Meet the Regional Team

29 Jul 2010

Introducing the Regional Team

 

The BFA has appointed a team of Regional Coordinators (RC's) to organise and oversee it's regional Hub meetings. The RC's provide a link between members and the BFA's Regional Development Director. The team of RC's will function as the members' first point of call for the BFA in their respective regions. They will report to the Regional Development Director following each event and relay any concerns or queries put to them by the individual members. Each RC has expert knowledge of their local area and will help maximise the value of BFA membership. Below are the current RC's and their districts.

NORTH WEST  -  Ann-Louise Hartley

   Ann-Louise worked as a secretary/PA for 12 years after leaving school both in the UK and in New Zealand. At 29, realised she had missed out on University after school, and completed a Management and Marketing Degree as a mature student. 

Although being a farmer’s daughter, she didn’t know a thing about flowers or plants until she met Bill, her second husband, and married into the sixth generation of a horticultural family.
In 1990, the business was primarily a fruit and veg shop, selling a few flowers, mostly home-grown chrysanths, and home-grown bedding plants.
Together Bill and Ann-Louise developed the business – Bill specialising in the production of home-grown chrysanthemum blooms, bedding plants and hanging baskets, whilst Ann-Louise concentrated on the retail and administration of the business.
In 2005, they rebuilt the entire retail area and now have one of the largest sized flower shops in the UK employing 2 full-time and 13 part-time staff. Approximately, 90% of the volume of plants they sell are home produced and Bill grows 10,000 stems of natural season chrysanthemum blooms annually and produces 2,400 hanging baskets. For the last 5 years, Ann-Louise has been a remote buyer on the Aalsmeer auction.

 SOUTH EAST  -  Wendy Andrade

  Having begun her floristry career at an early age, Wendy has gone on to achieve nationally recognised qualification in the UK and was awarded the American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD) in 2009. She has numerous awards and accolades under her belt, including 3 coveted Chelsea medals consisting of a gold and best in show for NAFAS plus 2 silver gilts for floristry.
 
Wendy spends her time travelling within the British Isles and also America, demonstrating and hosting workshops for floral design groups and large international shows. In March of this year Wendy was invited to join the floral design team at the Academy Awards in LA and is the first British Florist to attend the Oscars.
Wendy is renowned for her impeccable eye for detail and her work is regularly featured in top magazines and publications throughout the world and is part of a team producing a large stage show in America incorporating a live catwalk show with models featuring her legendary bridal designs.

 

 NORTH EAST  -  Andy Peckett

  Floristry is a family business for the Peckett’s, Andy married professional florist Katie Peckett who’s mother and father had a wholesale business in Sheffield importing fresh flowers and plants from growers all over the World.
 
Andy worked in the wholesale division of the family business buying and selling fresh flowers on a daily basis.
 
In early 2000 he developed a pre-packing flower facility that supplied mixed bouquets for sale into major UK supermarkets giving him the opportunity to work closely with Holland , eventually moving to one of the leading Dutch flower exporters to deal directly with the UK Wholesalers and Multiples.
 
Over the last 10 years Andy has worked successfully building flower relationships home and abroad and he is very pleased to serve as a Regional Coordinator for the BFA.

COUNTY DURHAM  -  Sally Bennett 

  Sally Bennett NDSF is the owner of Flowers By Nattrass in Darlington, two busy florist shops with their core business being gift work and funeral work, wedding floristry and work for corporate clients. She is also a director of Florisoft, a computer software company producing the software “Strelitzia” for the professional florist.
 
Sally holds the National Diploma of the Society of Floristry and has worked extensively for numerous industry organisations on design books, demonstrations, exhibition stand designs and floristry schools and in 2007 she was made an ambassador by Smithers Oasis.
 

SOUTH WEST (EAST)  -  Louise Rawlings

Louise works as the Course Leader at the floristry department of The City of Bath College.

The college runs Levels 1, 2 and 3 in Floristry (City and Guilds) and also design workshops which are college certificated. She is keen to promote creativity and individual design in all levels and has produced work for Sky television. Recently one of her students on Level 2 floristry has entered the final of the RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year at The Chelsea Flower Show.

Louise and her team like to ensure students to work to a high level in both practical and assignment work and encourage them to visit events, demonstrations and organised trips to Holland and New Covent Garden.
 

SOUTH WEST (WEST)  -  Mark Nicholas NDSF  FSF  CFD  AIFD

 Mark opened Flowertime Florist in Hayle in Cornwall and launched his website www.wesendflowers.co.uk back in 1989.
 

Mark is a former Chelsea Gold Medallist and competes in many floral competitions. Awarded Powergen's 'South West Boss of the Year in 2006'. He came third in the Teleflorist 50th Year 'Florist of the Year' Competition. Mark is also a floristry demonstrator and over the years has demonstrated at many venues accross the UK for E-Florist, Tregothnan Foliage, the former Society of Floristry, and more recently for the BFA. He says he enjoys demonstrating his floral art / floristry to they audience and is a regular at some of his more local NAFAS Flower Clubs.

Being a keen member of Round Table Britain and Ireland, he has served as Chairman of St Ives Round Table and Area Chairman for Cornwall RT giving away over £30,000.00 to local and national good causes while at the helm.