Natural Flower Support

Infinite ways to design

When sustainability is more than a trendy topic

During the past decade, European Master Certification has been an educational program where open minded florists from all over the world have been through the process of realising all of their creative potential as a floral designer.

This course is made to assist you in developing your own distinctive style and making a statement, regardless of how experienced you are in floral design. We recognize that you're seeking a fresh perspective on your design-thinking process, and the EMC Core Program is providing you just that. You will discover how to balance the limitless possibilities in your designs and release your inner artist with our cutting-edge techniques and professional advice. At EMC, we are aware that you are aware of the value of knowing "how to" design. The secret to maximizing your time, having a greater impact, and standing out from the competition is to use it.

As the process of learning enfolds during the course of the Foundation and Practicum, the Advanced Course comes with a range of new concepts that build on the knowledge students have acquired and it opens a world of new possibilities. One of those concepts is Natural Flower Support, a theory that enlarges the design possibilities of every student, by opening doors to create floral arrangements of incorporating natural elements as structural constructions to support the flowers. The NFS has been part of the EMC curriculum from the very beginning of the existence, and has since been taught to students for over a decade. The inspiration of including this concept in the Advanced Course came from the extended travels that lead instructor Tomas De Bruyne has done worldwide during his career as a floral designer. As all journeys take people not only into a new space or country, but also into a new mindset, years ago, Tomas was inspired by the work of Mami Kawasaki in Japan, and perceived the value of incorporating the natural elements as support materials in the future of floristry over time, not only from the perspective of supporting the sustainability in our art form, but also in expanding the creative mind of florist just as he experienced the 'the mirror view' as a creative when encountering the works of Mami Kawasaki.

The focus of the Advanced Course is on helping our students unleash their creative potential, including concepts as sustainability as a focus to engage their awareness during the design process. 

In his lecture on Natural Flower Support, Tomas goes back to basics and works from the theoretical perspective and knowledge that the students have gathered during the Foundation and Practicum courses, and put it into practice. Natural Flower Support is an excellent implementation of applied theory. The general idea is to use natural products and study their potential and ability to interact with plants, cut flowers and other botanicals that are used in the design. This approach is unique, ethical and focused on simplicity and understanding beauty. It allows students to dive into developing their ability to showcase potential from all sorts of materials that nature provides. 

Moreover, the Advanced Course also brings to attention the way Natural Flower Support blends into the visual impact of the final design and it gives students the option to strengthen the way they work with natural materials, being at the same time conscious not only on being sustainable with their design, but also take into account the final outcome, how will the design look and how can they find solutions to not sacrifice the concept of their arrangement in favour of just using a natural material. It's a challenging task sometimes, but the Advanced lecture offers so much clarity into how a Natural Flower Support affects the way this concept works practically in design. 

The NFS design concept uses only naturally available plant materials. NFS provides functional support for configuration and beautifully enhances the outcome of the design at the same time. Getting inspired by the beauty of nature and discovering endless possibilities for decorating events with flowers, whether we are talking about a table design, a buffet arrangement or flowers for any other arrangements for that matter.

We look at a plant's morphology and determine its best potential from its branches and stems, leaves, seed pods and even roots.There is so much to learn from nature and so many opportunities for us as designers. Florists have many opportunities at their fingertips by being aware of the possibilities of different products. At EMC, we truly boost our students to realise that the magic happens when you know your medium. It is also one of the reasons why we incorporate an extended interest towards studying nomenclature during the overall curriculum and our students build their unique system of understanding how the plant world works, looking at if not just from an inspirational perspective, but also from a very scientific point of view. Care and handling must be considered when using Natural Flower Support as due to the nature of nature of materials, there is a high risk of bacterial growth in the water, which is not to be disregarded when sustainability is taken into account.

When using NFS, many factors can be explored and integrated. In other words, one becomes attached to the medium!

All compositions are adaptable to the use of NFS. It inspires us to discover many new and different techniques, by incorporating natural materials with NFS which are pleasing to the eye, one can enhance the effectiveness of the organic design. More importantly, by designing in this way, you are being respectful to the botanical materials as well. Depending on your desired goals, choose the best botanical material to achieve your desired design effect. We analyse and ask ourselves the benefits of a particular natural product in our design formulations and the amounts required to achieve the formulations. For example, is my product flexible? Does it need a lot of water? Is it strong enough to withstand the weight? Is it waterproof? and so on.

This concept is such an inspiration into also creating awareness towards the things florists throw away on a daily basis in the process of designing. It's amazing to see how many new possibilities come through being a conscious creative and realising how many leftovers can actually become working materials that one can incorporate in their designs and create beautiful constructions, or simply add catchy details at the end to create more textures or dimensions. 

We are always amazed and surprised by the results that students showcase by the end of the class, as we see so many varieties of designs and so many different ways of interpreting this assignment. Their use of Natural Flower Support ranges from branches to grasses, from bamboo to sea shells and many more and it's always fascinating to visualise the way each individual student sees the potential in natural materials. 

This is a direct consequence of the way the thought process during the Advanced Course unfolds and of how the teaching of the Natural Flower Support is starting from a very theoretical point of view, allowing students to engage into designs with an open mind. It's not about showing examples of a few options, but rather inspiring people and giving them the creative tools to look for options themselves. As part of the entire EMC curriculum, this concept is blending into that journey that we take our students on, where they get to experience the Infinite Creative Effect, in this case focusing on the sustainable factor as well, yet not dismissing the outcome of their design or the aesthetic purpose they are trying to achieve with it. 

Being a sustainable florist means making choices that protect the health of the earth, the environment, and the people touched in all aspects of the short life of a cut flower. This is an overall accepted definition of what sustainability means in floristry, yet we add to it the fact that this does not in any way involve limitative options into how to design with flowers. Focusing on a material and structuring a whole concept around it has to work in a constructive way in order to become engaging for florists who are focused in their day to day activities to be different and to meet the customers needs. There are decisions that have to be made, not for the sake of making a decision but because there's a sense of purpose that can be achieved through them. Natural Flower Support aims for that, precisely, engaging students into seeing potential, making conscious decisions and implementing them without sacrificing design, outcome, overall visual impact or profitability of the work in a practical situation, 

This is why the first day of the Advance Course is using all of the knowledge that our students acquire during the Foundation and the Practicum and making it come together in a way that really feels like unleashing their creative potential, while opening a new design direction as well. A direction towards the future and towards sustainability.