North Carolina State Florists Association

Blooms & Business - March 30, 2025

Cyn-Mar Wholesale Florist & Greenhouse have graciously invited the regional floral community to their Pine Level, NC facility for Blooms & Business on March 30, 2025. Join Cyn-Mar and the North Carolina State Florist Association for a busy day of activities including a hands-on workshop, the semi-annual NCSFA member meeting, a delicious lunch, a design show starring two award winning designers, EW Fulcher and Anna Keck, and– of course– shopping!

Workshop:  Explore the use of the Syndicate Sales Pillow as we construct an artful centerpiece with sustainable and reusable mechanics. Make your work stand out at your next party or event with an on-trend artful centerpiece using fresh product sponsored by Cyn-Mar.  NCSFA Members may attend this workshop free of charge. Non-members: click here to submit your non-member registration fee of $65 per participant. Registration closes on March 20th!

Meeting: NCSFA president Stephanie Garrett AIFD, NCCPF will convene the semi-annual membership meeting to vote on proposed bylaw changes, manage old and new business, and to review the upcoming slate of NCSFA events for 2025. This should last about half an hour.

Lunch: If you’ve never attended a Cyn-Mar event before, you have been missing out! Bring your appetite for a delicious down home meal.

Design show: Join us for a wonderful program featuring EW Fulcher, the 2024 NCSFA Designer of the Year, and Anna Keck, winner of the Speechless 2024 Body Flower Competition. EW and Anna will present an on-trend design program perfect for Wedding and Event Design incorporating faux materials into fresh designs to maximize profitability. Also, unique and inspiring designs for your retail shops to start 2025 with a bang. Learn tips and tricks to increase your profitability and gain design techniques to stand out from the crowd.
 
Shopping: This is your opportunity to explore Cyn-Mar’s expansive facility! They have massive greenhouses, three coolers full of fresh flowers, and a showroom packed with permanent botanicals and other hard goods. Take advantage of breaks in programming to stock up for the busy times ahead. If you’re not already a Cyn-Mar customer, call (919) 965-2319 today to set up your account ahead of time.

Schedule of Events:

9:30am: Check-in begins

10am: Hands-on workshop

11:30am: NCSFA member meeting 

Noon: Lunch is served

1pm: Program starts

4pm: Drive safely!

BOTANICAL BODY FLOWER WORKSHOP
.....artistic design in real time with a unique perspective
3:00 - 4:30 pm Inquire at Registration table

This hands-on workshop will give you mechanical concepts and skills to easily construct intricate and impressive floral accessories to offer beyond corsages. These techniques will set you up to create designs that are updated, fashion-forward and artful while remaining mechanically strong and wearable.
* Please bring your own tools, i.e. clippers, scissors, wire cutters, and knives.

Heather Ann Miller, NCCPF is the creative director of Eclectic Sage, a Raleigh based event design and floral studio. While spending many years working in the interior architectural design field, Heather also explored product and textile design. During these explorations, she realized she loved the studio experience and started contributing her artistic eye for colors, trends, and design to a wide variety of projects. Her venture with Eclectic Sage bridges her various art forms and allows her to lend a unique perspective to every design. To see some of her work check out her website www.eclecticsage.com and follow her on Instagram where she often shares behind the scene stories. @eclecticsage

Sponsored by the NCSFA Education Committee

FREE to observe for Weekend Ticket Holders - $25 to Participate
Please pre-register so we'll know how many flowers to provide.

CONVENTION 2019 FRIDAY BOTANICAL BODY FLOWER WORKSHOP

CONVENTION 2019 FRIDAY FFA WORKSHOP CHECKOUT

DESIGN II PROGRAM - "Will You Marry Me"
secrets will be revealed from a pro .....
Saturday - 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm in the Chimney Rock Room

Flowers are much more than flowers in the 21st century, and to separate yourselves from the competition, you need to do much more than just flowers.  This program will open your eyes to possibilities that have worked well for Fresh Affairs and Michael will share some of their secrets that will help you take a different approach to your consults and services that you should be offering!

Michael Whaley Aifd Cfd has over three decades of experience in the floral industry and has been involved with every aspect during his career. He has a passion for continuing self-education and, more importantly, sharing that acquired knowledge with other designers in the industry. Over the years he has studied with some of the greatest designers in the world including Gregor Lersch, Hitomi Gilliam, Tomas De Bruyne and Per Benjamin among others.  Michael has been awarded NCSFA Designer of the Year and Southern Retail Florist Association Designer of the Year.  His love of interpretive design led him to The Jim Treadway Cup for interpretive design and after winning this coveted competition three times he was inducted into the Jim Treadway Hall of Fame.  He was also a regional representative for Americas Cup, Great American Design Competition.  Michael was inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers and has been heavily involved with programs presented at AIFD National Symposium. He is currently the chairman of the National Education Committee, serves as vice president of the Southern Chapter of AIFD, and is an AIFD certified evaluator/judge.  Michael currently works as Creative Director for Fresh Affairs, an upscale wedding and special events studio based in Raleigh, NC. 

Get Your Brand New 2019 NCSFA Member Lapel Pin

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