'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!'

Pure Summer

After the long rainy winter and late spring, the arrival of summer is perhaps even more welcome than other years. And how nice it is then that the flower trade can give full expression to that with a great assortment of summer flowers.