Floral dinner review

It isn't often that I have the chance to both preview and review a subject, especially events. But I wanted to share my opinion of the Florist to the Field book signing, dinner and floral arranging demo that I wrote about last week. 

The ambiance was as elegant as I expected - Trellis, Lucas and their team filled the small church space with round tables, and minimal decor. I thought the rustic interior of the church was plenty without extra fuss. 

Authors and florists Greg Campbell and Erick New gave an introduction and quick demo before dinner (which was delicious), and shared more stories and information and created two arrangements during dessert (which was also delicious). 

They talked about when they first started working directly with flower farms, and how it raised their awareness of seasonal blooms which influenced their arrangements and business. Greg and Erick did note that some flowers, such as roses, have to be available for customers year round. 

 

The team recommended using a variety of materials, beyond flowers, when arranging. As examples, they incorporated chestnuts, crabapples and a pumpkin. They also said even if you know a particular flower won't hold up well in water, don't be afraid to use it - just enjoy it for the days it blooms. 

Instead of just putting the stems in a vase of water, Erick and Greg said they prefer sticking flowers into Oasis floral foam, which can be kept saturated with water and provides a more stable base. Apparently, it is biodegradable (takes over a year, but still) which helps counter balance the fact that it is a one-time use product. Personally, unless I have a particular vision, I think I'll skip the foam for my home arrangements to keep my household waste to a minimum. But I did think it was great that these florists were conscious of whether their business byproducts were earth friendly. 

They spoke a bit about various places they source flowers from, how flowers are shipped, challenges of flower farming, anecdotes about events they worked on as well as some of the techniques they use for arranging flowers. After the presentation, attendees asked questions, and then had their books signed and socialized with the authors. 

Overall, I thought it was a lovely event, I am even more excited for this new local venue (I'm excited to take yoga classes next month), and I encourage you to check out their next event, especially if it is in the rustic church. 

*full discloser, after interviewing Trellis for my column and first blog post about this event, he offered to comp me a ticket if I wrote a review blog post as well. While I got a delicious dinner and great experience in exchange for this particular post, I shared my honest opinions about it - even if I'd paid for my ticket I would have thought it was a lot of fun.