Builder, Architect or Artist?
Many years ago I visited Casa Batllo, a beautiful house designed by Gaudi in Barcelona, where I was told a story that has stayed with me ever since. Gaudi was commissioned by the Batllo family, and granted full creative freedom to renovate the property that would become the Batllo family’s home. The house is a true work of art and is considered one of Gaudi’s masterpieces.
Gaudi had so much reverence for nature in its true form, that he did not believe in straight lines: “The straight line belongs to men, the curved one to God.”… “Therefore, buildings must have no straight lines or sharp corners.”
Only, when the Batllo family moved in, they found the only place they could hang their impressive and valuable art collection was on the back of the doors.
What on earth does this have to do with floristry you may be asking?!
In floristry, you can be a floral artist, an architect or a builder. And understanding the difference is important to understanding your own floristry business, what your business model should be, how you position yourself, your pricing and what you put in your portfolio.
Mainstream floristry courses teach the basic building blocks of floristry, but few go beyond that into the world of floral architecture or art. Workshops of this kind provide students with an entrance to the world of floristry, using the most ‘generic’ of materials and designing to standardised recipes that can be repeated within florist shops up and down the country.
At the other end of the spectrum, Instagram is full of floral art. We regularly fall down instagram holes exploring this art form. It is a rich source of inspiration and sparks so much creativity. But how much of it translates into the ‘commercial’ world of running a floristry business? Like any work of art, each piece is unique, and can often be difficult to repeat en masse for a large scale event or at a price point that customers are willing to accept.
Sitting in between builder and artist is the floral architect. The architect has a solid understanding of the building blocks of floral design, along with an artistic flair that enables them to design according to each unique customer, venue and, in the case of season-led floristry, different seasons and non-generic stems, full of movement and vitality.
There are definitely crossovers. All three are important, and the line between builder, architect and artist is blurry, but we think it is important to understand the difference…And to understand where - within that spectrum - you want to sit.
Working seasonally and sustainably definitely requires more than a mastery of the basic building blocks. As you move out of the ‘standard’ and into the more ‘irregular’, in terms of materials used and what is available throughout the year, a higher level is of skill is inherently required. Which is why we choose to call floristry a craft.
All of our courses are intended to help our students master their craft. We provide our students with the basic blocks needed to be a master builder, the skills and understanding of successful floral design to become a floral architect and the knowledge and confidence to set off on their own journey of floral artistry.
If you want to learn the art, craft and business of floristry with us, explore our workshops taught from a flower farm in Bedfordshire.
Floral installation by our founder, Cissy of Wildstems, and Ellie Cannon of Wilt Studio for Strawberry Hill House Flower Festival 2023