CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE Aug. 22, 2018
Have you ever wondered how to turn a bunch of flowers into a creative display? It doesn’t matter if you don’t know honeysuckle from a hornet’s nest, a new demonstration at the Shawville Fair Homecraft building will show you how to construct a handsome bouquet.
Put on by local florist Chelsea Smith, the hour long class is scheduled for Aug. 1 at 5 p.m. and promises to teach budding decorators a thing or two about composition.
“It’s going to be a demonstration of me doing a flower arrangement and teaching people how to do it themselves with flowers from the garden, grocery store or florist,” she said. “I’ll be stopping for questions in between speaking. Going though step by step the materials you’ll need, the flowers that I’m using, how to trim them properly and so forth.”
“I’ll be going over the basic rules on how to cut things,” she continued. “Certain flowers require certain types of cuts, like roses need angle cuts, tulips as well, because their stems tend to absorb more air whenever they’re out. To prevent air bubbles you’d trim it on an angle.”
Smith studied floral design at Algonquin College and has nine years experience in the industry. She said it’s a lot more technical a craft than many people give it credit for. One of the common mistakes she says she sees is a lack of balance in the vase, where everything seems scattered.
Though she’s shown flowers at the Fair before, this is her first time doing a demonstration and she was excited to take on the new challenge.
