Weddings 101; a weekend long symposium

This is an intensive weekend-long symposium for those interested in learning the advanced art of wedding floral production. Nicolette and Sarah will share their expertise and experiences in the wedding industry through a series of discussions and hands-on lessons.

Our goal is to share with pupils the lessons we’ve gleaned from the hundreds of weddings and events our studios have produced.

Topics covered include:

Planning
In a relaxed round table approach, we’ll discuss client relations, consultations, proposal writing, budgeting, and the art of working with wedding planners.

Preparing
We’ll share case studies of events and review our practices on flower budgeting and ordering. In addition, we’ll discuss in depth the advantages of working seasonally, share tips on flower conditioning, ideas for sourcing containers, and how to deal with props and rentals.

Making
A large portion of the weekend will be devoted to hands-on floral lessons. Our wedding designs are known for their loose, romantic and somewhat unstructured approach. Special emphasis will be placed on the nuances of layering color and texture.

Lessons included: The art of composing distinctive bridal bouquets (students should expect to make a bouquet, and then make it again) building centerpieces, crafting boutonnieres, tricks for constructing hair pieces and crowns, and techniques for talking clients out of wrist corsages. (Joking – we’ll make those too, but discuss alternatives that work for us.)

The weekend’s work will finish Sunday afternoon with a photo session aimed at capturing student’s hard work for their portfolios. And probably a cocktail.

Cost of workshop including all materials, lunches and coffee breaks is $2,400
This class is intended for those with some floral knowledge who are looking to expand further into the wedding market and fine-tune their technical skills.

Limited to 7 students.
SOLD OUT
Each day is 10-5pm.
Saturday we will meet at the Saipua studio; 147 Van Dyke Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Sunday we will meet at the Nicolette Camille studio; 50-52 Dobbin Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

REGISTER HERE.

NEW NYC CLASS: Dutch Masters April 7th

still life:Jan Van Huysum

DUTCH MASTERS II; An advanced study

Saturday, April 7th, 2012
1:00-4:00pm
$300
SOLD OUT

Taking inspiration from the studied floral still lives of the Dutch Masters, we'll create rambling, moody, bountiful arrangements with the finest Spring flowers. Using a low footed compote we'll investigate the techniques of working in shallow vessels to highlight flowers natural gestures and movement. We'll have flowering branches, vines, ranunculus, muscari, dianthus, frittillaria, garden roses, delphinium, berries, and of course some exquisite tulips.

This class is suited for students with some prior floral arranging knowledge.

All materials and refreshments provided.

This class will meet at the Nicolette Camille's Studio; 50-52 Dobbin Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

REGISTER HERE.

NEW CALIFORNIA CLASS: Wednesday May 9th

Spring Fever!: Best of the West

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
5:00-8:00pm
$275

SOLD OUT

One could enter a heated debate as to what season yeilds the best flowers; but we'll put down our chips in May - thinking ahead to the first true warm weather beauties. From now till May we'll be thinking ahead to peonies, California poppies, field grown ranunculus, sweet peas, the first herbs, bearded iris, columbine and so many other spring blooms. In this basics class we'll discuss in detail how to effectively blend colors and textures, combining a myriad of blooms to build sprawling centerpieces fit to pay homage to the season.

All materials, clippers and refreshments provided.

Class limited to 25 students.

PLEASE NOTE: This class will take place in the San Francisco/Bay Area- the exact location is to be determined.

REGISTER HERE.

NEW NYC CLASS: May 20th

(Detail from a J.L. Provost watercolor)

Watercolor palettes: A study with bearded iris
Sunday May 20th, 2012

1:00-4:00pm

$275

SOLD OUT

In this introductory level class we'll celebrate the bearded iris, a flower which artists have reveared throughout history. (How lovely to think of the many fragile beauties which have been immortalized in the works of JL Prevost, Van Gogh and Georgia O'Keeffe.) We'll round up several species of this exotic bloom and learn the basics of color and texture layering along with other seasonal May flowers such as peonies, garden roses, lily of the valley, yarrow and perhaps a bit of the spring's last lilac. Students will each create a lush, gestural centerpiece in a soft watercolor inspired palette.

This class will take place at the Saipua Studio: 147 Van Dyke Street in the Red Hook Section of Brooklyn.

REGISTER HERE.

Watery blue; scenes from the studio this morning and memories of Italy...

This week we're back in Brooklyn at our studios planning things for valentines day and gearing up for our winter course offerings.

Jet lag has it's grip on me, and at 7am I found myself bleary eyed in the studio practicing with a rather pretty bunch of french anemones. The winter can be a tricky time of year for making arrangements as many of the winter seasonal flowers are small - anemones, ranunculus, sweet peas...

In our classes we often discuss the importance of having large flowers anchor the composition. In winter, those larger, more voluptuous blooms can be scarce. This morning I remembered that an effective way to offset a host of smaller flowers is to balance them with large foliage:



These giant Mullein leaves (often mistaken for lamb's ear, and supposedly a good remedy for bronchitis and other chest ailments when prepared in a tea) helped me to anchor the smaller flowers; a mix of tuberose, iceberg roses, queen anne's lace and anemones. It's been so warm in New York, I still have curry plant and some grape ivy (though discolored) in my cutting garden so they got thrown in the mix.

Did you know that anemones, like tulips, continue to grow once they are cut? This means they drink more water then most flowers, so I'll have to top off the water in this vase every day.

Still more spots available in our anemone class coming up in February at the New York Botanical Garden.

In Paris: wholesale market at Rungis

R

Bonne annee!

We are thinking about doing some classes in Paris in 2012; and so we came to do a little research and development. Since Friday we've been running around networking and visiting flower shops and atelier's.

This morning we rode out to Rungis; Europe's largest food and flower wholesale market. It is a Massive market full of mostly Dutch product; roses, ranunculus, tulips, hellebores, etc. all very very fresh but nothing especially unique. Are we spoiled in NYC by global imports? I think yes. Maybe Tuesday is not the best market day....more research needed....

Onward to Venice; follow us on instagram; usernames: nicamille, sarahryhanen

Happy Holidays!

MERRY EVERYTHING!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!


more beautiful of our students beautiful wreaths here.

Sheet Mulching for Hellebores

Maybe our fascination with sheet mulching started on a visit to the infamous Max Gill's flower garden in San Fransisco last March. "It's a mess!" he insisted. Indeed it was covered with cardboard, yet still the most exquisite clematis - vanilla scented! - bloomed, along with a smattering of hellebores here and there. Akebia, ecchevaria...I'm digressing, but lets take a quick look:







Anyway! The cardboard was for weed control; a weed barrier if you will that saves your back hours of work when it's time to plant. This stuck in my mind.

In February we have a big southern tier hellebore trip planned. Our goal is to accumulate a large selection of rare hellebores to serve two purposes; First to be used as specimens in our Hail to the Hellebore class the first week of March (we'll teach about them and then cut them up like the greedy florists we are), and Second to begin to establish a hellebore garden upstate for future cuttings.



Our hellebore garden will happen in a large patch of pine trees. Sheet mulching this area now helps us prepare for an early April planting and will keep the weeds (and massive stretches of poison ivy) from coming up. Who wants to weed poison ivy? Not I, and judging by her recent work ethic, not Nea.





There is lots of information on the internet about sheet mulching - and different ways to do it - we did this:

1. Lay down overlapping cardboard to frame out the area of the garden. It's important to really overlap them generously so that weeds can't find their way through. A nice way to use all those cut flower boxes from our studios...

2. Moisten the cardboard with water to help adhere it to the ground.

3. Cover the cardboard with this layer of seed-free top soil 3 inches thick. This took about 2 tons of top soil which we shoveled into the back of my pickup and then back out of my pickup to wheelbarrows. Next time we might find someone with a dump-truck.

4. Cover the soil with a layer of sawdust (from the Saipua soap dish mill).

5. Top it with a thin layer of mulch.

Voila! Let the worms get to work. In April we'll dig down to the cardboard, cut and X through it and plant the hellebores.

Into the woods

We've spent two days deep in the woods of upstate New York foraging some material for this Sunday's wreath making class. Nea led the way in her neon 'please don't shoot me' hunter vest.



Wild rose hips are so prickly but we had to have them.



Tamarack cones



Piles and piles and piles!
See you Sunday!

Meet you in Garden Valley...

Saturday, May 12th, 2012
ROSES 101: Little Flower School at Garden Valley Ranch
10am - 4pm
$400

Garden Valley Ranch in Petaluma, California grows some of the finest heirloom roses in the country (without pesticides!) and supplies our studios each spring and summer with the most fragrant and unusual specimens. In this day-long class, we’ll tour the rose fields with Garden Valley staff and learn about their rose growing techniques. After lunch we’ll discuss the basics of flower arranging and use our rose clippings together with a smattering of other California grown stems to create lush rambling centerpieces.
Possibly our most exciting class yet...we encourage you to browse the roses grown at Garden Valley and hope to see you there in May!


All materials, clippers, lunch and sunscreen provided.
Registration here.

And the winner is...

Jules! Please get in touch with us and let us know which class you'd like to take!
Congratulations! hello.flower.school@gmail.com

We'll be posting some more classes over the next few weeks (including some dates Northern California!). Sign up for our mailing list to get info on all upcoming classes.
More soon....

xo
N & S

A new season...

We're gearing up for another season of flower design classes at Little Flower School!

A few changes to note; we've made it easier to register for classes online - see our new bigcartel site for registration. We're hoping to make some of our favorite tools (think clippers, vases) available on here as well.

Also, we're working furiously to get together details for a very exciting northern California class; a weekend warrior style bridal workshop; a possible list of Paris dates (!) and a Pacific Northwest summer tour.

And, we have a new improved mailing list situation located over there -->;
If you'd like to receive emails about new classes please sign on up!

LASTLY, we're giving away one spot to one lucky winner!

Leave a comment on this post and you'll be put in a lottery to win a spot in our Color Workshop, Orchid or Hail to the Hellebore class... You win, you choose!
The winner will be selected at random. One comment is all you need to enter.
We'll announce the prizewinner on Monday, December 5th!

Thanks always for your support and enthusiasm for flowers!

Wreath Making 101

WREATH MAKING 101

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

Between 1 - 4 pm

$45

SOLD OUT

We’ll be using a variety of pine, cypress, cedar along with a smorg of pinecones, rosehips, pomegranates, feathers, and dried doo-dads to fashion natural looking winter wreaths all afternoon in the Saipua Studio. Make something tailored and neat or loose and wild. Wire frames or grapevine frames provided along with all supplies needed.

PLEASE NOTE:
This class is taught one-on-one in an open door timeframe; please pre-register and come by during the timeframe of noon-4pm.

The Saipua Studio is located at 147 Van Dyke Street in the Red Hook Section of Brooklyn.

Coral, Sand and Citrus; A color study with Ranunculus and Winter Fruits

Coral, Sand and Citrus; A color study with Ranunculus and Winter Fruits

Saturday, January 28th, 2012
1:00-4:00pm
$275 SOLD OUT

By January the really exceptional locally grown ranunculus are rolling into our studios from upstate New York, New Jersey, and a few hyper specimens from Japan. In this entry level class, we'll talk at length about strategies of color blending. Through the use of gradient techniques, we'll blend soft and bold colors; employing stems of ranunculus, poppies, tangerines and kumquats, sweet peas, hyacinth, parrot tulips, etc.

This class will meet at the Saipua Studio; 147 Van Dyke Street in Red Hook Brooklyn.

Granted it's warm palette, but still rather cool in our studio so dress with layers!

All materials and refreshments provided.

Ode to the Orchid

Ode to the Orchid

Saturday, February 11th, 2012
1:00 - 4:00pm
$295

SOLD OUT
In this class we continue our exploration of this striking specimen; reveared throughout history as one of the most precious and exotic cut flowers. The Orchidaceae family has over 20,000 known species; we'll bring together a large handful the most unusual plants and cut stems the flower trade has to offer, including some phalaenopsis, paphiopedilum (commonly known as lady slippers), Oncidium, cymbidium, dendrobium, etc. In recent years, the orchid has been relegated to tight, rather restricting styles of arrangements. In this class we'll focus on using them to build more natural, textural and unstructured centerpieces. This is a basics class, open to all skill levels. Students will create lavish centerpieces, and take home their own orchid plants to care for.

This class meets at the Nicolette Camille Studio located at 50-52 Dobbin Street in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. All materials and a snack are provided. Clippers will be provided and are a gift to take with you.

Ode to the Anemone at NYBG

Ode to the Anemone

Tuesday, February 21st

New York Botanic Garden

Midtown Education center

6:00-9:00pm

$250**

The anemone is the unusual black-centered gem among winter flora. Grown indoors in greenhouses from October through April, it is highly coveted by floral designers for its jewel-toned hues and lengthy vase life. Learn how to combine a variety of anemones with myriad other winter blooms (amaryllis, juniper, ranunculus, citrus, and more) to create rich, opulent arrangements while understanding basic floral techniques and the art of building a layered, garden-inspired centerpiece. Clippers will be provided and yours to keep.

**Register for this class directly through the New York Botanic Garden.

Hail to the Hellebore!

Hail to the Hellebore!

Sunday, March 4th, 2012

1:00-4:00pm

$275

Nicolette and Sarah will be spending the last week of February collecting some of the finest hellebore plants down south. We'll be cutting from these fine plants (before we plant them!) and adding fritillaria, white cherry, ranunculus, spirea and other seasonal material.

Come join this class and learn all the basics of flower arranging using these fine early spring flowers.

This class will be held at the Saipua Studio; 147 Van Dyke Street in the Red Hook Section of Brooklyn.

Dress Warm.

All supplies and a snack provided. Clippers will be provided as a gift to take home along with the arrangement you create.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some highlights from our best of Autumn Class. So many wonderful arrangements from a very lovely bunch of students.
We've been hard at work planning an awesome new schedule of classes for Winter and Spring. Stay tuned-- we'll be releasing the dates next week!

Have a lovely holiday!

NEW CLASS! Rose & Rust

Color Workshop: Rose and Rust

Saturday, October 29th

1:00-4:00 pm

$265

In this class we'll investigate the nuances of pink; from the saturated berry hues of celosia and cockscomb to the palest heirloom rose. Students will learn how to layer and combine color with flowers to create an ombre effect. Does pink have a better foil than the rich amber and sienna tones of October? We think not! Featured in this class will be the last of the Califonia heirloom roses, pepperberry, autumn fruits, asian pear, sedum, carnations and maybe, just maybe, we'll have some tree peonies too! Open to all levels.

The class will take place in the Saipua studio at 147 Van Dyke St, in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

***

All classes are limited to 10 students, unless otherwise noted.

Clippers will be provided and are a gift to take with you.

Of course, class will finish with a refreshments.

Payments accepted through paypal.

To sign up or ask questions email us at hello.flower.school@gmail.com

NEW CLASS! Best of Autumn

The Best of Autumn
Sunday, October 16th
1:00-4:00 pm
$265

Autumn, our favorite season for flowers.
When leaves color, field flowers are going great guns and we finally get to play with fruit on the branch, berries, pods and wild grasses. October beckons a range of color palettes from muddy blues and turquoise to opulent plum and warm ochre tones. We'll be bringing in the last of the dahlias in their dinner-plate sized glory, porcelain vine, persimmons, olive, rosehips, amaranth, celosia, pear, and painted fern. Combing fruit, foliage and flower we'll create grand sprawling arrangements using a flower frog in shallow footed urn. This class is open to all levels.


The class will take place in the Nicolette's studio at 50-52 Dobbin St, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

***

All classes are limited to 10 students, unless otherwise noted.

Clippers will be provided and are a gift to take with you.

Of course, class will finish with a refreshments.

Payments accepted through paypal.

To sign up or ask questions email us at hello.flower.school@gmail.com