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Learn how to apply fine art principles to your floral design by mastering centerpieces, bouquets, installations, and how to build a profitable business with Bows and Arrows.
In a small, humid room in Mexico City, we at If I Made sat down with Adam and Alicia (lucky us!) to get to know them a bit, dive into their love for flowers, and find out just what makes them so good at what they do. We think you’ll love what they had to say. In this interview, we’ll get the inside scoop on who Adam and Alicia are, how they fell in love with flowers (and each other), and what it’s like for them to work as a husband and wife floral-design duo.
Alicia and Adam will share how their fine arts background translates into the way they approach floral design. They’ll unpack the concepts that influence how they see their work, exploring specific elements and principles of art like texture, shape, movement, color, etc. We’ll help you connect the dots between fine art elements and floral design in an interesting, digestible way.
We’ll talk about proper conditioning techniques, what Bows + Arrows’ weekly workflow looks like, and we’ll dig into a few noteworthy conditioning tips for specific flowers that require a little extra care. Then, we’ll show you a quick floral conditioning video to give you a full experience of how it all goes down.
As Alicia takes the lead on arrangements, she’ll take you through a step-by-step guide to how she designs a centerpiece, including discussions of foraging, bloom selection, sourcing product, vase prep and technique options, workflow, and how she thinks through fine art concepts such as texture, shape, movement and composition. She’ll also share her approach to creating centerpieces that are an “interactive work of art”. This chapter is supported by a 45-minute video tutorial.
Color is one of the biggest drivers of Bows + Arrows' designs, so they’ve devoted a chapter to a discussion on color theory. You’ll learn how they play and practice with colors by using watercolor sketches and floral boards, and how to start “thinking outside the tube” when it comes to creating your own color palettes. We’ll solidify all of your new fine art knowledge with a 30-minute video tutorial as Adam and Alicia share the influence their fine art background has had on their approach to design.
In this chapter Alicia will explain how she creates one of Bows + Arrows' signature bridal bouquets from start to finish, including bloom selection, discussion of color palettes, working to budget, and her typical workflow. Alicia will also share 12 of her favorite past bouquets along with the recipe list of flowers used and descriptions of fun and important details about their design. A 45-minute video tutorial will allow you to see each step worked through on screen, before having the final bouquet styled with a bride.
We’ll dig further into some of Adam and Alicia’s favorite elements of art—like texture, gradation, movement, form, and depth. Then, we’re gonna talk about the value of opening ourselves up to constructive critique, and how you might be able to integrate it into your own creative process.
Adam will take the lead in this chapter talking everything you need to know about installations—how to approach them, how to design them, how to build them, and all the little things in between. We’ll walk you through how to execute a couple of different types of installations from start to finish including arches, hanging features and flower walls, and you’ll learn the mechanics and technique behind 10 of Bows + Arrows' most popular installations. You’ll also be able to watch a 25-minute video tutorial as Adam and Alicia plan, install and design a $4000 hanging floral installation in Mexico city.
Learn how Bows + Arrows designs accessories like hairpieces, flower crowns, and boutonnieres for weddings.
Learn Bows + Arrows favorite tips and strategies for executing beautiful and unique tablescape designs for events and weddings.
Before we get knee-deep in business stuff, we’d like to be honest with you—running the business side of Bows + Arrows has never come all that easily to us. At heart, we are two art school kids. We thrive on the design side of things, and if we could live there entirely…we probably would. But, since the business side of a business is an essential part of the “creative entrepreneurship” deal, we took the challenge head on and have learned a lot of valuable lesions along the way.
You’ll learn all about the early days of Bows and Arrows Flowers. Alicia will discuss how operating a storefront, putting on photoshoots, and networking with other industry vendors got their business off the ground. She’ll share a few thoughts on what you could do with your business strategy to yield similar results.
Alicia shares all there is to know about Bows + Arrows' email exchanges, client meetings, and general communication with a bride. She’ll go into how they’ve learned to attract their ideal client, and conversely, how they handle a bride whose style differs from their own. Lastly, we’ll uncover some tips on how to make the most of a small budget and always put forward great work.
Adam and Alicia get into the nitty gritty of pricing—the structure of their prices, goals they try to hit, bookkeeping, how to know when it’s time to raise prices…Basically, all the numbers stuff. We’ll also talk about sourcing vessels and how to charge for them, when and how to start paying yourself a salary (very important!), and how to break down the cost of labor, flowers, bills, etc.
Bows + Arrows wouldn’t be who they are without their people. In this chapter Adam and Alicia speak about all aspects of staffing: finding staff, paying staff, creating detailed weekly timelines to keep everyone on track, and how taxes work when hiring other people.
Alicia refers to recipe writing as “one of the most important organizational systems we use”. Alicia spills all she can about getting started with your recipes, finding your own method, and staying on budget. We’ll talk about how to create a resource for pricing out flower stems, when to write a recipe, and how to turn your recipes into a master order list. We’ll talk about some important tips for staying on budget like using mock-ups and pricing stems as you go. We’ll also take a look at the recipes and pricing of five Bows + Arrows' designs.
See how Bows + Arrows broke out of their local wedding market to start designing in other parts of their state as well as overseas. They’ll dish out all you need to know in order to execute a far-away event. Then, they’ll give a few pointers picked up along the way from events they’ve been lucky enough to work on. You’ll learn how to use events outside of your hometown as stepping stones to events further afield and even internationally.
We’ll explore how Bows + Arrows broke into the world of big-budget weddings. We’ll cover strategies like photoshoots that *look* high-end, striking up relationships with the right people in the right places, going above and beyond, and rolling with the punches when the strategies don’t seem to be working. Alicia and Adam will also dig into the subject of social media—which has been an important tool for the continued growth of their business and reaching their ideal clients.
Follow along with Adam and Alicia as they share a detailed look at the floral design and execution of two complete weddings at two very different price points; one with a $10,000 floral budget and the other with a $100,000 floral budget. Hear about the initial client consultation, inspiration and visual proposals, pricing and recipe writing, planning, staffing, weekly workflow and logistics, and finally the design, execution and breakdown. We’ll also take a look at some of the challenges faced along the way—and the solutions.
Learn how to apply fine art principles to your floral design by mastering centerpieces, bouquets, installations, and how to build a profitable business with Bows and Arrows.
No two artists are the same. While there will be some similar ground covered in The Fine Art of Floral Design, Adam and Alicia’s approach to flowers is unique to their experience and creative perspective. Their fine arts education gives their work an original flavor, and is unlike anything we at If I Made have explored with any other florist. In addition to their fine arts background, their specialties (like installation mechanics, the logistics of running a design team, and recipe writing) are especially new topics we’ve covered in this course, and are well worth the investment.
Good question. Because Adam and Alicia come from such a rich background in painting and sculpture, we’re confident that their perspective has something new to offer everyone—no matter how long you’ve been at it. This content is accessible to the newbies, and it’s also rich with insight for those of you who have the basics down-pat. We’re all students here, so whether you’re simply toying with the idea of a floral business or are neck-deep in it, Adam and Alicia have a lot to offer.
Simply put: Yes! This course covers everything Alicia and Adam have learned about designing and running a floral business. It’s likely that your workshop with Bows + Arrows was a hands-on design experience, which is awesome! This course contains a lot of those lessons, but it takes a much deeper dive into the elements and principles of fine art which inform the design decisions Adam and Alicia make. It’s the why behind the how, which ultimately empowers you to create more original designs. Less mimicking, more understanding.
Absolutely! This course is filled with practical knowledge that will help you improve your floral skills regardless of your level of experience. You will learn lots of practical tips about flower care, vase preparation, choosing blooms for arrangements, and you’ll read and see demonstrations of designs in a variety of different sizes and styles.
This, of course, depends on where you’re at in your creative journey and the current state of your business. It also depends entirely on what you do with the knowledge. If you apply Alicia and Adam’s teachings to your design process or floral business, we know it has the potential to transform your work and business.