3-day Foundation Course
Course Title:
3-day Foundation Course
Available dates:
23/24/25th October
Price:
£849 incl:
all flowers, sundries, vessels, lunch on all 3 days
(and plenty of cake and refreshments!)
Deposit payment of £349 taken on booking, balance due
4 weeks before course start date
Location:
The Clockhouse Flower Studio, Field Gate Flowers,
The Thatched Barn, Lathbury MK16 8JX
What will you Learn?
It’s time to Kickstart your new Flowery Adventure with Us!
Welcome to our NEW 3-day foundation course, we are so excited that you are tempted to try out this flowery world with us. We have had so many enquiries about this level of training, that we decided we couldn’t put it off any longer! Many of you would like to experience the world of floristry, right here with us at the flower farm, to get a feel for it, dip your toe in the water, and really decide, without a massive year-long commitment or huge investment…if it really could be for you!
Not only that, you have asked us for a general ‘mix’ of floristry skills - from wedding wiring and buttonholes, to home flowering, funeral flowering and more - so we decided a Foundation course, covering a wide and general range of all aspects of Eco Floral Design, was definitely the answer. So here it is! Welcome!
We believe Eco-friendly flowers
are So important, do you?
Plastic waste within the industry
Unfortunately, the ‘normalised use’ of floral foam, cello, poly-ribbons and plastics in the floral industry are making a huge impact on our environment. Furthermore, traditional college instruction is STILL based primarily on these methods, and the teaching curriculum has not changed for years. We are DETERMINED to spread the word and make it part of normal everyday conversation, that alternative eco floristry options ARE available, and we’d love to share this knowledge and show you how.
An opportunity to learn with us, right here on the flower farm
Our teaching methods are different. Our flowers are different. Our mechanics are different…
that’s what make us unique!
We don’t align ourselves with traditional floral instruction, a we believe it hampers creativity and creative solutions. Eco floristry IS different - there’s no doubt about it. But not, as many would have you believe, just because of the mechanics and structures we use, it’s in our approach to floral design. Our flowers don’t follow conventional rules; and nor do we. We don’t follow strict recipes; we encourage creative use of what’s most available in the seasons - making the most of what is growing, and using what we have, to fit the brief. We’re here to show that it CAN be done, it IS a profitable way of working in floristry, and that you CAN be successful with eco floristry. So lets go!
How your 3 Day Training will take shape
Day one
Introductions & Flower Conditioning
We’ll get to know each other as a group here at the Clockhouse Flower Studio, and get to know all of our ingredients. An understanding of the flowers and foliage picked and prepped right here at the farm. Then we’ll discuss the various flower conditioning methods that are essential before any floristry design can take place.
Vase arrangement
We’ll start off with a foam-free vase arrangement showing you how to prep and work the materials and create the shape and design that will give wow factor. You’ll learn different techniques for different vase shapes and discover how the shape and size of the vessel chosen impacts your design. We’ll talk through colour and material selection to help guide you with your design choices.
Lunch
We’ll break for an hour to have a light buffet lunch together from the farmhouse kitchen. A chance to chat, absorb and exchange ideas and ask us plenty of questions! We are open and friendly, and so happy to share our experience with you about everything we have learnt from our years of creating with flowers.
Bouquet techniques
The main-stay of all floristry – creating your own hand-tied bouquet, from scratch – using your own design instincts, colour choices and style, is a complete joy and something to feel really proud of! However, it CAN be over-complicated and cause some stress and anxiety when you are first starting out!
We’ll talk you through the whole process, start with a demonstration, but then leave you to experiment, have a go, get a feel for it yourself, and will be on hand for advice and re-assurance – without judgement! We firmly believe that the best bouquets come from a freedom of expression, loosening the grip and the nerves and being free to create, rather than following any strict formula or recipe. We can guide you with stem counts and proportions, but they are just a guide!
Day two
Versatile Meadow Box Arrangement
The meadow box has become increasingly popular as a design piece in floristry. It’s elegant, whimsical and can give such a good big impact. It’s so versatile too – and can be used in so many areas. Creating a meadow box display with no-foam requires a little bit of mechanics-know-how, and some tips and tricks for ease of transportation.
The design options for this versatile piece are endless – tall and meadowy, long and low, single stem impact, trailing and flowing. Depending on the design requirement, and the end position - we can utilise the meadow box mechanic to work for us in many ways.
Capturing Your Work
Time to photograph and capture your work, with a few tips and tricks of course!
Lunch
We’ll break as before, for an hour for a delicious farmhouse buffet spread in the kitchen, and for plenty more chat
and question time with Roz & Ali.
Hand Tied Sympathy Sheaf Arrangement
After lunch, we will move on to create individual work again – and finish up with hand-tied sheaf arrangements. These are the most requested form of funeral flowers by burial ground sites, as they leave the minimum impact for wildlife, and return to nature within the quickest timeframe (which is ultimately, what we want to achieve). This line of work is essential to have in any florists portfolio, and can fit in nicely with wedding work and other commitments.
Final Day 2 Q&A and chat - What have we learnt?
Final wrap up chat over tea and cake – to talk through our last 2 days together before we move on to Day 3
Day three
Elegant Wedding table centre & table-scaping
A beautifully designed bowl centre piece is a truly stunning addition to any event, wedding or home décor design, but takes much more thought and insight than popping them all straight in. We’ll show you the design techniques and mechanics, discuss the shape options, the stem choices, looking at our ingredients to create the shape and working with what we have. Colour, texture, form and the all-important use of negative space within a bowl table centre, can make all the difference.
Lunch
We’ll break as before, for an hour for a delicious farmhouse buffet spread in the kitchen, and for plenty more chat and question time with Roz & Ali.
Buttonholes & Boutinairre; an Introduction to wiring
An essential skill - wiring is sometimes necessary in floral design; for support and longevity of your blooms. This introductory lesson in wiring techniques will give you a chance to practice and explore the possibilities, and to understand when and how you can use wires to benefit your work.
Business Session - Profit & Pricing
Our final module will give you the tools you need to help you on your way in business! Often missed out, but just as important, is an understanding of pricing and profit for your floristry business or income stream (if you are a grower). Roz and Ali will take you through the absolute essentials, to give you practical, hands-on knowledge to kickstart your flowery adventure.