Yours truly (Mandy) from Flower Shop Network attended the AIFD Southern Conference in Chattanooga, TN last weekend.

What a spectacular event it was: fresh flowers, amazing setting, (the Chattanooga Aquarium is amazing, especially filled with flowers) and delectable food — I didn’t want to leave!

Friday was all about the student competition. Young girls from Mississippi State were a real showcase of upcoming talent in our industry. (Even the floral veterans were impressed.)

I was really looking forward to Friday Night’s reception at the Chattanooga Aquarium, however, I was a little unsure as to why were were having a floral event there. Within minutes, I understood — inspiration was everywhere! The vivid colors and beautiful sea life were pleasant refreshers to the senses.

I can’t think of a better way to open a conference called “The Attraction’s Only Natural,” than a night at the aquarium — wining, dinning, and mingling. But we all but took a side step as we all stood with our faces pressed to the 650,000 gallon aquarium glass, and watched the sharks swim by like children. A much-needed, relaxing evening to a busy weekend.

With muses dancing in our heads and our bellies full of the world’s best pastries, we all went to bed, eagerly awaiting the next day’s masterful presentations by leading floral designers.

First thing the next morning was our sponsored presenter, Linda Robinette, AIFD, CFD’s presentation. Entitled, PHI “The Golden Proportion,” it explored man’s primordial attraction to proportion through the Fibonacci theory. In other words, the mathematical reasons why something is beautiful. The golden ratio is 3 : 5: 8, or if you had 8 equal parts and divided them into 5 parts and 3 parts.

In floral terms: your entire arrangement is 8 parts, your flowers are 5 parts and the vase is 3 parts (for the average arrangement). Of course, design rules are made to be broken, but it is an interesting theory.

From Big Sky Country, Larry Kramer, AIFD, CFD showcased his amazing talent for building unique armatures. Larry explained that he lived 6 hours away from his nearest fresh flower wholesaler, so he has learned over the years to use each and every piece of his flowers. Reduce, reuse, recycle is [Read more…]