Note: Below is basically my love letter to the wonderful Team Flower workshop I attended in August. I’m warning you because it is overflowing with sappiness….
In August I was able to finally mark something off my flower bucket list: attending my first flower workshop. I discovered Team Flower a couple of years ago in my quest to further my flower education. I took some of Kelly’s online courses and learned so much about mechanics, different techniques and business tips- she is a wonderful educator. In December of 2016 I took a leap and made a commitment to attend her workshop in August of 2017. Why Team Flower? Well, if you’ve never seen a video of Kelly she just has a way of making you feel completely welcome and like you are old friends- all through a video. Plus, I LOVE her style of floral design and she was only a 5.5 hour drive from me where as most workshops are a plane trip from KY.
We stayed at a beautiful cabin up in the mountains of North Carolina. It wasn’t a come to a class for a day and then go on your own- I got to know the other women at the workshop pretty well and after the day’s lesson we talked in depth about where we were at in our floral journey and shared advice.
The great thing about Kelly is she is around the whole workshop; she didn’t just teach and leave, she was available to chat one-on-one and answer specific questions I had about how to move Fields in Bloom forward. Also, who she is on her videos, is who is who she is at the workshop: so sweet, helpful and inspiring.
A quick rundown of the week:
-Sunday: We settled in and chatted over ice cream
-Monday: Lesson on the principles of design with a demonstration by Kelly
-Tuesday: Lesson on hiring and training staff. Plus a hands on exercise- we practiced wiring techniques (if you don’t know- Kelly LOVES to wire and by the end we were practicing it with our eyes closed) and made boutonnieres, corsages, hair combs, flower crowns, bouquets, and centerpieces. The great thing about Kelly is she doesn’t just show you things, she really explains step by step about why putting a stem here or there works to balance the arrangement or how a certain ingredients plays a role in the principles of design.
-Wednesday: Open Design Day- oh my word, I have never seen so many flowers in my life. We were allowed to design to our heart’s content. Kelly was there as needed if we needed guidance. It was just the most fabulous day. Heather Payne Photography was also there to snap some beautiful photos of my designs and even several good ones of me!
The last night of the workshop we enjoyed dinner together among the mountains of North Carolina. I don’t remember the specifics, but Kelly was sharing a story about a Dolly Parton concert and how special it was to see so many different people (young, old, male, female, etc.) enjoying Dolly’s music, but she was using that story to talk about moments in life that stay with you and cause a slight catch in your throat when you think of them. Sounds really cheesy, right? Well, my goodness, if I wasn’t driving through the mountains home the next morning listening to Coldplay and thinking about my experience at the workshop and the wonderful women I met there – I probably teared up for the first two hours!!!
It is my goal to attend some sort of workshop once a year from here on out. It was great to talk flowers with people from all over, learn from other people’s experiences and challenge myself creatively. But, I almost feel like Kelly has spoiled me- I don’t know if another workshop will compare to my experience at Team Flower.
It was the best thing I could’ve done for myself and Fields in Bloom. Being a creative (and a small business owner!) is so rewarding, but it can also be extremely challenging and filled with moments of self-doubt. However, Kelly is so uplifting and really reminded me of the reasons I started doing flowers in the first place. Also, that I am on an extraordinary journey and for that I will be forever grateful.
Now, onto some pretties:
Setup for Tuesday’s hands- on exercise
Kelly doing her thing…
Centerpiece after the hands-on exercise. Note: we got to keep these awesome compotes and the frog inside (plus tons of other goodies)!
I could NOT stop designing on Wednesday! There were so many beautiful flowers. And being surrounded by the beautiful mountains was so inspiring..
Beautiful shot of my bouquet by Heather Payne Photography
Look at those peonies in this lovely compote arrangement! Image by Heather Payne Photography
Another compote shot! Image by Heather Payne Photography
Just an Iphone shot- but I really wanted to play with a different shape and some of the funky textures available!
Another Iphone shot- I love gradation in color and really wanted to practice the technique.
My lovely new head shot from Heather Payne Photography. She is so incredibly talented!
I so enjoyed getting to know all of these wonderful women! Image by Heather Payne Photography
Kelly (and her signature smile) and me!
