Florist School To Hold Classes In January

CROMWELL — Connecticut’s only florist trade school, formed four years ago to alleviate a shortage of trained floral designers, resumes classes in January with basic and intermediate design courses.

Owned by Connecticut Florist Association (CFA) and licensed by Connecticut Department of Higher Education, CFA Floral Design School’s basic session will reopen beginning January 11 and running 13 weeks. The intermediate session begins on January 12 and runs nine weeks in the same facility.

Sylvia Nichols, AIFD, who owns The Window Box in Cheshire, will teach the basic class. For $850, students will receive 30 hours of live instruction, flowers, and materials. Topics include Care & Handling of Cut Flowers, Basic Floral Design, Retail Flower Shop Operation, Holiday Designs, Introduction to Wedding Design, Designing with Balloons, Introduction to Sympathy Designs, Green & Blooming Plants, and Visual Merchandising.

Debra Grote, AIFD, a nationally renowned designer, will teach the intermediate class. For $1,099, students will gain more than 38 hours of instruction and their flowers/materials. Intermediate students will also be required to complete an internship with a florist. Topics will include design mechanics, color Theory, Pricing, Productivity, Wedding, and Sympathy Design.

There are some 550 independent flower shops operating in Connecticut with total annual sales of more than 93 million, according the state Department of Revenue Services. In addition, there are some 85 mass-market floral outlets in the state. The Connecticut Florists Association is the state’s only trade association representing nearly 300 retail florists, floral wholesalers, and flower/plant growers.

For more information on the school, contact director Bob Heffernan at CFA toll-free 800-352-6946.