Laura KasavanRibbon, spray paint and glue guns may not sound like a trio with a lot in common, but for Cal Poly’s floral design club, they are all standard components in the arrangement process.
Members use those tools along with glitter, plastic foam, wire and other elements to construct such creations as wreaths, centerpieces and other home decorative items.
Inspiration for designs is drawn from trade shows and magazines. The group is resourceful and recycles all supplies into new, fresh pieces.
Shannon Carlisle, horticulture junior and club president, said she has gained many useful skills from her involvement and is more prepared for a future career.
“I want to have my own business and do weddings,” Carlisle said.
Nicolette Lynch, journalism senior and club vice president, said the group of 10 women is small but effective.
The club began at Cal Poly in 1969 under the leadership of Bob Gordon, a former instructor in the floral design department. After Gordon retired in 1991, the club took a hiatus until 1998, when current floral design instructor, Melinda Lynch reinstated the group.
“It’s really exciting,” Melinda Lynch said. “I have a lot of students who have their own floral shops and two students have been inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD), which is the highest honor as a floral designer.”
She was inducted into AIFD in 2002 and has run her own design studio, Festive Designs, for 19 years.
Floral design club meetings are held at 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of every month in their workroom in Agricultural Sciences room 103. The club also accepts special orders with two weeks notice.
This past weekend, the club hosted floral design presentations and sold decorations at the Poly Plant Shop Holiday Open House.
Money raised at such events helps the group travel to design shows all over the state. In addition, a few members are part of a national floral design team that competes in an annual student competition sponsored by AIFD.
At the competition, students participate in five categories: bridal bouquet, flowers to wear (corsages and boutonnieres), sympathy (casket pieces and easels), dry arrangement and a holiday arrangement.
This past July, the symposium was held in Palm Desert. Of the six Cal Poly students who competed, five placed at least once, if not more times, in the top 10.
Next year the symposium will be held in Chicago and team members are already preparing.
“It’s a lot of fun and a really good experience,” Carlisle said. “You meet so many people.”
Melinda Lynch agreed that the event is an optimal opportunity to network.
“After students graduate, they can work in the industry,” she said. “There is a new product evening at the symposium and students can get jobs with those companies. The exposure to the floral industry is fabulous.”