Gold at Harrogate Flower Show

_{Image - Hatches, Matches & Dispatches}

Happy Friday, and what a lovely way to end the week, as today, we’re so very proud to share that one of our very talented tutors here at The UK School of Floristry, Valerie Jayne, has won another Gold medal - this time at the Harrogate Flower Show for her sympathy tribute to Beatrix Potter.

Valerie is one of five tutors at The School and, alongside teaching with us, runs her own flower studio in the Lake District, which is exactly why this piece feels so personal.
Her farewell design, Hatches, Matches, Dispatches, reflects the life of Beatrix Potter, drawing on the landscape at Hill Top, Potter’s beloved farmhouse in Ambleside, and the Herdwick sheep she cared for. 

“This is a little post about what can come after (or alongside) college learning - for me - that’s the steps after a level 5 floristry course.
As well as running my own business here in the Lake District, I’m incredibly proud to be part of the teaching team at The UK School of Floristry, led by the hugely talented Joseph Massie.

This week, after months of research, planning, designing, and creating, I entered the UK Floristry Judges Guild competition at Harrogate Flower Show - and I’m so happy to share that I won 1st place in my category!

Farewell designs should give a summary of the life lived in all the details… including the little lettuces that naughty Peter Rabbit would have loved.

So how did it happen?
The UK School of Floristry’s ethos of continually evolving and layering professional floristry skills is something I’ve truly benefitted from being part of. As well supporting students Joseph recognised I wanted to go further with my own skills but that one of my major blocks was confidence. With his guidance (and encouragement) he has gently pushed me to stretch both my skills and confidence, helping me take this next step in my growth as a professional florist.

What’s next?
I want to keep building these skills, becoming more confident with the ratios and flow of European floristry. But for now, I’m taking a moment to appreciate that the work I’m putting into my professional development is really paying off.

Thank you, Joseph, and The UK School of Floristry for your support and sponsorship in this event.”

Joseph has spent years working & competing at the highest level, and that experience runs through everything we do at the school. Not as something fixed, but as something shared, something that’s passed on, developed, and shaped by the people who teach with us, and you can see that so very clearly in Valerie’s work.

We’re all so very proud of you, Val.
A piece that feels considered, personal, and entirely your own, well done.

If you’d like to learn with Valerie, you’ll find her here with us at The UK School of Floristry.

Team JM