Basic Skills and Terminology
In this fast paced world, it is becoming more difficult for those interested in
becoming a floral designer to get on the job training. These are "need to know"
skills and terms" that will prepare you for an entry level job into the floral
industry.
Click here to register for Basic Skills and Terminology
Care and Handling of Cut Flowers and Foliage
Cut flowers, even though they have been separated from the parent plant, are
living, actively metabolizing plant parts. These parts undergo the same basic
aging process as the entire plant — only quicker. However, the rate of
deterioration can be slowed down considerably by supplying the cut flower with
its basic needs. The first and foremost need of a cut flower is water. Second
is food. In addition, certain damaging factors such as exposure to ethylene
gas, microbial attack and rough handling must be avoided. From a practical
point of view, a controlled rate of opening is needed as well as maintenance of
good color. All of these factors must be considered by everyone who handles the
product. This includes growers wholesalers and retailers. In order to be
competitive in the marketplace our product must be desirable to the consumer.
Our flower must have plenty of life left in them for the customer to enjoy!
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Concepts of the Care and Handling of Foliage and Flowering
Plants
Growing plants indoors has become a national pastime. There are many reasons
for this increased interest in plants. 1) Plants add a touch of nature to our
homes and brighten our indoor surroundings during the long winter months. 2)
Large plants may be used instead of furniture. 3) Many people collect plants as
a hobby. 4) Growing and caring for plants can be therapeutic by making one feel
better and teaching patience and responsibility. 5) Spectacular flowers give
one a sense of excitement. 6) Plants provide a challenge to some people by
trying to get as many members of a certain group of plants as they can or by
growing groups of rare plants. Whatever the reason, the foliage and flowering
plant industry is booming and many new types of plants are being introduced to
satisfy the demand. This increase in indoor gardening has helped the florist
business to become larger each year Many times you are asked questions about
these plants that you cannot answer. The objective of this course is to help
you be able to provide some answers to the questions raised by your customers.
Click here to register for Concepts of the Care and Handling of Foliage and
Flowering Plants
Principles of Design
This online course “Principles of Design”, might well be called “Tools of
Design”. These principles are not arbitrary rules: they are constant
guidelines. They are the tools of all the arts, and no artist can vary them
until he has mastered them. The two terms Principles and Elements are
synonymous. They are used interchangeably in floral design. They are one and
the same: Principle — an essential element, constituent, or quality, especially
one that produces a specific effect: as the principle of design. Element — a
component, feature, or principle of something: basic part, rudiments.
Irreducible parts of principles of anything concrete or abstract.
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Introduction to Business Procedures for the Retail Florist
To be a successful retail florist today, you must be more than just an
excellent floral designer. There are many excellent design classes ranging from
basic to advanced for the retail floral designer. In fact, most business owners
today started out as floral designers and have advanced through the stages and
classes of floral design into shop management and ownership. However, to be a
successful and profitable business owner, you must have a thorough
understanding of the business side of owning a flower shop. Many shop owners
today are lacking in this basic business background and as a result their shops
and profitability are suffering. The other side of the coin is the flower shop
that is owned and managed strictly by the businessperson that has no knowledge
of floral design. This, too, is almost always a recipe for disaster in the
floral business. So, what is the secret to the successful and profitable retail
florist? It is the combination of the excellent floral designer who is also
able to bring a good understanding of the business background to the flower
shop. Does this mean you have to understand accounting? Absolutely not, but you
must have an understanding of some basic business principles that directly
affect the retail floral business and your bottom line profit. In this course,
we will introduce you to those business areas that you must understand and
master in order to be a successful and profitable retail florist in today's
economy.
Click here to register for Introduction to Business Procedures for the Retail
Florist
Basic Design Techniques
Good design techniques include two concepts: design principles and design
mechanics. Greater profit and efficiency in both time and material will result
when good design techniques are applied in the workroom on a regular basis.
During this online workshop, you will construct several basic designs and learn
the best mechanics. Once learned, these basic structural patterns (skeletons)
may be used in many ways to create beauty that looks traditional or
contemporary, large or small, elaborate or simple. Beauty, stability, and
lasting quality are the factors of any floral design that will create customer
satisfaction, and these things depend on basic techniques! Learning or
reviewing these basics will train the eye to recognize proper balance,
proportion, and depth. Experience in design increases self-confidence, and
self-confidence allows one to try something new — with success!
Click here to register for Basic Design Techniques
Funeral Design Techniques
Flowers are the final tribute we pay our friends and loved ones. Funeral
flowers are more than an expression of sympathy; they are symbols of faith and
respect. They also express courage, love, and even cheer to the living. No
other material thing can convey these feelings with the same beauty and
appropriateness. Those who work with flowers professionally are very near to
people in love and in sorrow. The florist, when called upon by the family, may
discuss appropriate designs and flowers for the family tribute. An enclosure
card must accompany each order, bearing the name of the sender on the face and
a brief description of the design on the back. The address of the sender should
be written on the card to aid the family in acknowledging the floral tributes.
Attach the card to a wired pick and place it at the focal point where it is
quickly seen and easily removed. If it is tied to one of the flowers, the
flower may have to be removed, disturbing the arrangement. Double perforated
cards are ideal to use; one section remains with the flowers for identification
and the other end goes to the family for acknowledgement. Flowers for funeral
work should be at the peak of their beauty, in full bloom. Tight buds seldom
show to full advantage. In the case of roses, the half-opened or full-blown
rose is more beautiful than the bud.
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Wedding Design Techniques
It is said that a florist can “make or break” his reputation quicker with his
wedding work than anything else. This is because the wedding purchase is
usually the customer’s greatest single expenditure at the florist shop — and
the one that carries the most emotional attachment. The two aspects of greatest
importance in wedding design are design principles, (the vehicle of creativity)
and design mechanics, (the vehicle of practicality). Greater customer
satisfaction will be derived from good design, and greater profit and
efficiency will come from good mechanics. During this online workshop you will
learn to construct different basic designs and learn the most efficient
mechanics. Once learned, these basic skeletal patterns may be employed to
create many variations for nearly every bride’s taste — traditional,
contemporary, elaborate, or simple.
Click here to register for Wedding Design Techniques
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