FleurEx 2009The new trade show for the professional florist and the floristry industry. Paragon Hotel Birmingham, 24th & 25th October 2009.
The British Florist Association held a bigger and improved conference for 2009, with an exciting new name and format. Please click here for a gallery of images from the weekend. BFA President Mark Ward is delighted with the response from the industry, “We were conscious that there was no trade show for the industry this year, and as the industry trade body felt this was an opportunity not to be missed. We are also very mindful of the current economic climate, and as the BFA is a non-profit organisation, we are able to keep costs to exhibitors and visitors as low as possible. In fact, if you are a BFA member, entry to the trade fair and demonstrations was free!” FleurEx was priced at credit-crunch levels, at only £10 entry per person, and this included the demonstrations in the main hall. Inspirational demonstrations went on throughout the day by current Dutch Champion Ruud Hazelaar and British designer Tracy Rowbottom, accompanied by the BFA’s own Dennis van Wonderen. The crowd was entertained both by the banter and the designs, and several lucky people walked away with some of the fantastic pieces as these were raffled off on Sunday afternoon. In association with the UK School of Floristry, hands on workshops by Spanish Master Florist Carles Fontanillias were held, with intermediate level class in the morning, and advanced level in the afternoon. The advanced classes were particularly popular, and attendees were thrilled with the 2 hour classes and were simply wanting to do more! The classes focused on designer hand-tied & arrangements to combat the recession. Saturday also saw the finals of the British Florist Association Young Florist of the Year, with five young florists competing throughout the day, with the winner going on to represent Great Britain at Eurofleurs in 2010. The pieces remained on display throughout Sunday. See the competition page for full details and pictures.. FleurEx also catered for those looking to make the most of their business during the economic downturn. With business seminars on a variety of subjects including websites, employment law, marketing, making it through tough economic times and legal issues. There was also a free legal drop-in clinic all weekend, thanks to Hawkins Hatton LLP as well as the trade fair open all weekend, in the main demonstration hall. We were really pleased with this first FleurEx, and have lots of ideas to build on for FleurEx 2010. Image gallery of FleurEx 2009 coming soon.
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