Meet the team

Jo freelances and works in the floristry industry, demonstrating and sharing her knowledge and skills. She demonstrates alot within the NAFAS world of clubs and societies, and regularly supports their needs for training and developing skills further.

She loves learning new techniques and skills, meeting new florists and contacts and thrives from the atmosphere floral materials give!

Jo has a strong passion for teaching, planting that initial seed for growth and development, and watching her students flourish and achieve their goals.

Links within Asia, has meant Jo has travelled internationally to deliver workshops for groups and 1-1 sessions for Korean floristry students at private schools and colleges.

Jo created the Academy of Floristry to fulfil a big niche left in the market by the closure of the floristry department at Bournemouth & Poole College. To build and invent, a unique and bespoke training experience in Floristry and Flower Arranging. We have designed courses both for professional floristry and for those who just want to be inspired and enjoy.

…, also her A1 awards in assessing NVQ floristry levels within the industry. Helen worked alongside Jo and Sara for many years, teaching and training students, also attending top designer workshops, the prestigious RHS Chelsea and Hampton court flower shows, where she achieved many medals with the  team and on her own merit.

Floristry is Helen’s passion and we are delighted to have her on the team at the Academy.  Here she can take up once more her passion, of teaching and learning, to share her wealth of knowledge with the students, and help them achieve their goals.

Helen is the floral director and co owner of the renowned florist By Arrangement in Westbourne. Helen runs the successful flower shop with Jo and a small team of qualified florists. This is where you will find Helen on a day to day basis, she heads and leads the shop and team through all the peak periods, and seasons.

…and then decided to further those skills with taking the Level 4 Higher Diploma at the multi award winning Academy of Floristry.

Mel hold her Level 5 Masters gained at the Academy, where she also teaches the Level 2 in Technical in Floristry groups.

She started her teaching career in 2011, as a teaching assistant at Eastleigh College and later to  full time in 2012.

Mel graduated from Portsmouth University in 2014 after gaining her Certificate in Education.

The next path to unfold led Mel to being involved with NAFAS in 2013, with passing her Area demonstrators test in May 2015.  She now demonstrates to flower clubs across the South.

Being a Freelancer for wedding specialists and at a florist shop in Reading, takes up most of her free time when she’s not teaching!

Her life is pretty much flower crazy which she loves!

Attending floral workshops, demonstrations, festivals and flowers shows and a quick trip to Holland or Belgium each year is a must. She likes to keep up to date with all the latest trends especially the European ones!!

Soon after, I was awarded the Society of Floristry Rose Bowl for the highest combined marks in the Preliminary Examination, as it was then known.  I carried on with both floristry and horticulture, gaining qualifications in both and continuing with competitive work in both disciplines; especially trade exhibits, regularly gaining gold medals throughout the southern half of England and being an active member of the Horticultural Exhibitors’ Association for many years.

During this time, I also became involved in teaching floristry and running a floristry apprenticeship scheme for over twenty years.  I have always appreciated the importance of continuous development and have grasped every possible opportunity to learn from a wide range of designers, realising that floristry is a profession in which you are always training and experimenting; and was delighted to be awarded the European Floristry School Award in 1995.

Recently, I have been more involved in teaching theory and business studies for florists but have also been experimenting with floristry related to textures and forms in nature; and was delighted to reach the final of the Chelsea Florist of the Year competition, 2011.  It is my aim to pass on my passion for floristry, horticulture and nature as others have motivated me throughout my life.