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In 2005 Karen was indoctrinated into the American Institute of Floral Designers. What she witnessed, learned, and came to understand during that process was that there is a great need within the floral industry for solid floral design instruction so, most of Karen's focus at this point in her career is actually on teaching.
Do-It-Yourselfers are establishing themselves as floral designers without the awareness, understanding, and mastery of basic mechanical skills of floral design that were once taught and passed down from florist to florist. Those skills come into play over and over again in a designers' career. Karen says, "We've lost the art of wiring and taping" because new designers have been brought into the industry during the "days of the hand-tied bouquet" and have never learned it.
The problem arises when these designers are asked by their clients to do some higher level work and they haven't a clue how it's accomplished. So Karen offers private lessons in her studio for professional designers who need to learn or hone specific skills in order to keep up with their clients needs. Within the floral industry she is a regular teacher with the Independent Floral Designers Association (IFDA) and Middle Atlantic Florists Association (MAFA). And the general public can spend time with her at Brookeside Gardens in Silver Spring, MD where she offers hands-on classes and workshops on arranging and styling flowers for fun.
Karen takes floral design seriously and isn't about to let her own design skills become stagnant. This summer she is one of five people invited to work with the internationally recognized designer Gregor Lersch as he prepares for his AIFD Symposium Presentation and dinner celebration designs. She's excited to be attending, participating, and designing at Symposium not so much because the investment will not only pay off in her own design practice and for her students, but mostly because the event will be a blast as her local, national, and global designer friends come together in Boston for networking, sharing, and camaraderie.
If you are interested in touching base with Karen for her design, freelancing, or instruction services her contact information is listed in the MY Flowerhandlers Directory.
"Each flower is a soul opening out to nature."
Gerald DeNerval
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