Floral Cohorts = Professional Floristry Training
Join our Floral Cohort to level up your passion for flowers & become a successful florist:
- Learn sustainable floral mechanics (no foam!)
- Find community
- Gain a deep understanding of seasonality
- Tap into a supportive small group learning environment
- Master profitable pricing
- Build your portfolio
- Access wholesale flowers & get a professional tool kit
Hands-on professional training in sustainable floristry is hard to come by. In 2019, Love ‘n Fresh Flowers launched a Floral Cohort program to fill that need. This small-group learning experience brings together 10 cohort members each year to complete a six-month program. During this time, each cohort builds strong bonds and expands their skill set. Every facet of the floral industry is touched upon through demonstrations, business coaching, thoughtful group discussions, field trips, journaling, worksheets, and hours of hands-on practice.
Floral Cohort members have a serious interest in making floristry their career. Floral professionals with a couple years under their belt also find the program helpful for refining their vision, mastering profitability, and building community.
The 10 Floral Cohort members become peers; flower friends for life we hope! They will be your support network that steers your floral endeavors to success. About half of the alumni of the Floral Cohort program have gone on to run their own thriving florist business. The other half work as employees in florist shops or as event freelancers in high demand.
Yes, there are plenty of ways to learn about floristry online! But those online options do not provide you with face-to-face mentoring and peer-to-peer support that will last long after the course work is done! Floral Cohorts are about far more than just flowers. They are about holding space for one another; for fighting the good fight together to spread more beauty throughout the world in a way that allows you to thrive on a personal level as well.
What Floral Cohort Members Are Saying
“The Love ’n Fresh Flowers cohort was the best investment I have made in my career. The skills and techniques I learned from Jennie as well as the community I built through it has taken my business and designs to the next level in every way. I am now able to finally charge correctly for my work and have the skills to offer an even more quality product to my clients. Her emphasis on respecting the land through her mechanics and sourcing resonates so deeply with me and is not something you find in most floral design education courses. The cohort goes so far beyond what a workshop can offer and the schedule works so well for florists. I am forever grateful for what I have learned from the cohort. It is not just me who has had this experience; I have seen the changes and growth in others who I have encouraged to take the cohort. What Jennie has to share is going to change your career for the better and her generous sharing of knowledge is a gift so far beyond what I can describe.” – Grace, Flower Clvb, 2022 Cohort
“When I was trying to piece together an education within the world of flowers, I felt like all the formal certification programs I was finding weren’t teaching within the design styles or sustainable, local ethos I wanted to embrace as a new designer. Finding the Love ‘n Fresh Flowers Floral Cohort was exactly what I was looking for. I was not only able to get a masterclass in design with each session, but also felt supported through learning how to build myself a business within the flower industry that would set myself up for success when it came to things like setting pricing, creating recipes, sourcing products and managing client relationships. It felt special being able to connect with a community of other designers who were at varying points in their flower stories to be able to learn from each other as we gained new skills and experiences both during cohort sessions and as we explored our own paths outside the cohort. We’ve stayed in touch after the cohort ended and I find myself crossing paths with many of them on the freelancer circuit. It’s such a privilege to not only get to learn from Jennie, but also get to work with the product grown at Love ‘n Fresh both during the cohort and then after as a customer of the Philadelphia Floral Guild. Forever grateful my flower journey started on such solid ground (…there’s a soil joke in there somewhere, something Jennie can also give you a masterclass on!)” – Cara, South Stems, 2021 Cohort
“The floral cohort at Love ‘n Fresh Flowers has completely changed my life. I joined after leaving my job in advertising and design, aiming to apply my art background in a completely new field – floral design. I learned all the basics of mechanics, storage, recipe planning, and the nuance between certain flowers and greens. The feeling of community and the support and energy of the group are what set this experience apart. Learning and growing in an environment where everyone is on their journey towards ‘the next level’ leads to powerful conversation and a multi-talented group that can help each other along the way. And Jennie is a great leader and teacher. Every lesson related to marketing or branding was fully aligned with my strategic communication background. Our cohort is still in touch and shares opportunities as they come up. After our cohort field trip, I was able to connect with one of the oldest florists in Philadelphia and secure seasonal work. Now, I’m getting regular work as a freelance florist, working with several florists in Philadelphia. The connections and opportunities have been invaluable as I start my career as a freelance florist. I believe much of this stems from Jennie’s spirit of generosity and the community she is crafting here in Philadelphia.” – Ashley, floral freelancer, 2024 Cohort
“The cohort brought me into the presence of new beauty- poppies, tweedia, and dinnerplate dahlias. And the program taught technical design skills while bolstering my confidence in growing a business. The greatest gift was being in the presence of women who desire something more, something deeper. Every session began with a check-in: what’s been happening in your life? This sharing gave way to glimpsing “the real” – why flowers, why now, and for what purpose? The program gave me a sense of community and belonging in my curiosity and the space to articulate what I was beginning to dream about for my life.” – Jackie, Red Seeds Floral , 2024 Cohort
Recent Comments