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Interflora at the AIFD Symposium
- 04 September 2012
Established in 1965, the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) is the floral industry’s leading non-profit organization, dedicated to establishing and recognizing the highest standard of professional floral design. Every year the AIFD holds a National Symposium which is considered to be the most important design education event in the floral industry and as such attracts designers, educators and interested individuals from all corners of the world. This year the Symposium was held in Miami and our very own Karen Barnes, Head of Floral Gifting here at Interflora, was invited to represent the UK at the event.
On the first day of the show six designers from different parts of the globe, including Karen, were asked to present a floral design which epitomised the floristry style of their country.
Karen chose to pay homage to Queen Elizabeth in her jubilee year and created a spectacular design which celebrated the very best of British floral art- including a mix of Victorian, English country and contemporary styles.
Karen said: “We have so many different design influences in the UK from traditional to contemporary design, so I opted to create something that has elements of both, choosing traditional techniques and style, which sit so beautifully with English horticultural materials, and then have hints of European style, fusing the two beautifully.”
In the second part of the show the six designers were challenged to create a design in just 30 minutes, without notice. Each had the same flowers and materials to work with but as you can see each of the finished designs had its own distinctive look.
Since returning to work Karen has already recieved one lovely letter from a fellow florist who was inspired by her designs. Talking about her experience Karen said: “Being invited to take part in AIFD’s symposium is a real privilege. It’s such an important event for inspiring and educating people in the floral industry. The event is extraordinary and something we unfortunately don’t experience here in the UK.”
Source: Interflora - Interflora at the AIFD Symposium
