaptable features and often the easiest way to create an impact, (especially when working to a tight budget).

Harmony                                                       Line

Balance                                                          Form

Scale                                                              Space

Proportion                                                    Colour

Dominance                                                   Texture

Contrast

Rhythm