Calvert Crary - Flower School: A Practical Guide to the Art of Flower Arranging

The history of FlowerSchool is similar to the history of any other trade school formed to help support an industry and celebrate its most talented practitioners. Success within a specific trade requires strong skills and practical knowledge.

The prerequisite for practicing a world-class trade is a world-class trade school. Think of George Balanchine creating the School of American Ballet in order to train dancers or world-class cooking schools in France that teach and refine young chefs. The list goes on.

The work of florists has typically been relegated to early mornings, with the goal of having their flowers done before any customers arrived. However, the actual process of putting these creations together can often be as wonderful as the finished product: a living work of art. The process of working with flowers often requires decision making on a moments notice, something that can be startling for those just beginning to work with flowers. Similar to sculpting a work of art from stone, watching as each curve and angle reveals itself, a bale of branches and a bundle of flowers can turn into a masterpiece in the hands of an experta truly exhilarating experience when its done right. The difference between stone and flowers is that one is fleeting and one is not.

FlowerSchool was started by Eileen Johnson in 2003 from a small flower shop in Midtown Manhattan, in a neighborhood known as Tudor City. Ms. Johnson had taken over the flower shop location from the great Michael George, one of the best florists of his time. The shop was a one-room schoolhouse with a single aim: to showcase well-known florists and connect adoring fans with their passion. As such, FlowerSchool began offering classes and started the teaching careers of great designers such as Ariella Chezar, Lewis Miller, and Remco Van Vliet to name a few.

Make a masterpiece with a master was the schools original tagline. Eager students were given the chance to watch as world-famous Master Florists made a bouquet, and then the students had a chance to make a similar bouquet under the masters tutelage. Because of the delicate and refined nature of this art form, the event became wildly popularpart personal and part educational. When done right, flowers can speak beyond the classroom setting. Arranging living organisms, with their own natural life force, into a pattern that resembles the spirit of the person creating the arrangement can be unbelievably invigorating. Echoing that concept, I often overhear students describe the flowers theyre working with in a way thats reminiscent of how they would describe their own state of mind. Im putting this flower here, so it can shine or speak to me. There you are, old friend. Wonderfully, flower arranging often includes a healthy dose of personal exploration.

Author Calvert Crary teaches a class at the recently opened Los Angeles outpost of FlowerSchool.

A casual class or chance opportunity to cut from a garden can turn into a lifelong passion with endless possibilities. Ive seen it happen. There is tremendous satisfaction to be taken from manipulating an object of beauty and helping it contribute to a higher design aesthetic. Providing an opportunity to work with such beauty is a great honor and responsibility. One that I never take lightly. Too much handling of flowers can destroy them, while neglecting a flower can result in an arrangement that feels unfinished and insubstantial. Working with flowers is a discipline that requires restraint as much as it requires artistic talent.

A FlowerSchool student makes adjustments to her arrangement during one of our weeknight classes.

As new florists work to achieve higher levels of artistry, more questions arise. Where did these flowers come from? How were they prepped? Can I make a career of doing this? What is the technical work that goes into making flower arrangements? As more students began to ask these questions, FlowerSchool worked to develop more comprehensive programs for career development training. Its named the Floral Design Program. The program is now licensed by the Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision, a branch of the New York State Board of Education, which has made FlowerSchool an authority in floristry career education. To this day, FlowerSchool NY is the only licensed school in New York for floral design education.

A group of burgeoning florists practices the fundamentals of flower arranging in the workspace at FlowerSchools New York location.

Michael George was the first florist I ever saw create art using flowers. He was able to make his style come to life in unexpected ways, delivering astonishing arrangements right before your eyes and without even a hint of hesitation. Most of the really great people I worked with in the beginning of my career came out of Michaels training program. They were all amazing technicians with a passion for perfection. As a result, the reputation of the schools training program grew and eventually entire companies were sending new staff members to begin their training at FlowerSchool. There is nothing that gives me, and everyone at FlowerSchool, a better feeling of accomplishment than to have professional companies rely on our program. Not only do students learn how to become florists, but they also learn how to do it with success.