On Thursday, Feb. 13, the Floral Design Club hosted its first flower sale of the semester.
The sale was from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the top of the stairs in the COM building. All the arrangements were created and priced by students in the Floral Design Club, while faculty adviser Diana Ryan supervised production.
“In Floral Design Club, the students design and create all the flowers, and then sell them to generate money,” Ryan said. “The money goes to take the students to design shows and also buys tools for them to use.”
The students designed many types of floral arrangements to sell to students and faculty. With Valentine’s Day being a popular holiday to purchase flowers for loved ones, the students running the sale were working hard to sell as many flowers as possible.
“We process [the flowers] the Thursday before,” Student Miranda Crabtree said. “We cut them and put them in water and then put them in a cooler. They sit in there all weekend so they’re ready to go when we make [the flower arrangements] on Tuesday.”
In the days leading up to the sale, students were required to learn all the steps that it takes to make an arrangement. Students made several different arrangements that were available for purchase. Crabtree selected her favorite the day before the sale: an arrangement with some roses and a tiny mailbox in the center surrounded by other flowers.
“The [arrangements] with the mailbox in them have this foam at the bottom that we stick the mailbox in,” Crabtree said. “We have to hot glue the foam to the dish and then let it cool and then soak it in the water for a few minutes. Then we start putting flowers and the other green plants in it. The most important thing is that we have to make sure that the roses look good because they’re the main flower for Valentine’s Day.”
While the Floral Design Club hosts many flower sales throughout the year, they find their most success comes from their Valentine’s Day sale. The profit from the sale goes directly back to the club to help them pay for tools and to attend design shows. The shows are organized by wholesale florists that bring in different designers from all over the country. This allows students to get hands-on training with new technology and learn skills that they can bring back to the college.
For student Sarah Kirby, being in the Floral Design Program has helped her learn new skills that she is able to apply in her real life.
“We’ve learned so much already and we’re still learning more,” Kirby said. “[Later in the semester] we’re doing business cards and brochures. Diane provides these gorgeous flowers that we use in bridal bouquets, corsages and boutineers. We’re going to learn how to run a business, [as well as] consulting and marketing.”
Currently there are only 10 students that are in the club, but Ryan and the others involved are always looking for new students that are interested in floral design. In addition to the club, the college also offers floral design courses that are geared to help anyone who desires to work in that field.
“Floral design is very hands-on,” Crabtree said. “For me, it’s all about the color and the smell. I love floral design because the flowers just make you relax, you know, they smell good and they look good, too. They’re pretty and it just makes your house more appealing.”
From the outside looking in, floral design may not seem like a lot of work, but that is something that the club would like to change.
“One thing I wish more people knew about the program is that it’s not just about learning how to make arrangements: you actually learn about the science of it,” Crabtree said. “I feel like sometimes people see our work in grocery stores and think that it doesn’t matter, they’re just flowers. I wish more people understood that there’s more to it than that.”
For more information about the Floral Design Club and program contact: Diana Ryan: dgryan@jccc.edu.
Story by Alieu Jagne