Build you confidence as a florist!

Does knowing many techniques help improve your design skills?

Learn to craft your arrangements to the highest standards!

Floral design is not just about arranging flowers; for some it's an art form and for some is a craft that requires skill, creativity, and a deep understanding of various techniques. From the delicate placement of botanical materials to the artful manipulation of non-botanical materials, mastering floral techniques is essential for any budding florist or seasoned professional. Exploring the significance of floral techniques and how they can elevate your craft to new heights is important for any designer who wants to successfully grow their business and revenue.

Floral techniques are one of the building blocks of floral design, providing the foundation upon which creativity can flourishes. By mastering them, floral designers can elevate their craft, and leave a lasting impression on their clients. So, whether you're a novice florist or a seasoned professional, never underestimate the importance of floral techniques in your artistic journey.

What is the best approach to learning floral techniques?

Techniques often take centre stage and are seen as the cornerstone of expertise. At EMC, we push our students for a shift in perspective, viewing techniques not as ends in themselves, but as vehicles for conscious creativity and infinite possibilities. Rather than viewing creativity as a destination to be reached through mastering a certain number of techniques, we encourage florists and floral designers to embrace a mindset of "conscious creativity." This approach means being open to the many possibilities that surround us, going beyond the idea of learning a limited number of "tips and tricks" and reaching an infinite potential to create.

Techniques in floral design are not static concepts; they are dynamic actions that breathe life into creative ideas. Each technique serves as a trigger, transforming the design vision into a tangible end result that engages the senses. By embracing techniques as actions, designers can unleash their creativity and bring their ideas to life. It's easy to fall into the trap of complacency, relying on a handful of mastered techniques to navigate the creative landscape. However, true innovation lies beyond the comfort zone. At EMC, we challenge designers to step outside familiar territory, conducting SWOT analyses of techniques to uncover their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By embracing experimentation and pushing the boundaries of technique, designers can unlock their creativity and elevate their artistry to better serve their clients and ultimately transform their day to day business.

The transformation of techniques into tools for infinite creative expression is a key component in the development of a confident designer. By using techniques with intentionality, designers can unleash their full potential, blending aesthetics with functionality to bring their visions to life. Through practice, passion, and perseverance, designers can harness the power of technique to create breathtaking works of art that captivate the imagination.

Can techniques be seen differently?

essential to the process of learning floral design is developing the capacity to see potential in every material and action employed, in order to best use them to your advantage. At EMC, we always say, "there is no such thing as a best technique, there are only techniques that are most suitable". What does that mean? Once you start looking at techniques as actions you make, and focus on the verbs that describe those actions as a way to identify techniques, your mind will be able to perceive the creative possibilities that arouse, in a different way.

Techniques are not a final result, but the means that allow you to reach it. For instance, a spiral hand tied bouquet is a not a technique, but rather a desired outcome that can be achieved by consciously placing the flowers in a specific manner in you hand in order to create the bouquet. And nor just that, the spiral bouquet also involves other techniques/actions you need to use in order to best achieve the desired outcome, such as properly cleaning the stems of the flowers, carefully arranging the flowers on a table by stacking them in order, grouping them by type in order to easily pick them up and combine them in the bouquet, then connecting them at binding point and cutting the ends of stems in order to achieve balance. See, the spiral of a bouquet is a result of the way you combine techniques with mechanics and botanicals. Does it make sense? Focusing on the action of placing the stems - the technique - will allow you to master it through practice and repetition to the point it becomes a consciously unconscious action. And ultimately, it allows you to create a guideline of a process adapted to the space you work in, the materials you have at reach and the design you want to achieve. 

Diving into this was of perceiving your creative actions, you will gain the ability to:

• streamline a process of working that is efficient and less time consuming for you
• scale the production of outcome by employing different people who don't have your experience but can easily learn a method once you are able to present it coherently and with sense
• adapt to situations that are challenging, such as days when work load increases temporary and even create a production line by splitting the process in techniques and assigning each worker you handle a specific technique (instead of all employees doing spiral bouquets, you can dived them into one cleaning stems, another counting them and creating the stacks layered on a table, the most experienced one placing them in a spiral and binding and maybe another one handling the packaging and so on...)

How techniques can expand your creativity?

Let's dive into some techniques and analyse the potential they offer by using the EMC analysis method, creatively imported from other domains - SWOT analysis. What starts as an exercise of the mind, can lead to developing a healthy habit for the body of the professional florist and that is a point each designer should aim to reach. 

To glue. A simple verb that describes an action, as follows: fasten or join with or as if with glue. Seems self explanatory and simple, yet within the definition itself there are many possibilities that this action offers to florists and the versatility of the technique is boundless. If we dive into an exercise of analysing the techniques from the EMC perspective, we discover so many options of using it.

Strengths:

• this technique offers a secure connection between materials 
• can ensure long lasting constructions, structures or final designs, depending on the glueing substance that is use

 Opportunities:

• gives you the possibility to dive into discovering different gluing substances available on the market 
• it's an adaptable technique to manage time depending on the glue drying time  

Weaknesses:

• it involves a cost of purchasing glue
• you have to be aware of the conditions for preserving different types of glue in order to not loose the product's capabilities in time

Threats:

• chemical substances can be involved in employing this techniques and therefore damage to skin and health can occur 

This a simple example of how to approach analysing a technique. What we do at EMC with our students is to constantly challenge them to create designs by first focusing on the mental process of creating rather than the physical one. It is an exercise that, with constant practice and feedback from the educational team, becomes a way of working that ensures efficiency. Imagine how this analysis can exponentially evolve into multiple applications and potential uses once you start thinking of the technique in combination with mechanics. The analysis fundamentally changes as for instance: to glue with hot a glue gun is easy and has a quick drying time, while it works on multiple type of surfaces, but it involves the risk of burning yourself and does not behave that well long term if the created object is stored in placed where heat variations occur. Opportunities of a technique can become strengths depending on the decisions you make in regards to the mechanics you employ while weaknesses can transform into opportunities if you explore the potential of materials creatively. 

Is your knowledge of techniques limited by your own imagination? 

Imagine a scenario where your creativity knows no bounds and possibilities stretch infinitely - this can be a reality that changes your design abilities and scales your business. The only barriers that put a stop to such a reality enfolding are those constructed by the confines of our own minds. But what if we dared to shatter these self-imposed limitations and embraced the infinite potential of your creativity when it comes to floral techniques?