Starting with a Workshop

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This past week was a full introduction into both the environment and the rhythm of my internship. I met my first host for the first time, and settled into the Bunk House, which will be my home base for the coming weeks. Getting acclimated to the space helped me mentally prepare for the hands-on work ahead. One of the first major activities was traveling to Jackson Hole, where all of the week’s floral design work and events took place.

In Jackson Hole, I helped my host unpack and process a shipment of fresh flowers, learning firsthand how critical this preparation is for the success of any floral design project. From hydrating the blooms to trimming stems and organizing flowers by variety and condition, I began to see how essential this stage is in preserving the flowers’ integrity.

Later in the week, I assisted during a floral design workshop she hosted at Snake River Roasting Company, a local coffee shop that provided a warm, relaxed setting for the event. Customers had the opportunity to create their own arrangements using peonies and other complementary flowers. I supported the event by helping with setup, managing materials, and answering participant questions. Watching Brandie guide guests through the process of creating English Cottage-style floral designs taught me how powerful hands-on events can be in sparking enthusiasm for floral work and connecting people to the season’s blooms.

One idea I would challenge from this week is the tendency to view floral design as something purely decorative or seasonal. Being in Jackson Hole and watching the workshop unfold at Snake River Roasting Company, I began to understand floral design as an experience, and even a strategic marketing tool. The timing of the event was no coincidence; it was designed to build excitement around the peony season and generate buzz among potential customers. This challenged my prior understanding of marketing as mostly digital or product-based. Instead, I saw how storytelling, physical presence, and customer engagement could be just as powerful, especially when tied to something as sensory and emotional as flowers.

I also began to question the assumption that traditional design styles like the English Cottage approach are rigid or outdated. Observing how Brandie used this classic structure to guide beginners while still encouraging individual creativity made me realize how adaptable and user-friendly it really is. The design’s natural, loosely structured form gave customers the freedom to play with textures and colors without needing deep technical knowledge. This showed me that “traditional” doesn’t mean limiting, it can actually be the ideal starting point for creative exploration.

One of the main questions I still have is how florists like my host plan their year in terms of events and inventory to align with seasonal blooms and customer interest. Watching the workshop unfold at Snake River Roasting Company made me realize just how much strategic timing goes into engaging customers at the right moment. I’m curious to learn more about the behind-the-scenes planning, like how far in advance my host thinks about what to offer, how she sources materials seasonally, and what role customer feedback plays in future workshops.

Another question I have is about the range of floral design styles that work well in interactive settings like this. The English Cottage style was a great fit because it’s forgiving, natural, and easy to personalize, but I wonder what other design formats are commonly used and how their structure or complexity affects the workshop experience. Learning more about this could help me understand how florists match style to audience, especially when balancing creativity and accessibility.

This week has given me both foundational skills and new ways of thinking about how floral design connects with people. I plan to take what I’ve learned, especially from the processing stage, and apply it in future projects to ensure that quality and care are present from the beginning. I also want to keep practicing the English Cottage Floral Design technique using different seasonal flowers, since it provides a reliable yet flexible structure for building visually pleasing arrangements. More broadly, I want to observe how Brandie continues to use design events like the one at Snake River Roasting Company as part of her business strategy. I’m especially interested in how she integrates these workshops into her broader marketing approach. Experiencing this firsthand has made me realize that floristry is about more than just making something beautiful, it’s also about creating moments and memories that leave lasting impressions on customers. I hope to learn more about how to design those kinds of moments intentionally as the internship progresses.

Submitted by: Courtney Robb
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team