Gold for Estonian smoke saunas and black bread

As many as sixteen floral designers from around the globe traveled to Singapore at the invitation of the organization to compete from Aug. 3-5 for the Floral Windows to the World Championship (FWWC) competition, part of the Singapore Garden Festival. FWWC, after a six-year hiatus, returned this year in a revamped live format.

'Autumn is full of admiration and amazement'

Florist Willy Pardijs of Vrij Geschikt loves every season, but autumn is her favorite when it comes to the many beautiful materials to work with. She works from the rural Wichmond in the Achterhoek. ‘If you look around carefully in late summer and autumn, you will see so many beautiful materials in nature that it is sometimes difficult to choose what you want to use.’

'Autumn also has something magical, the early morning, the mist that slowly rises and the beautiful warm autumn light that slowly makes its entrance and shows the beautiful colors of nature.'

‘I mainly get my inspiration from nature and I also like to work from my feeling, not thinking but doing. Nature, it provides admiration and wonder. The leaves on the trees get the most beautiful colors and flowers and plants often get the most beautiful fruits and seed pods.

'As a florist, I like to showcase our craft'

When floral artist Johannes de Boer thinks of autumn, he immediately thinks of mushrooms. And he puts his money where his mouth is by taking the special shape of the mushroom cap as the starting point for an arrangement.

'In terms of materials, the autumn period naturally has a rich assortment. Branches, berries and grasses, so wonderful to work with! Basic shades suit us very well, but the warm autumn colors are also definitely a favorite.'

‘In the autumn period, we often see that our customers want to make it cozy again at home. After mainly living outside in the summer, they want to go back inside. Flowers and plants then provide a lot of atmosphere. In our store, we mainly sell many bouquets, preferably as natural as possible. Field bouquets are the most popular.’

‘As a florist, I like to show our craft, which is why I make many bases and frames myself. Customers appreciate that enormously and keep coming back for it. It is also ideal for subscriptions, because you can reuse the bases with a different application each time and let them rotate.’

Italian grandeur in floral art

The beautiful Italian Amalfi Coast was the setting for the prestigious La Bella Vita workshop from May 20 to 25. Here, Per Benjamin, Max van de Sluis and Vincenzo Antonuccio presented an international floral wedding and event experience in floral art.

Green and conscious floral styling has the future

How are floral and green stylists dealing with the future? Rethinking the future is the inspiring name of the trend event organized at mbo Curio Breda on April 18. 'A good event is like a good book: it leaves you with memories that last a lifetime.' And so it happened.

'From the impermanence of flowers comes much beauty'

Floral artist Franca Logan-van den Berk is originally from the Netherlands from where, via Canada and England, she ended up in New Zealand where she has been living for the past eighteen years. She still speaks Dutch well but prefers the English language for answering the interview questions. Her passion for the trade is undeniable: "Flowers are my livelihood and also my hobby.