A career that blooms all year

Flowers can suit most occasions, but the skill is in arranging them Not only can the art of floral arrangement help a person express their personality and develop an aesthetic sense, it is a skill that can lead to running a flower shop, or holding classes to pass on their knowledge. 'People who sign up for flower arrangement classes have different objectives,' said Theresa Lam, principal of the Hong Kong Academy of Flower Arrangement. 'Some have a passion for the art but some come to acquire the knowledge and set up their own floral shop at a later stage. These people include tai-tais, retirees and those currently working in a floral shop,' said Ms Lam. Flower arrangement originated in China and later flourished in Japan as an important cultural art. Its unique and delicate style combined with recycled botanical materials, such as dried branches and dried roots, has made the art form suitable for those who are versatile, highly creative and conscious of the environment. 'Besides being creative, having a great vision and enthusiasm for flowers is absolutely essential for any teacher teaching flower arrangement,' Masao Mizukami, senior adviser at Masao Flower Design, said. 'How to bring flowers and wasted or unused botanical materials into harmony to create a stunning object to be appreciated takes good skill and lots of imagination.' Ikebana, a Japanese style of floral arrangement, is not the only course offered by floristry schools. Nowadays there are also classes covering French-style floral arrangement as well as forms designed for people who are already in the floristry business or who plan to start such a business. Most floristry schools in Hong Kong offer different courses to meet their students' needs including a certificate course for professional florists, diploma in commercial floristry and management, or even short courses in flower arrangement for wedding parties and special occasions, as well as trendy floral-art designs. Tiffany Law Chi-ying, principal of the Modern Flower Arrangement School, said: 'We design our courses based on the market trend and inquiries received from potential and current students about what they want. We find that they are mostly looking for courses that can help them in their career rather than doing it as a hobby.' As the economy continues to boom, not only are consumers more willing to spend on flowers for occasions such as weddings and special parties, many business establishments have started to place regular orders for flower bouquets as gifts or to decorate the office. Many floristry schools have noticed that in recent years there have been more men interested in learning the art once long dominated by female students. 'The male students, as I understand it, are here for career development,' said Ms Lam. 'Some are already operating a floral shop and would like to upgrade their skills and some are keen to get a job in this field. 'A recognised certificate opens a lot of doors for job opportunity.' It can take students up to three months to complete a certificate, although different floristry schools use various systems and certification standards. Operating a floristry school in Hong Kong does not require as much capital when compared to opening a floral shop, which involves inventory, high rent, staffing and marketing efforts. However, finding quality teachers to cover a wide range of courses can be a real headache. 'We are constantly on the lookout for quality teachers as they are not easy to find. Good and experienced teachers should have studied at least five years of flower arrangement and have some teaching experience,' Ms Lam said. Most floristry schools do not require a lot of manpower to operate the business. The exceptions are a few larger flower design institutions in Hong Kong that require senior and experienced staff to take care of divisions such as marketing, administration and course co-ordination. Small- to medium-sized floristry schools only need up to about seven people including teachers to operate. Remuneration for teachers depends on their qualifications and teaching experience. 'Our school has assistant instructors, senior instructors and chief instructors for flower courses at various levels,' Ms Lam said. The challenge most floristry school operators face in running their business is to constantly come up with fresh and interesting ideas so students can learn different techniques and designs which they can apply in their work. 'It takes no less dedication like any other business to reap rewards. There's not a single business that carries no risk or challenge,' Ms Lam said. 'However, there is always an opportunity for business growth. Word of mouth is the key to recruiting new students and I am happy with the response so far.' Key players Marketing manager Administration manager Chief instructor Senior instructor Assistant instructor Course co-ordinator Jargon Insertion method whereby a wire is inserted in a flower stem so it can be bent, or allowed to stand by itself, and then pierced into a green sponge as base for support. Curlicues to coil the bottom part of a bouquet with ribbons to make it look more presentable. Camillian rose bouquet a rose is made bigger by wrapping hundreds of rose petals around it and finished off as a rose bouquet. Mechanical focus point the bundling up of flowers with wire until the flowers are tightly tied. Tie-arrangement a special method that makes the flowers stand alone without using kenzan (a spike container) or oasis (sponge base) as a base. Tribute a ritual or etiquette of sending a floral gift as a means of respect or admiration, for example, a bouquet. Saleability a term to describe a marketable floral product popular among customers, which can fetch a good price.