Budding florists should reach for their diaries as an exciting lineup of chic and sustainable flower arranging classes in London has been announced.
Aesme Studio has announced it will be hosting a programme of floral design classes in London in 2020, with a strong focus on seasonal and sustainable design and reviving the immersive art-form of natural flower arranging.
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Week-long intensive masterclasses will cover bouquet-making, table flowers for events and the home, urns and large-scale installations. For beginners, half-day classes in hand-tied bouquet or arrangement-making will provide a fantastic introduction to the art of flower arranging in a loose, natural style.
Aesme places a strong emphasis on sustainable techniques, teaching mechanics including chicken wire and re-usable containers in place of non-biodegradable floral foam, and sourcing seasonal ingredients grown locally without the use of chemicals.
A converted railway arch in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, houses the contemporary studio space and a quarter acre cut-flower garden in Hampshire supplies the studio exclusively with materials.
Students are able to experiment with a range of seasonal ingredients from sweet peas and rambling roses to vines and grasses – all freshly cut from plants familiar to gardeners and more likely to be found in the perennial border of an English garden than at the wholesale flower market.
Alexandra Nutting, Creative Director of Aesme says: 'As gardener-florists we sow, nurture and harvest thousands of incredibly beautiful flowers each year using organic methods.
'Our students are able to design and create with fresh, seasonal and scented ingredients, using old-fashioned techniques that may have been familiar to our grandmothers but have become forgotten skills.
'Avoiding chemicals and toxic substances like floral foam is integral to how we work – with nature rather than against it.'
Prices: Day classes £275.00; week-long masterclasses £2,100 with instalment payment options available. Seasonal classes run April to October during the UK growing season.
Visit www.aesme.co.uk for more information and to book; and get beautiful inspiration at Aesme Studio's Instagram page here.
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