Flower School of New York - NYC Floral Design and Flower Arrangement Classes

For those of you who have taken our Series Classes at FlowerSchool New York know that we like to use a lot of hydrangea for our designs.  This boastful summertime flower is helpful to pull off that perfect garden party look. The above is something new to the market from South America.

Ask for it by name:  South American Lavendar Antique Hydrangea

Jennifer Boles of the Peak of Chic Blog just put some pictures up of my most recent book, “Entertaining in the French Style” on her blog. I am honored to be in such great company!

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK

Her blog always reports on interesting products and people in the design world. I find that I refer to it on a regular basis to give me new ideas and creative thoughts.

Rob Pattel is one of the most accomplished florists in Holland. We will be studying with him on our 2012 European Flower Tour through Holland and Belgium.  He is the author of “Natural Rhythms” published by Stitchting Kunstboek and available on Amazon.com as well as at our FlowerSchool New York bookstore.

Rob Plattel is an artist whose work makes a strong case that designing with flowers, branches and trees transcends the mere decorative and is an art in itself. Looking through his book with its emphasis on structural shapes in natural materials, one can easily understand his premise. Interspersed throughout the pictures of his book are quotes from such diverse personalities as Albert Einstein and Lao Tzu. One that I particularly like is from Albert Camus, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”

Below is an interpretation of birch logs like we have never seen. Titled “Betula II”, Rob has taken the traditional understanding of a birch tree and elevated its meaning to a new and heightened level.  By manipulating our knowledge of “tree”, through physically altering its natural state, Rob reinvigorates and repurposes the object asking us to look at our world and nature in a new way.

Above, is a work titled “Stone Age”, mounted on a wall, that resembles a seemingly endless landscape of rocks. This drastic perspective and ever-disappearing, circular horizon line engulfs the viewer pulling them into the center of the photo. Like in nature itself, the photo highlights the impact of multiples and the intrinsic power of the natural world.

As a nature-artist, Rob is internationally renowned and has worked all over the world. He truly understands the origin and development of plants and flowers.  In addition to being one of the featured designers of our European 2012 Tour, he will also be coming to New York City for a series of workshops at FlowerSchool.  Please check our calendar for details.

Last week’s master Class with Olivier Giugni featured not one, but two beautiful arrangements sheathed in large philodendrum leaves. Both of them were done in the European style which means that they were put together in the hand rather than in the vase or on the table. Sometimes we call this the “Dutch” bouquet at FlowerSchool New York, however it would make more sense for us to label it “hand-tied” since it is the way that most florists throughout Europe do flowers for smaller-scale arrangements.

Olivier, being one of the great originals, takes the hand-held bouquet one step farther by encasing his bouquets in sculptural leaves, almost clothing them if you will. Olivier originally worked for Pierre Cardin, the great couturier, at Maxim’s Flowers in Paris so you can see that his inspiration from fashion goes a long way back.

We love having Olivier teach for us at FlowerSchool New York and we think the feeling is quite mutual!  Look for Olivier’s next class in the fall, meanwhile you can stop by FlowerSchool New York for a signed copy of his new book, “Living Art.”

FlowerSchool New York is a school with teachers who have many different points of view united by their dedication to excellence.  Each of our master teachers has a different style and approach when working with flowers.  Their philosophies are inspired by their backgrounds as well as by their current experiences.

One area that has been confusing and possibly controversial for many students is in the preparation of flowers purchased from the wholesale market which is known as “conditioning.”  There are any number of different ways to condition roses, hydrangeas,  tulips, lilies, etc.

Our master florists have different techniques and they often disagree about specifics. I look at them as I would at physicians who are treating a shoulder injury.  Some would suggest surgery, and some for the same condition, would suggest a course of physical therapy.  One master florist will crush the stems of hydrangea in order to get them to drink, another would call that hydrangea abuse. We, at FlowerSchool New York, prepare our roses by putting the bottom of the stems in boiling water for three minutes, while some florists are horrified at the idea.

Another famous example would be ‘Underwater Stem Cutting.’  Martha Stewart has recommended it on her blog and Bella Meyer of Fleurs Bella suggested that her class do it so that the flowers stay fresher longer. Other master teachers distain this practice as a waste of time for the professional as well as a risky procedure likely to produce accidents when using a knife.

We are building a flower conditioning manifesto and to that end, we would like to hear from you, our florists and our floral enthusiasts what you prefer doing with different flowers. We are picking a different flower each week and asking for your suggestions on appropriate treatment.

This week we would like to focus on hydrangeas.  Shane Connolly writes in his book The Secret Language of Flowers, “Unsuspecting hydrangeas have come to be associated with an astonishing number of thoroughly undesirable characteristics: vanity, boastfulness, heartlessness and frigidity.  At FlowerSchool, we cut with a sharp knife, smash or scrape the stems, plunge deep in cold water and spray the blooms with cold water.

Are we cruel?  What are your thoughts?

This past Thursday I attended one of the more spectacular spring New York events,  ”Tulips and Pansies, the Headdress Affair,” a benefit  for Village Care  www.villagecare.org which is a community based non-profit organization benefiting older adults and persons living with HIV/AIDS. It was held at Gotham Hall in midtown Manhattan.

In this fundraiser florists and fashion designers collaborated together. I was quite lucky in that a FlowerSchool New York Alumnus, Rachel Cho, invited me not only to participate but to watch her preparations for the event. She was paired with a Lilly Pulitzer design, using bright pinks, oranges and green to great effect on the runway.

What you might not realize about an event like this is an enormous amount of time pressure needed to put something together with a living product like flowers.  Not only do you need to come up with a creative concept, you have to finish it just before the event and ensure that it will not wilt during the event.  Rachel created a sixties “beehive,” made of a number of different flowers, including peonies, Dutch hydrangeas, amaranthus and mokara orchids for the model to wear.  On the outside, the headdress looked chic and fun, but on the inside, there was a helmet made of chicken wire containing a mold of oasis. The engineering of something like this is part of the art.  And yes it did weigh a lot!

When I went up to her Mom’s shop in the Bronx, Rachel was in the process of wiring literally thousands of pink and green flowers. She was helped by her mother, Sharon Cho, and two volunteers from FlowerSchool New York, Juri and Yoojin. At midpoint in the operation, I tried it on — it was already heavy and I wondered how the person wearing it would fare.

As you can see from the pictures below, everyone did an extraordinary job of fusing fashion and flowers. And the model, Jakenna Marise Gilbert worked the floor in fabulous fashion!

Above - Hand tied bouquet with jasmine accents.

Those of you who have taken classes at FlowerSchool New York in the past few months might have noticed that several of our master florists have added a stem or two of jasmine to their bouquets as a finishing touch.  Those of you who have taken our cascading bridal bouquet class may have worked with several sprigs of jasmine.  Others may have been seduced by its fragrance.

However, how many of you realized that jasmine could be seditious when used as a symbol of revolution?  This just in from the front page of the New York Times — true flower power.  Below is the translation of a rendition of “Mo Li HJua” which was played when medals were presented during the 2008 Olympic games:

“A beautiful jasmine flower,

A beautiful jasmine flower,

Perfumed blossoms fill the branch,

Fragrant and white for everyone’s delight.

Let me come and pick a blossom

To give to someone,

Jasmine flower, oh jasmine flower.”

CLICK HERE for a link to the story

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s gala honoring Alexander McQueen, designed by Raul Avila and coordinated by Vogue Special Events planner Sylvana Soto-Ward, had  particularly lovely and appropriate flowers. Designed to look like the English gardens that Alexander McQueen loved, the event used many  flowers, topiaries and trees.

To see a video of the installation click here.

How prescient of the designers who brought in trees in a similar way that they were installed in Westminster Abbey at last week’s royal wedding! We  loved the simple wooden tables and the loose, magical flowers that had been placed upon them with such care. The sense of restraint combined with an homage to McQueen’s talent and craftsmanship reflected well on the many creative people who worked on the event.

We just received a call asking if we may know anyone who is looking to open a flower shop.

We have been told that the storefront is located in a high traffic area in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and it is ready to be fitted for a working florist. The shop is 900 square feet and the rent is $1500 a month.

If you, or anyone you know, is interested, email rocland1@gmail.com for more information.