'Achieving the pure with few different materials'

Floral artist Philippe Bas tries to do everything in life with passion and dedication. At nineteen he was a professional football player. But because flowers also had his attention, he started his own flower shop in Hasselt (B) at the age of twenty. 'The common thread through my floral work is to try to achieve the pure with few different materials – with a fairytale touch.'

'Likewise with bridal floral work, in which he elaborates on the theme of Bohemian wedding. 'Bohemian, to me, means a very natural style with mostly natural materials such as wood, bark, fresh and dried grasses, and wool, felt, paper. The colors range from orange to brown to burgundy and from pastel to beige to taupe.'

‘Bridal bouquets for a Bohemian wedding party may be larger and fuller than other bridal work, with a beautiful mix of larger flowers such as Dahlia, chrysanthemum, sunflower, peony, Protea in combination with smaller flowers such as spray rose, ranunculus and lisianthus.’

Floral Boho Bridal Party

Mention a bridal party, wedding, or marriage, and a beautiful, festive, and dreamy image appears: a stylish, rural event location, a lush green environment, and excellent decoration with the most beautiful flowers and greenery. The bridal bouquet is elegant, carefully made in a
distinctive shape with special materials and flowers. There are so many possibilities; it is not without reason that creating bridal floral work is and remains a favorite for many floral designers.

'Enjoying the sunshine and colors in the garden'

In her flower shop in Apeldoorn, florist Erika Oldenhof creates beautiful, colorful arrangements in various themes every day. 'Every season is unique with the beautiful materials,
that makes our profession so extra beautiful!'

'For inspiration, I look around me carefully; what is happening in fashion, architecture, shop windows and home magazines, and from that I often get ideas for materials, shapes and colors. The many floral prints in fashion are also striking now.'

'Summer, for me, is being outside as much as possible and spending time in the garden with friends, BBQ, drinks, enjoying the sun and the colors in the garden. I like to use materials from the season, beautiful peonies, Passiflora, Ginkgo, Delphinium, Lathyrus, et cetera. The trend is flowers from the picking garden. There is also
in the store more demand for (organic) field flowers.'

'Striving to balance sustainability, uniqueness creativity'

Student florist Gerrit van Aalst won a gold medal at Skills The Finals for the second year in a row. The new Dutch Student Champion in Floral Design will represent the Netherlands at the Worldskills in France.

‘I lovingly work with beautiful materials directly from the nursery – this enables me to always find that one special flower with a unique color, length, or a special variety that distinguishes and embellishes my work.’

‘I strive for a balance between sustainability and maintaining uniqueness and creativity. I am currently focusing on designing frames and surfaces that can be reused multiple times – but each time in a different way so that the flower arrangements always have a unique character. I am also working on creating large constructions that take up little space for storage after disassembly. That also makes it easier to transport or store the frames.’

'In my spacious garden I grow lots of flowers and plants'

Master florist Birgit Davids-Schuurman owns a vocational flower school for adults, Floral Academy, in Ede. ‘I teach students who want to deepen or (further) develop their skills as florists. Summer means a slightly quieter time for me, spending a lot of time outside in the garden, enjoying family and friends.’

‘In my own spacious garden, I grow many flowers and plants that are suitable for floral work. In the summer, there are many types of flowers available. I also love to go through the garden with my knife and collect all kinds of materials for a summer bouquet or arrangement.’

‘My floral work is characterized by versatility; I love variety: sometimes very minimalist and sleek, then natural, excessive kitsch, or classic. In terms of color, I often opt for ton-sur-ton, although I can certainly appreciate a colorful creation.’

'I love summer the most anyway'

Freelance floral stylist Fiona Konings has been mainly active in events since 2002. ‘In addition to performing floral styling, I also started taking photographs.’

‘I mainly get my inspiration from nature. But, and I realize that now: I actually get inspiration from almost everything around me. I like to combine my love for nature, flowers, and butterflies in my photos. The arrangement with the roses, for example, would be a beautiful setting for an inspiring photo shoot!’

'Although I can really enjoy all seasons, I still love summer the most. The outdoor life, the long evenings, the cheerful people, the warmth. In the summer you can literally recharge yourself. And of course, the sunflower cannot be missing from a summer theme!'