Flower School leads revival of British blooms

Wedding and special event florist, Jay Archer, is flying the flag for British flower growers with the launch of a new Flower School that aims to educate and spread awareness of the thriving industry.

Based outside the historic village of Odiham, Hampshire, the hotly anticipated Jay Archer Floral Design Flower School, provides career and hobby courses for all ages and abilities.

As one of a new generation of exciting florists, Jay’s award-winning style and methods challenge the industry’s status quo. In classes taught personally by Jay, students will be encouraged to forget the norm, experiment and explore their creativity, using predominately oasis-free methods and locally sourced, seasonal, British flowers where possible.

Recognised internationally for her natural, abundant and eclectic designs, Jay is a huge advocate for British growers and the Slow Flowers movement. The Flower School has partnered with Claire Brown at Plant Passion and Rosbie Morton, owner of The Real Flower Company, in a bid to show its commitment.

Winner of the Hitched Breakthrough Award for Best New Wedding Florist (2012), in 2014 Jay was shortlisted for three awards: New Covent Garden Market Awards ‘Florist of the Year’, Perfect Wedding ‘Florist of the Year’, and the National Wedding Awards.

She recently became part of the internationally renowned Chapel Designers, a collective that brings together the highest calibre of floral design talent from around the world.

Jay hopes the school will not only inspire and empower students but also educate new and existing florists about the British flower industry and the huge variety of home-grown and seasonal alternatives to classic blooms: “There’s such a wonderful community of growers and wedding florists, in particular, should use this as an opportunity to support them by recommending seasonal alternatives to brides who insist on peonies in November.

“There are so many unknown varieties of flora and fauna grown in this country, as well and exciting grasses and even moss, which can be used to create dramatic, beautiful arrangements. It’s just that many people aren’t aware of the options.

Jay continues: “At the Flower School, we’ll show students how to get creative with all manner of materials so they can see the huge potential in ethical and contemporary flower arranging. We hope by spreading awareness that demand will increase and more growers like Rosbie and Claire can expand and diversify.”

For more information about The Jay Archer Floral Design Flower School visit www.jafdflowerschool.com

Courses start in September 2015. Pre-booking is available now by visiting the website.