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I've seen table decorations like that as well, usually when 'Aunty' has done them. Yuk!!

hi there poodledoodle, the course covered basic handtie bouquet, aquafil bouqet, posie making, basket arrangements, frontfacing alter style arrangements, top table and coffin sprays, as well as lots of conditioning info and marketing strategies, it was a basic course but it taught me enough to have the courage to change my whole life. i am learning as i go! and i am sure it will be a costly learning at times, but i am determined and have had amazing feedback from people who have both recieved and bought bouquets and funeral tributes. i know i am not as learned as most of you guys and i do not pretend that i have any supirior knowledge, but what i do have is a real passion for my job and a creative background, i understand that most florists have years of training and on the job experience and in several years i too hope to be as knowledgable as you. we all have to start somewhere and surely the important thing is not so much where we begin but rather where we end up?.

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Hi All
I work from home and i wouldn't dream of sending out any Funeral work or any work for that matter, that i thought was not up to stanard. I did a mum and a few other tributes for a neighbour a few years ago, when the cars turned up out side her house the undertaker told me that my tributes were the best he had seen for a long time , and this comes from a undertaker who have in house florist's.
I hadn't been in floristry long when my Gran died and my Dad thought I would be to upset to do him a wreath so he got it from some one like myself you works from home. I can still see it to this day, it was on a mossed frame so I am going back a few years now, there was more greenery than flowers and not very fresh flowers at that.
All I could think of was what is the rest of the family going to think of these flowers they were crap.
I just had to re do it again, so when I do my funeral work I think would I be happy with that piece of work if it was for my Gran. I know how upset my dad was with his flowers it is an upsetting day already, flowers should help to brighten up the day.

Flowers by Lorraine

Attached Images

mum 2.jpg (105.6 KB, 51 views)

hi lorraine, i agree it was after the death of my nan earlier this year which prompted me to follow my dream, every piece i make for a funeral i think 'WOULD I WANT THIS TO BE FROM ME FOR MY NAN" and i am pleased to say yes to everything that i have done so far, your picture of MUM is very well done by the way, it looks beautiful.

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I can still see it to this day, it was on a mossed frame so I am going back a few years now, there was more greenery than flowers and not very fresh flowers at that.
All I could think of was what is the rest of the family going to think of these flowers they were crap.
Flowers by Lorraine[/quote]

I was not a florist when my dad died in 1990 but did always make my own bits for our baby's grave undertaker was mum's cousing and his in house florist was a far out friend of daddy I ordered a wreath all red £60 (daddy's fav colour) I got a mossed wreath filled with greenery and 9 large red carnations not another single flower to be seen. As I had been dabbling at my own bits and bobs I then decided to do a course which ended with me going into floristry still cringe now when I think £60 in 1990 for 9 large carnations

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Hi Steven, i do think passion is a wonderful thing but this should really be coupled with a little more experience than one day imo. I am struggling to understand how you covered so much in one day

I think for those of us who have spent a lot of time in college or bench training (starting with the brushing up etc...) it can be frustrating to see someone set up with little or no experience and compete with more experienced florist. When a customers purchases first time they rarely know the experience of the florist.

However, i do wish you well, not a personal attack just a mere observation so pls dont take it that way.

I have a florist local to me who is not a florist and has employed someone who hadnt even finished her level two and they were doing wedding flowers for people and making a mess of them. (There are technical sides to
arranging flowers, its not all creative.)

Personally i think that it should be regulated just as other trades are.

I would just like to add, and by the way I am not a florist, although I am employed by one as i do all the admin side of the business as well as shop work, but there are some really good florists in this country who are self taught, but I am a believer in qualifications. My sister (the qualified florist for over 25 years) has florists working for her, who are not qualified but who have been doing it for years, but whenever a question needs to be answered, it is always my sister who can answer, especially when someone wants a design that is not of the Norm. Also when you have been doing it for years, the secret then is to keep up with fashions and trends and those designs that have the wow factor!! My sister did all the flowers at my wedding, 22 years ago, at the time they were beautiful, but now we laugh because they look so old fashioned. Once you are qualified and have your own shop you still need to do the occasional course to learn the new trends and skills, simply to keep you at the top of your proffession!!!

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Julie

well it is just my opinion but i think that there will always be stuff to learn as peoples tastes and technologies change, of course i will send myself on more courses as and when i can afford to, as for doing things i am not capable of i wouldnt atempt it if i didnt feel able to do a good enough job and i am sure i am not the only person in this business who hasnt done it all!!!
i do however feel like i am having to justify myself for opening my own shop but the realistic and true point is that i want and need this to succeed, otherwise i have no shop and no job,
i take my hat off to anyone who can turn their life around and go from a job that they like to a career that they love.
again i will say that i do not want to tread on anyones toes and i do feel that education is the key to a successful business, but there are different ways of getting that education, after all who is better qualified at the job someone who has worked in the industry for 20 years having run a shop or someone leaving college with c&g level 2 after 2 years???? the answer is that they will both know more than the other about different aspects of the job!!
so although i an new to this now in 20 years i will not be!

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There should be some regulation I think. When I am qualified, I will proudly display the SOF badge, and so will my company. I will know I have immaculate skills and the knowledge to apply techniques to new requests and concepts. I will, of course, keep abreast of trends and fashions by attending workshops, exhibitions, reading trade journals and so on...

ISO 4000 series implies a level of quality control and continuous improvement in an organisation, lawyers and solicitors are regulated by the Law Society, why not something for florists? I know you can achieve 'master florist' status, but that is a not a compulsory is it. I'm not saying it should be as stringent, but there should be something in place to protect the consumer.

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There is something I always say to customers and clubs that I demonstrate to. I could be 100 years in this industry and still not know everything. So in one way, we are always newbies. Theres always something new to be discovered and to learn.

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www.AmandasFlorist.co.uk

"The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources" - Albert Einstein.