NAFAS ran their event ‘NAFAS South West Area Floral Arts Show’ at the wonderful Bishops Palace last weekend. Country Baskets were a key sponsor and it was a pleasure to be involved, with such great entries being produced the involvement of the community was exceptional. As a whole, the floral community are one of the most tight-knit and supportive. Everyone’s so friendly and interested in each other and what they've got got going on. The floral community also contribute to the general public as a whole, with organisations like the south west branch of NAFAS donating arrangements to charities or church groups who are need of high quality displays and such.
We sent our newest addition to the team, Joel Rowbottom, along to Bishops Palace to the event – read all about Joel’s experience of the event below.
Alongside sponsoring the event as a whole, we had some of our very own lovely ladies manning our stand. On the stand we had the fabulous Christine and Claire, and floating about we had Tracy Rowbottom, a Chelsea gold medallist, and me, Joel Rowbottom (The newbie). We hope we met lots of you and I know we were trying to speak to as many people as possible!
We weren't the only stand at the event, great companies like Twool were also around promoting their sustainable alternatives for everyday products. Unfortunately, they didn't have the famous Willow the Sheep with them as this event though! Kim and Liz were great to chat to and it was brilliant to throw ideas about the future back and forth. They've got big things coming up so keep an eye out for them!
The lovely ladies of NAFAS South West as there now to be known were more than happy to speak to me about all the great work they do. Their award winning members were also very humble in victory, reluctantly letting me talk to them about their displays. One award winning member was Diane Clarke, she works as a Junior Demonstrator for the group and won first place for her entry into the Through The Ages category! Just a side note she pretended to be camera shy but as soon as the camera came out she lit up!
This has been the first floral event I have attended since I was a child and it really gave me an insight into the society and its members. They all come together for one reason, their love of flowers and all things beautiful. Bouncing ideas around and talking inspirations are key points of conversation with each visitor to the event displaying a real prime interest in how the pieces came together and all aspects involved. For example, I found out that for Diane’s winning exhibit she used a handmade fan which is 20 years old and was initially used for a City and Guild’s exam! This shows the creativity and resourcefulness which is so evident in this industry. I had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed spending time there!
Stay posted for more articles surrounding the NAFAS South West Area Floral Arts Show and more in depth interviews and stories about what was happening! We’ll have interviews with the lovely ladies of NAFAS themselves talking about all the great work they do and how you can get involved! Also i'll be talking you through the exhibits and the things you may not be able to find out elsewhere about the day!