Carving Out Time for Creativity

To say life has been a bit of a whirlwind the past few weeks doesn't even begin to say the half of it!

EMC (European Master Certification) International had the distinct pleasure of getting to present a program on AIFD's national stage July 2nd here in Washington, DC. Check out our video for the program! Also, Tomas De Bruyne was able to bring EMC's Technique Courses to life for three workshops during that week. (Oh, but wait, I don't think I've mentioned this before on my blog...I'm the Business Manager and Business Partner for EMC, so this job keeps me busy in addition to my own floral studio warehouse here in Washington, DC!)

The day before the AIFD Symposium started, I went to the Slow FlowersSummit that was at the same hotel. Debra Prinzing brought a wonderful group of speakers to program and it's inspiring to see what they are doing. I left fully inspired to add even more American Growers to my buying at Bergerons for our events. You have to check out Slow Flowers and the Slow Flowers podcast and join the movement!

At the AIFD Symposium, I recognized a career goal that I had put off for quite some time. I was inducted into AIFD! What an accomplishment for me. Last year, I tested to achieve the accreditation. I earned my CFD (Certified Floral Designer) after testing and also received the AIFD (American Institute of Floral Design) induction for 2018.

The day after Symposium ended, EMC conducted another workshop with Regine Motmans EMC, from Belgium here in Washington DC. I worked on bringing this together so that other florists could experience designing in a European fashion using wool. This was a fantastic day with designers having the opportunity not only to learn but also to have a lively discussion around the table concerning floral design techniques and theory. I personally L-O-V-E these types of interactions!

Then a half-week to catch up with my team at Bergerons and get honed in on our events for this weekend. They have been amazing, and I wouldn't be able to do this life without them! :)

And I'm off to my next adventure: Alaska! Yes, you heard me, Alaska! I landed in Anchorage yesterday and have another short flight to Homer today. I'll be sightseeing, but mostly getting to play and design with what makes my heart sing, FLOWERS: Peonies, lilacs, etc. Kelly Shore of Petals by the Shore and Beth van Sandt of Scenic Place Peonies have put together a fabulous trip.

So the adventure begins--join me on Instagram stories to see more! I can't wait to get re-energized with flowers and spark some new creativity! We all need to take some time out for this.