Friday, June 24, 2011

World Association of Floral Arrangers-Boston 2011


Last week I was delighted to attend the The World Association of Flower Arrangers event in Boston...and what a show it was! WAFA holds a show like this only every 3 years, and always in a different country. The last show had to be cancelled due to political unrest-so after waiting 6 years, floral arrangers around the world were chomping at the bit for the show dubbed This Glorious Earth! And attend they did- over 600 exhibitors from over 35 countries! Over the course of 5 days, many events were planned. I attended on Saturday, and we were treated to the sight of over 350 flower arrangements! Needless to say, these were not your typical Daisies-in-a-Coffeecup type designs.

Some were quite complicated, using exotic blooms, like this one,
filled with Anthurum, Midolino sticks and Heliconia.

Others were deceptively simple, like this clever play on water pouring from a pitcher, utilizing not much more than Lily grass and Hypericum berries.

Some hung from the ceiling from giant spheres.
The use of Hapene was prevalent-
(skeletonised tenax leaves from New Zealand)

Some countries had a representative arrangement.
France's was particularly evocative, while using very few elements.

Some were minimalist.
Just a few Callas and a beautiful piece of driftwood here.

Others were stuffed full.
Roses! Carnations! Stock!
This list goes on...

There were tours, demonstrations, lectures and awards ceremonies. Sunday's event was the highlight...5 European masters showcased 35 gigantic designs on the stage of Boston's magnificent Wang Center, each more eye-popping than the next. And certainly a good example of how different everyone's design style is!

The next show will be held in Dublin, Ireland in 2014. Definitely worth the trip!
In the meantime, watch for the next BloomersBlog posting with more photos from WAFA!


Bloomers Floral Design
122 South Front St.
Wilmington, NC 28401
910-815-8585
www.bloomerswilmington.com

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