“Collaboration”, the 2008 AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers) symposium just took place July 5-7 at the Chicago Hilton in beautiful downtown Chicago. It was my first time attending a flower meeting, and boy was it different from all the scientific meetings I attended as a graduate student! It felt like I had walked into one big happy family reunion, and despite me being a first-timer, I received a warm reception and everyone I met was friendly and lovely to talk to. The number one goal for these symposiums is education and I was floored by the creativity and incredible openess of how each world class designer presenter revealed how he or she made a particular arrangement or installation. There were demonstrations and after each program, attendees are able to photograph and visually inspect each work closely. There were no unplublished data to protect and no competitors to dispute. I could ask anyone any question about his or her business, designs, or methods, and he or she would answer truthfully granting me incredible advice. It was perfect for a newbie like me and I learned so much! Everyone was there to help each other out, to network, learn, and further advance the floral industry.
Here are some pictures from two of the fancy dinners – the inaugural dinner for the new AIFD inductees and the final night’s dinner:
The Flower Lab website
Tiny Wren Press