The Flower Freelance Intensive
JOIN THE WAITLIST FOR Spring 2025!
5-Day course for Aspiring & experienced freelancers and floral design team members
The Maryland/DC/Virginia area is home to talented, creative and busy Event Florists. From the top of the Hay Adams to the vineyards of Northern Virginia, to private residences on the Eastern Shore, we flower it all. And we need HELP.
This rigorous course will cover everything, from creating floral pieces with emphasis on speed and precision, to handling on-site crises with unflappable composure. Lessons are taught by top florists in the DC, MD, VA area who will give fresh perspectives and feedback to even the most seasoned designer.
““The flower freelance intensive workshop was incredible in so many ways. It was a hands-on, no fluff learning experience...We dove in right away, and learned such a wide-range of arrangements, installments, and various styles of each in such a short time. I am so grateful for the guidance of Sophie and Sue (and the rest of the team)””
LEARN THE NECESSARY SKILLS TO WORK ON A TEAM OF DESIGNERS FROM FLOWER PROCESSING TO LATE NIGHT TAKE DOWN
We will cover:
Prepping and Processing Flowers
Prepping Vessels and Pulling Flowers for Recipes
Centerpiece Lesson and Practice
Large Scale Arrangement Demo and Design
Boutonnieres, corsages and personal flowers
Large scale floral Installations
Bouquet design
Foraging
Onsite best practices
Sustainability Practices in Floral Design
20 minutes of 1:1 time with Sophie Felts + Erica Gamble - No topic is off limits.
Trené Forbes will be photographing throughout the week and will take a headshot on the final day. Price includes access to full gallery including some photos of your work.
Location, Schedule + ACCOMODATIONS
Sophie Felts Floral Design Studio
7801 Hawkins Creamery Road
Laytonsville, MD 20882
Accommodations are available for students to book at the Rio Lakefront as well as AIrBnB’s. The nearest airports are BWI, Washington National and Dulles.
Classes will take place Monday - Thursday 9:30am - 4:00pm with open Studio and Headshots on Friday.
investment
Our team pours our hearts into creating this thoughtful, time-tested curriculum and a warm, uplifting, flower-filled, knowledge building experience. Light breakfast, all lunches and a happy hour during the workshop are included in the pricing.
$3800
2024 Teachers
OUR 2023 SPONSoRS
testimonials from past students
“This workshop has far surpassed my expectations. So informative. So hands on. Fantastic, generous teachers. I like that I can say I’m a freelancer when complete.”
“The flower freelance intensive workshop was incredible in so many ways. It was a hands-on, no fluff learning experience. No photo shoots that take up so much time - just flower play and insight. We dove in right away, and learned such a wide-range of arrangements, installments, and various styles of each in such a short time. I am so grateful for the guidance of Sophie and Sue (and the rest of the team) - they are kind, knowledgeable, passionate, and hard working. They ensured individual time was spent with everyone, and feedback was provided on each design throughout the course. Bringing in other designers allowed us to learn a number of styles that will help us work for any designer in the industry. I saw night and day improvement in my skills in such a short time, and have already booked a wedding just a week after class ended.”
”Whether you are freelancing a lot or applying your new knowledge to your own business the class pays for itself many times over!”
“I loved it! As someone who already has some floral experience, I was worried that it would seem a little redundant. Boy, was I wrong. We jumped right in to designing ! No time was wasted ! I liked that different designers were brought in to learn different techniques and design styles. I also liked that the home designers went around providing ways to improve. I left more confident in my design eye and now have the ability to adapt to different design styles. “
“The Flower Freelance Intensive was an incredible experience, good for building a foundation of floral design skills and learning countless tips and tricks. The course administrators were warm, inviting and not afraid to give constructive criticism or show the real hard work that goes into being an event florist. However, I think the biggest value to the class was in the relationships that were fostered. I couldn’t help but become friends with many of the other attendees, and being able to meet and connect with potential employers right before the beginning of their busy season was an incredible opportunity clearly designed with maximum impact in mind! Overall, it felt like a great launch pad for starting off in the floral industry with a good deal of self confidence and skills to back it up. Oh, and the selection of flowers and vessels and materials couldn’t have been better! “
“I liked that regardless of your skill level or years of experience all students were met with the same respect and appreciation. There was something, if not many things, that were learned by all who participated.”
“I’ve really enjoyed being able to dabble in so many different styles and hear from a variety of perspectives. Everyone has brought something unique to the table.“
“It’s nice to have input from so many different people so you can really start to discover your style. The flowers have been amazing, fresh, and beautiful. I love that we have so much opportunity to work on our own as well. You guys have done an incredible job organizing this!”
“I have absolutely LOVED this entire workshop, and wish it could go on and on! It’s hard to say my one favorite thing, because I have so many. The most useful thing would be soaking up all [the] incredible knowledge and experiences, learning techniques in arranging, and also learning how to do the big installations. I also thought all of the guest speakers were excellent. Some of my other favorite things have been the warmth and kindness all of the instructors exude, as well as the very professional, but fun, relaxed vibe…I have enjoyed the other women taking the workshop so much and couldn’t have asked to be with a nicer group. I think we’ve had the opportunity to get to know each other and I feel like there is already a friendship and bond between us… it was so helpful for you all to share some of your mistakes and crises and how you got through them. Too many favorites to just list one. It has all been great!”
Questions?
email erica@sophiefelts.com
