Today is the day

[lori042499]

Well, today is the big test day....

I am less nervous than yesterday, but still a bit...but I just keep saying you know what you know, you can do anything, use all the time that you need to perfect mechanics and remember this is not for retail this is for me, the biggest critic in the world...I think I should be fine..

I would like to take a minute to wish Linda from antytime flowers luck today also, I think we are the only two from here testing...if not good luck all...I will take pictures at symposium and post them..

I have been processing flowers yesterday and today, I iwll be working on bathroom decor tomorrow and setting up a workroom on Saturday, Then my volunteering ends and I just become a regular attendee of symposium, in awe for the first time looking at the creations...

I have several friends helping out designer's doing a big gig and what work goes into these programs..I am hearing of giant props, welding rebar, home depot trips, long very late nights...The effort going into the shows is awe inspiring and over whelming..my hat goes off to these people, I am proud to know them and call them friends...

 

[RWK]

Lori - You have my confidence, my support, and my best wishes for a succesful testing. Enjoy symposium.

 

[rewolf]

Go get em' girl! :thumbsup

 

[hollyflr]

Lori,

Good luck to you and to Linda, just zone in on your designing and ignore what is going around you. Be meticulous in your mechanics, and have fun, flowers respond to fun.

 

[Victoria]

Lori, all good and positive thoughts coming to you and Linda. Both of you will be fine. Enjoy the experience, don't fear it.

V

 

[Mikey the Flower Guy]

Lori, nervous is good, but YOU are better!!

 

[Dee Dee]

Good Luck Lori!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rhonda]

You know my heart is with you........... see you Sunday or Monday (both of you I hope)..........

 

[Seasonals]

Best of Wishes to both Lori and Linda. I'm excited for you both.

 

[master J]

GL Linda & Lori! 2 awesome designers!

 

[emilymoonflower]

Go get em ladies! You're both incredibly talented , keep that in mind when you get a case of "nerves".
Emily

 

[Palms]

Go you two.... you can do it!! Let us all know how you get on as soon as you know. And, have a great time, we all want inspiring when you get back

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

Hope all went well. Give us an update please.

 

[concord]

Can't wait to hear how it went! Especially now that I've met you both in person. Good luck!

 

[lori042499]

@@@@te, too tire to post ahd half of the experience down and lost it....tomorrow, all is well testing went good...won't know anything til like august, but I feel good about my production...

 

[lori042499]

Ok so testing was intense, now that I have slept I will run you all through it...

2-3 pm orientation, went over the rules of engagement, what was to be expected and what we could be disqualified for...then elaboration on catagories

sympathy- arrangement suitable for funeral home
fresh arrangement- arrangement for sympathy suitable for residence
wedding- hand tied suitable for bridesmaid
flowers to wear- shoulder adornment
duplication- a picture of an arrangement made that day out of stuff we had in our buckets interpreted by us

3-4 pm we got to spend 1 hour with our products looking at them touching them, getting our glue hot and ready, opening packages, sketching our designs, deciding our containers and strategy. we could separate our flowers into piles, we could soak foam and fill vase, but couldn't cut foam, fill foam into containers, moss, make any bows, manipulate any product, etc..

4-8 design began..I took 3.5 hours for my designs and then 30 minutes to clean up and display...I was unhappy about my fresh arrangements focal when I had 15 extra minutes so I changed that and was satisfied with it and I am not 100% happy with how my handtied came out, the flowers didin't quite fall the way I wanted them to, I had no bind wire and had to use tape so it was very difficult...my favorite pieces were the shoulder adornment and funeral basket...of course these are my most comfortable areas in the shop too.

I only got overwhelmingly nervous two times, once in orientation when they gave us the expanded catagories, it was so real at that point and scary..then when I was all done and just had my thoughts left to deal with and had to let it go up to the powers that be, I just wanted to stand there and cry.

The color scheme was sea blue and yeloow with some burgundy options. florwer list included yellow unless otherwise noted, eremerus, sunflowers, glads, roses, spray roses, billy balls, kangaroo paw, white button poms, fugi mums, white carns, alstromaria, safari sunset, calla lilies, solidago, oncidium orchids and curley willow. Greens included, monestera, ti liaves, foxtail fern, steel frass, lily grass, pitt, ital ruscus and galax leaves. Supplies were a large glass cylinder 8x 10 I think, a glass rectangle about 12x10x3, a ceramic bout, a recreation containr low wide bowl and a white plastic design urn, gold and blue oasis aluminum wire, blue boulion wire, corsage tape, heavy and light guage wire, white flexi reeds, blue branches, 2 bags of shells, blue rhinstone daisy picks, blue headed pins, some neat grean stripable plastic ribbon that looked like a leaf, yellow and blue satin ribbon, blue sheer ribbon with opalescent edge, anchor tape, blue oasis foam, 2 reg foam, 2 foam spheres....

Reception is tonight, I will take lots of pictures an post later this week..

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

I'm sure you did great Lori. have fun for the rest of your time at symposium!

 

[anytimeflowers]

Well, like Lori said, this was one intense experience.

I don't feel good at all with what I produced and very much doubt that I will be asked to join AIFD.

I'm not looking for any back-patting here, I'm just stating what I think. I choked, plain and simple.

That said, I would not have missed this, truly. It gave me a good, solid feel for what it must be like to work back-breaking hours on getting a show ready, and that alone was an eye-opener. Being a designer for 30 years, I complain about all of the people who come into my store all starry-eyed about working with flowers and how fun it must be. I grumble about them not having a clue as to what really goes into working in a flower shop.

Color me guilty! Just by sorting the left-over flowers back into buckets after the testing was back-breaking. I started thinking about what it must have taken for the tables to get set up in the first place. Un-packing all of those containers, counting picks, wires, pins. Cutting pieces of ribbon, filling buckets with water and counting out the same amounts of each type of flower and foliage.......

Then seeing them already getting ready for the student round of designs........along with all of the other prep for decorations etc.

And that's before any of the seminars get started.

I am not saying I would not want to do it, I still think it would be awesome....I just have a much better appreciation for all of the shows I have attended, big and small, and never gave a thought to all of the prep-work that had to have gone into them.

So thank you to all who have had a hand in making symposium happen, year after year. I salute you!

 

[RWK]

Ok......first of all. Second-guessing yourself is NORMAL. I do not know a single person who has tested and made it without second-guessing themselves almost daily from the time of the testing till they got the results. I know I second-guessed myself most EVERY day. I just KNEW I screwed up and would not pass.

Secondly................Be proud of the work you DID do. When you go back in for viewing......You will be AMAZED. I have no idea how many people tested, when I did it, we had over 150 testing.....closer to 180/190 IIRC. Even with everyone having the same amount and exactly the same as everyone else......multiply 180 times 5 and you get the number of designs done.....AND NOT THE FIRST ONE LOOKED LIKE ANOTHER'S DESIGN. EVERY SINGLE ONE WAS DIFFERENT.

Thirdly...........Now, Enjoy symposium, volunteer where you can, take back with you plenty of memories. Everyone's first symposium is a special one in their memory. Lastly, It is my sincere wish and prayer that all you who tested, passed to become CFD, then AIFD, and to be in San Francisco to see you walk across that stage and recieve your pin.

 

[lori042499]

Induction ceremoney was nice tonight...Got to see Gregor Lersch today and Bert Ford...Programs are top notch...I was a little concerned after I saw Gregor and didn't get what he was talking about, but then I was asked if I could appreciate his work aside from his talking and I definately could. I was then told that he and Hitomi and people like them are just on such a different level that it was ok if I didn't get it, because most people don't. I guess it is like mathematicians that don't get Einstein...it is kind of normal...great design ideas, but the education behind it was far out and too much for me to grasp!