Upcycling, hand-tied bouquets and bridal floristry

On January 14 and 15, the quadrennial final of the NK Floral Art took place at the Trendz trade fair in Gorinchem. The NK final is aligned with the international competition calendar. Through three regional preliminary rounds, which took place in 2022, nine candidates had qualified for the final battle for the prestigious Dutch title.

Meaningful practical lessons make all the difference

Students of the Flower, Green and Styling course at Yuverta mbo Heerlen develop their creativity in the field of floral art and styling during meaningful practical lessons. A special activity was the exploration of the theme of funeral arrangements during a fascinating floral design assignment.

Iris: majestic beauty

Flowers are attributed all kinds of beautiful designations. Some we call humble, sublime, glorious, or admirable, beautiful and lovely. There is one that we can rightly call majestic: the iris. Her beauty impressed kings and artists and is thus deeply rooted in our culture

'Longing for the next lesson as one longs for delicious food'

The Japanese-Canadian floral designer Hitomi Gilliam calls herself an 'open source floral educator'. She wants to share all the knowledge and skills she has with others who are interested. She lives on Bowen Island, near Vancouver, Canada, but travels the world to teach, both in person and virtually. 'Education must be exciting to follow.'

'I shifted up a gear for the final'

On January 15, Franka Roenhorst won the Dutch Floral Art Championship. Together with her partner Hans Zijlstra, she owns flower shop Bloemstylist Hans Zijlstra in Groningen. Franka is also the Dutch candidate for the World Floral Art Championship in 2025. Reason enough for an interview with the new Dutch Floral Art Champion!

‘Pure emotion captured in a period of time’

For florist Max van de Sluis, spring is one of the most beautiful moments of the year. 'A lot happens. Different plants and flowers emerge, everything gets color in the garden and nature, and above all, life becomes warmer and more pleasant.'

‘All this is pure emotion, and also captured in a period of time. I then try to incorporate that into my floral arrangements. That means sometimes working with a lot of color, so that an explosion is, as it were, depicted in an arrangement. And at other times I will opt for the subdued transformation from dead nature to the new and fresh green as it sprouts in the spring.’

'It is particularly intriguing and inspiring every year. The spring season has so much to offer. Just think in terms of colors from warm to cold - each color palette represents its own emotions and pure beauty.'