A feast to give as a gift

In spring there are many special days when flowers play an important role. Valentine's Day is not yet over and florists are already responding to International Women's Day, Easter and Mother's Day. Also, birthdays, births and weddings require festive floral gifts.

Winter tinted

November marks the transition from autumn to winter. Still, autumn does not let itself be driven away so easily; it seems as if the leaves on trees and shrubs color later every year. But at the end of November, winter really does make its appearance.

Sparkling Christmas

Whether you go for an expressive eye-catcher or a rustic and subdued Christmas arrangement: Christmas anno 2023 sparkles! Perhaps it has to do with the zeitgeist that makes people feel the need for coziness, a beautifully decorated table, a warm home. A spectacular eye-catcher in the store is therefore really recommended. The enchantment that comes with Christmas then already starts with a few eye-catchers in the flower store.

'Working ahead saves a lot of stress'

Floral designer Hanneke Frankema knows better than anyone how busy the run-up period to Christmas can be for florists. You had better be well prepared for Christmas. It is very handy to make a large number of bases in the quiet hours, for example in the summer. Make it so that all you have to do is add a few fresh flowers - although dried flowers are still fine too. If something sells you can then quickly grab a new ground from the stock, hop a single fresh flower in and sell it again.'

'So when making the arrangements for this edition of DPK, I looked closely at fun solutions for beautiful bases for winter and Christmas that can be prepared easily and quickly. Like tea light holders that you can pimp and trendy circles with lots of dried and repaired materials. Also, the appeal of a group of arrangements in different sizes (and prices) is great. Mass is checkout.

'Working ahead saves many overtime hours and a lot of stress during busy days. And, substrates are also super fun to make - I think!'

'My team is really mˋn safety net'

With sixteen top participants in the starting blocks, the battle for the European Cup for Florists could finally get underway after more than two years. Our Dutch candidate was one of the favorites from the start in Katowice, Poland: and she fulfilled this promise in full. Hanneke Frankema is European Flower Arranging Champion 2022!