Christmas is Coming

What a strange and intense year it has been. I feel like on moments of reflections it feels like a dream. Previously to 2020 I would long for things to slow down, but the idea of going back to April and May fills me with dread. Although I am sure everyone can bring some positives from this year, for me the quality time of being with my children I know I will reflect on in years to come how special it was, even if I couldn’t see it at time! It also showed me what I can actually cope with, staying at home with three little ones by myself, trying to teach two of them was definitely difficult, lonely and exhausting. But I am proud of what we have achieved as a family and how we got through the low times together.

But I will always remember the pain of this year. So much loss, and hardship for so many. The one thing I have learnt is to appreciate the small things that perhaps have been overlooked when life is busy and I promise I will not forget them once things return to some sort of normality.

Although this Christmas will be different, no big parties, a quieter Christmas for all, I feel like being creative has saved me and so many this year and I am so proud to bring our selection of wreath kits so that you can continue to get creative in your home.

The Scarlett Wreath

I wonder what it is about a Christmas wreath that gets everyone so excited? Instagram loves them. I think for me it is a sign that something special is coming and I hope more than ever if we are able to meet with those that we love it will feel even more special than ever before.

The Very Berry Wreath

For me I love the build up to Christmas the most and the part I love the best is decorating the house. Red and green can be left at the door. Each year my house is filled with soft pinks, whites, sage greens and a touch of silver. I love to get inspired by life around me and one of my traditions at Christmas is going to the ballet and seeing The Nutcracker. I love the sugar plum fairies dresses and this year I have used their beautiful costumes to inspire one of our wreath kits.

Sugar Plum Wreath

Each wreath kit comes with all the materials: frame, wire, moss, winter foliage, and beautiful decorations including dried flowers, fruit, cones, berries and each wreath is finished off with a velvet ribbon. All the kits will contain a mini bottle of prosecco to enjoy while you create.

The Winter Wonderland Wreath

Choose from four beautiful designs: Winter wonderland, Sugar Plum, Orange and Lemon and The Very Berry Wreath. Choose which day you would like to collect your items. You will be given a time. Come at your chosen time, collect your package and your tutorial will be emailed through to you. The tutorial goes through making each wreath step by step. the bonus is you can stop, rewind and pause.

All you need to supply is a good pair of scissor, a dustpan and brush (apologies it will get messy) and a cracking Christmas playlist.

If making a wreath is simply not your thing we are also selling ready made wreaths. Choose from four beautiful design: the Hope, The Rose, The Heather and The Scarlett wreath.

I would like to thank everyone that has been to a workshop, course or bought items from our shop. It has no doubt been an extremely difficult year for businesses. So your support means the world to me.

Whatever you are doing this Christmas time I hope you have a wonderful time and I would like to wish you a very Happy and healthy New Year.

Alicia x

Floristry Courses Brighton, Sussex. Flower School located outside Brighton, Sussex

FLORISTRY COURSES SUSSEX

As we look ahead to the rest of 2020 and into 2021 here at Flourish Sussex Flower School we are looking forward to jam packed creative terms. In September our Christmas wreath workshop dates will be released. It will be a little different this year, but still just as fun. Smaller classes, socially distant, care packages for all. For those of you who can not make it to the studio this year we are excited to be launching our Christmas creative packages. Choose from four beautiful designs, then come on your selected date to pick up all your ingredients. Each wreath package will come in a box with the wire, frame, decorations, ribbon, a small bottle of prosecco and a bundle of foliage. You will then be given a link to a private tutorial where you can watch Alicia create the same wreath as to what you have purchased and you can create the arrangement in the comfort of your own home.

We can not wait to welcome students to the flower school in October for our wedding and event floristry course. Next year we will be running two wedding and event courses. This will teach students how to create the biggest and most eye catching displays in floristry, all foam free.

If flowers are your thing why not join us in 2021 for one of many courses of classes. We will be running three Foundation course for beginners and two wedding and event courses. These two courses along with our one day business class will give you everything you need to know to enter the floristry industry feeling confident and bustling ready to go.

We are going green at Flourish Sussex Flower School. We are increasingly moving away from materials that are harmful to the environment. So we have made the decision to no longer teach with green floral foam. This product does not decompose and we want to do our bit to help our lovely planet. We will instead choose to teach our students to work with eco friendly materials and where necessary will only use bio degradable foam.

We are super excited to be launching our first non based floristry workshop, BLOCK PRINTING. Inspired by my new lockdown hobby, I wanted to share my new love of traditional Indian block printing with students. We are running a day where guests can come, press flowers and display them in a beautiful brass frame, followed by mastering the technique of block printing. This is a wonderful workshop to get creative, have some fun with your friends and escape for a day.

We hope to inspire you to stay creative during these challenging times. Spending time working with your hands, enjoying colour, texture and nature is good for the mind and soul and we are looking forward to sharing our passion with you through the rest of 2020 and into 2021.

How we are keeping our students safe at Flourish Sussex Flower School

As we progress through 2020 and we look ahead to our Autumn, winter term, every step of safety is being consider to ensure we are providing the safest environment for our students as possible.

As the guidelines change we are taking all the necessary steps to make sure our students are as safe as possible. We are doing this by implementing the following:

• Smaller classes, this ensures that all students can be a metre apart.

• Safety packs, all students will be given their own hand sanitiser, mask and gloves, it is your choice if you choose to wear them.

• Hand sanitiser is provided and is to used whenever someone enters the studio.

• The tutors will be wearing visors. We have taken this decision so that when we teach and have to be nearer students the visors will protect both student and teacher.

• Disposable cups and plates. All refreshments will be served on disposable plates and cups.

• We ask all students if they are showing any Covid symptoms to not attend the studio and we will move you onto another class.

• Deep cleaning after each workshop.

Whats happen if we go into lockdown?

If you have a class or course booked and we go into another lockdown your class/course will be rescheduled for later date. All students will be given the option of two alternative dates to swap to.

I have booked onto a Christmas Wreath class and we are in lockdown what happens now?

In the event that we have lockdown in December we will be creating Christmas boxes. In each one everyone will receive their frame, moss, wires, decorations and ribbon, plus a mini bottle of prosecco and mince pie. These will be delivered to you on day before your workshop was meant to take place. You will then be sent a link to a private tutorial where you can watch a demonstration with Alicia who will take you through step by step of creating your own wreath.

If you have any questions or concerns please do contact us. We look forward to welcoming you to the school this Autumn time.

Floristry Courses Sussex

Are you dreaming of pursuing a career with flowers? Are you wishing to learn more about your hobby or simply have a desire to immerse yourself in nature? Why not look at doing a floristry course in Sussex at Flourish Sussex Flower School.

Floristry has evolved into a beautiful art form. Put the Chrysanthemums, poly ribbon and cellophane aside and discover the art of floral designer.

At Flourish Sussex Flower School we offer one day specialised classes, seasonal workshops, wedding and event courses and floristry training at our studio in Sussex.

In a relaxed, fun environment Alicia shares her 15 years of working in the floristry industry knowledge and creativity wit her students. For people wishing to enter the floristry industry The Foundation for Beginners course teaches students all the fundamental skills you need to create the most popular displays. Students are also taught about buying flowers, setting up a business and looking at social media.

Floristry training has evolved. Traditional methods of floristry are no longer what people want for their weddings. People have a desire to have artistic garden inspired displays with a floral designer who can create a perfect picture with their creations.

Our floristry courses are run from our studio just outside Brighton, nestled at the bottom of the South Downs. We teach student to be guided by flower movement, colour palette and use the seasons finest ingredients

Whether you want to spend a couple of hours getting creative with a friend or learn all the techniques you need to embark on a career in floristry Flourish Sussex Flower School offers classes and courses which are designed to encourage students to develop their own style and where creativity is at the heart of everything that we do.

To view our classes and courses visit our Floristry workshop and course page. Or get in contact with us to

to see what floristry training we could offer you.

5 Questions with Vic Brotherson of Scarlet and Violet

Wow it is a windy one out there!

It’s Saturday again and so it’s our 5 question day! One of the reasons I wanted to start these interviews is to give the reader an insight into the floristry industry. Floristry can look like a very glamorous job and while there are many aspects of the industry which are truly beautiful behind the scenes is a lot of hard work, long hours and lets face it stress. These unprecedented times have put such a pressure on businesses of every size. Florists rely heavily on weddings to fuel their income and with hotels closed corporate work has ceased.

The impact on businesses has been immense and florists once they reopen their doors will be finding ways of getting through 2020 . I so hope we can all support our local florists. Behind each shop there is a a person or team of people who have worked so hard and more than ever it’s time to show our support.

Today I am delighted to say my 5 Questions with Vic Brotherson of Scarlett and Violet. S & V is a business that I have followed since the beginning of my career. It is a fusion of colour, beauty, big floral displays with a vintage twist. So sit back and enjoy the wonderful world of Scarlet and Violet, it’s a treat for the eyes and soul.

Alicia: Thank you so much Vic for taking some time to answer my questions. Could you please give the reader a little background into how you entered the floristry industry and how Scarlet and Violet came to be?

Vic: I grew up in the Lake District- Cumbria then moved south when I went to university where I studied Fine Art- when I finished it was very obvious that I was never going to be able to make a living from painting! So I immediately looked for a job. I was very fortunate that Nikki Tibbles had just opened Wild at Heart in Notting Hill and needed some help. She took me on at 21yrs old and I stayed there for many years learning from Nikki and other florists who came to work there.

After years of being a florist at W@H , I had begun to think that I wanted to something different , less big events and contracts more focusing on the flowers and the craft- I walked past an empty shop every morning on the way to work and decided to take the plunge. It was never my intention for the shop to be anything other than a workshop  studio, so I filled it with all my favourite things and started doing a few house flowers and opened the shop between deliveries. The shop is a very personal place to me so I didn’t really know what to expect, as time passed I was able to employ others to help and so it went from there.

Alicia: You have a successful business in London, but when you first opened your doors in the big city did you ever experience intimidation or did you just thrive being in London?

Vic: I had always been to the flower market since I started at W@H the confidence of youth stopped me from being intimidated or scared , but also it’s important to remember that working for somebody else allowed me to gain confidence whilst being supported and learning how to buy as well as learning other skills.

The competitive elements of our industry don’t affect S&V so much as the large jobs and contracts aren’t really our forte. Having had many conversations with other florists I strongly believe that it’s necessary to have conversations and be able to talk about what we are doing -not being secretive and sharing the knowledge of suppliers, staff , skills and how to resolve issues are imperative to me. What we do does not belong to me or S&V-any florist can buy the same flowers and has the opportunity to create something they love with their own creativity and enthusiasm. 

Alicia: One of the things I love about your work is your use of colour. I always try and teach my students to be brave with colour palettes. I think at college I was told never to put pink and orange together and always thought why?! But it does seem that many people are scared of putting varieties of colours together. What advice would you give florists that are starting out in terms of working with different colour palettes?

Vic: It’s interesting the colour choices that we make. Each of the florists in the shop has different favourites. It’s so brilliant when you see a bunch or vase being made with a new combination of colours. I find it really interesting still when I put the flowers together before making something and see what is missing and just one extra addition or a pop of something will bring the whole thing to life- I still throw bunches down on the table  and say this isn’t working and start again-  I think the shapes and varieties are the key to making certain colour palettes work yellow and pink and orange  one of my favourites but the flower choices have to be considered to avoid the Easter Bunny vibes!!!

Alicia: You have written two gorgeous books, Vintage Flowers and Vintage Wedding Flowers, how did the books come about? Do you have plans to release anymore?

Vic: We were asked by the publisher to do the books, they were fun but time consuming and flowers are a bit like food really hard to photograph- We have no plans for another!

Alicia: We are obviously living through an unprecedented time. How have you been channeling your creative flare through isolation?

Vic: Over the last few months ,as for everyone- S&V has been challenging. I missed the shop and missed work and missed the flowers and I went back after 3 weeks realising that I was going to have to go back to the very beginning ,work on my own and build the business back piece by piece. Those first few weeks back were so important to spend on my own making flowers and quietly thinking of the way forward- realising how lucky I am to be able to work at all and in a place that allows me time to think. 

A massive thank you to the incredibly talented Vic for answering my 5 questions. It was so wonderful to hear such an honest account of the impact that this time has had on a business and I want to wish Scarlet and Violet and all the other florists reopening all the best for the future.

Join me next Saturday when I will be wrapping up my 5 Questions with our final special guest.

Scarlet and Violet:

Website: https://scarletandviolet.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarletandviolet/