American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD)’s Symposium “X” drew a crowd of more than 800 people last month. Gorgeous designs are just part of the event’s appeal: It also features educational info and an awards ceremony.
More than 800 floral designers gathered last month in Seattle for a mega dose of inspiration during the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD)’s Symposium “X.”
The annual event is a showcase for top design talent, but it’s also an info-packed gathering with participants coming together from all over the world.
“The Symposium was an amazingly artistic success this year,” according to AIFD’s new President Kim Oldis AIFD, CFD of Details…..it’s all about the flowers in LaConner, Washington.
Among the highlights from Symposium: More than 100 designers worked to achieve Certified Floral Designer (CFD) status; student designers from more than a dozen universities and colleges competed in the student design competition; and nearly 80 designers were inducted into AIFD membership; new officers took on roles and two industry stars got their moment to shine.
The event kicked-off with AIFD’s Annual Professional Floral Design Evaluation (PFDE) on Thursday, June 29 in which 112 floral designers attempted to demonstrate their design capabilities in an effort to achieve CFD status and/or an invitation to become a member of AIFD. The candidates were each required to make five designs in four hours. Their work was then evaluated by a panel of AIFD members who consider such critical criteria as creativity, mechanics, elements of design, use of floral product and more. (Check out results.)
Student designers from 13 universities and colleges in the U.S. and Canada competed in the annual AIFD Student Design Competition on Saturday, July 1. The Overall School Award went to the City College of San Francisco (CCSF), led by SAIFD advisors Holly Money-Collins AIFD, CFD and Steven Brown AIFD, CFD. Dawn Mones of Cal Poly State University took home the Overall Student Highest Score Award. Junghwa Han of City College of San Francisco earned the People’s Choice Award, which is voted on by Symposium attendees. Read a complete list of the 2017 Student Competition winners.
AIFD also presented “Xpand Your Horizons,” its annual Awards and Induction Ceremony and Dinner in which 77 floral design artists were inducted into membership. (A full list of the new AIFD members can be found at http://aifd.org/2017-aifd-inductees/). Tim Farrell AIFD, CFD was recognized by the AIFD National Board of Directors with the Award of Distinguished Service to the Floral Industry. This award is presented to AIFD members who have made a significant contribution to the floral industry. United Floral Inc. and General Manager Tony Graaf were recognized with the Award of Merit Industry. This award is presented to professionals in the floral industry who are not a member of AIFD, but who are serving a crucial role in advancing
Cindy Anderson AIFD, CFD, a freelance designer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Wil Gonzalez AIFD, CFD Ukiah, Calif., coordinated Symposium 2017. Read more about the event.
