FLOWER STYLING WORKSHOP REVIEW & PROSPECTS
27th of September this year Midsummer Events conducted a solei floral styling workshop unlike our early practice of organising workshops with invited international speakers and renown floral stylists. That was challenging, thrilling and enormous accountability work for me personally.
But the reward worth every single doubt and minute I (Varvara - wedding planner & florist) spent preparing for the 1 to 1 class.
Yes, it turned to a private class with a passionate and very talented student when I could share all my experience, knowledge and communicate the fundamentals vital to every florist pursuing the modern floral arrangement style and put his expertise and education first.
So this sessions proved once again for myself that there is nothing to be afraid of when you on the way to your dream and that learning fundamentals of floral styling completely turns over your approach to the profession and the service you provide. It is eye-opening training and study that teaches you to think when styling, apply techniques, methods and tools when designing and stand out from the crowd of a dabbler and form your own signature floral style.
3D LOVE – WORKSHOP CONCEPT
The inspiration for the colour palette came from the foreseeing colour trends for 2021 spring weddings – juicy pop of scarlet red and yellow colours smoothen with more neutral pastel beige and pink. The low-poly model idea came from 3D modelling sphere as a contrasting counterpart of voluminous blooms and communicated the message of a holistic understanding of love concept which reflects in its 3 dimensions and beyond.
When I work on the concept I often take into consideration many factors such as trendy colours, interesting forms, venue specific, event relevance and idea that all elements will be translating. So asking the questions What? Why? Where? etc. helps me to start building the concept via mood board and the style script supported by words, phrases, adjectives and other verbal and non-verbal details that evoke feelings and emotions when seeing the final result.
During my workshop, I share step-by-step the route from the first concept spark to the visualization file created with the help of soft and application available today.
FLORAL STYLING THEORY
The largest chunk of the lecture during the class goes to explore the understanding of modern floral styling – what is that? Was it war originated from? What are the principals of modern floral styling? I persistently explain what is modern floral styling defined with. Firstly it’s global floral schools. Have you heard about European, Australian, Asian, Russian and other floral schools and o you ever know the difference and mutual bonds? The workshop would reveal this basic to you to better understand the origin of any floral styling specific.
We also recap and outline the most essential design fundamentals embracing proportions, harmonies and global design and art practices that recognised as masterpieces and encompass the best combinations of forms, textures and materials. Moving to the colour theory in floral styling we discuss colouristic, colour physics and understand what colour is. The next knowledge to acquire to professionally operate are colour hue, chromaticity and achromaticity, brightness and saturation and so on. World-known floral stylists adore you daily in Instagram posts with their master of working with flower colours, isn’t it? So this class gives you the insights of creating colour tempting arrangements. We complete the block with studying a colour wheel function in your floral styling process. Learn a list of colour harmonies that you can use for creating statement arrangements and know-how every certain colour speaks to the viewer.
The final theory block is dedicated to modern and fundamental floral styling techniques and rules. We discuss types of modern floral styling techniques and what are their key-difference between each other – vegetative, decorative, forma-linear style lye the foundation of any floral styling and knowing their key studies are must for every florist. We clear up with asymmetry and symmetry order of placing the floral materials and also acquire a floral group placement techniques learning how to achieve the right balance in the arrangement.
Completing our session with modern floral styling essentials like grouping, irregular triangle rule, scaling and levels, the roughness of floral mass, defining a growth point and so on we master the most demanding nowadays floral styling techniques which the most successful florists have been guided with for the last few years. Find the golden ratio and Fibonacci sequence implementation in design and styling to win. The summary of the theory study are formulas, combinations and proved proportions lists that become your everyday blueprint in floral styling work. This schemes will simplify your routine and help to create aesthetically pleasing arrangements.
Undoubtedly, the theory block is large and it is even far away from the absolute knowledge luggage you may need to have, but it is the base that every florist must apprentice for the sake of self-esteem. If someone thinks that it’s too much to acquire and overrated for starting florist may continue randomly poking flowers in and consider himself a stylist. Time will show whether professionalism may withstand market challenges.
PRACTICE SESSION
After soaking all the academic studies about floral styling and design fundamentals we are moving to an enjoyable hands-on session to horn our new skills.
We are starting from the review of all materials – floral and technical tools to be used for our practice. We also prepare and process floral material by cleaning flowers and soaking floral foam. In the process, we cover essential flower processing rules and specific of working for floral foam Oasis.
Afterwards, there was a practice with colour wheel and theory of colour combination which strengthen the understanding of colour work between different hues in different designs and their purposes.
The next we discuss the floral styling technique we will use today, decide on floral material placement and proportions of our future arrangement. This workshop we styled a flower centrepiece that was made of three alone arrangements in the relevant proportions to each other to create harmony and interlinked to each other through colour accents in order to connect them into one eye-pleasing statement. We mastered irregular triangle rule, grouping by colour and texture, multi-level placement and other techniques during the styling.
I covered one more topic about table styling for an occasion – main principles and rules which adhere with classic etiquette and benefit to the tablescape designing. Knowing these basic aspects you would always win by creating a comfortable and stylish dining space for your clients.
The last detail and accent of our tablescape was polygonal modelling of a heart shape which become a detail of place setting decoration on the top of the napkin. We used template and colour paper with supporting stationery to make two hears in volume.
The final touch up when we assemble all details of tablescape together – central flower arrangement, place setting with napkins and cutlery, glassware and candles for the atmosphere. When the final result come out we were happy and satisfied with work that was done. Tired but acquainted new knowledge and experience we closed the session with photos and selfies.
That was the day of the floral styling fundamentals and table centrepiece arrangement workshop.
It was enjoyable and productive for both of us me and my loyal student. We grow together in the aspiration of study and improve our expertise for better ourselves.
I am glad to support every floral enthusiast who dreams to grow in the profession by sharing all that I know about this beautiful and creative career.
Looking to book us for a private workshop? See more details HERE
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