Alicia’a floral design classes are invaluable! I took her Dahlia Compote class in August and her Arch and Chuppah class in September. Both classes were hands-on, informative, and fun!
The compote class had six students, ranging from beginners to designers with previous floral experience. Alicia explained each step of the mechanics and gave us time to complete each step on our own compotes before moving on. She also gave us lots of different ideas for style and design and helped us put our individual visions. The selection of flowers at the compote class was great – lot of dahlias, of course, and many other gorgeous, seasonal blooms.

The arch and chuppah class exceeded all of my wildest expectations! There were only four students in the class. We met for a full day and designed two arches and two chuppas. Each of the designs relied on different mechanics, so in total we learned four different ways of adorning arches with flowers. Each of arches had a different design and color palette so we got experience with a wide array of designs. The class was hands-on and active; up and down step ladders, standing back to look at the progress, adding more stems, etc. I’ve created two arches since the class and have drawn upon Alicia’s teaching and guidance in creating both.

Alicia is a patient and kind teacher. She gives her students the opportunity to experiment and make mistakes, and provides guidance on different ways of achieving the desired design. One of the most valuable parts about Alicia’s classes is that she is open and transparent about the business side of floral design. For each of the arches/chuppas we designed, she taught us about how she chose the flowers and foliage, the ordering process, and the price she’d charge if she was creating the arch for a customer. She also let us pepper her with questions all day long and provided honest, thorough answers.

I wholeheartedly recommend Alicia’s classes for both experienced designers and beginners. I left Alicia’s classes feeling confident, inspired, and like I’d made a friend and mentor.
Amy of Gather