Why I Created the Installations Masterclass

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There are few things in floristry that create quite the same sense of wonder as a beautiful floral installation.

Floral installations have an extraordinary ability to transform a space, changing not only how it looks, but how it feels. They’re often the designs guests photograph before they’ve even found their seats, the pieces venues proudly share afterwards, and the work planners remember long after an event has finished.

I’ve always loved that moment when someone walks into a room, pauses for just a second, smiles and quietly says, “Wow.”

For me, that’s what installations have always been about. Yes, they can be ambitious. Yes, they can be technically challenging and yes they can generate a great deal of money for your business. But more than anything, they create a feeling. They invite people to look up, to slow down and to experience flowers in an entirely different way.

Over the years, though, I began to notice something.

Many florists were (and still are) fascinated by installation work, but many of them felt as though it belonged to someone else.

They admired the enormous archways, suspended gardens, flower walls and immersive spaces they saw online, but often assumed that creating work like this was reserved for huge studios, enormous teams or designers with years of specialist experience.

Very often, the desire was there. The imagination was there. The creativity was certainly there.

What was missing was a clear understanding of how to begin.

Making the Invisible Part Visible

When we look at a finished floral installation, we see the flowers.

We don’t always see the site visit, the planning, the mechanics, the structure, the transport, the timings or the quiet problem-solving happening behind the scenes. We don’t see the questions that were asked before the first stem was placed, or the practical decisions that allowed an ambitious idea to become something safe, calm and achievable.

That hidden part of the process can make installation work feel far more mysterious than it really is.

I didn’t create the Installations Masterclass because I believed florists needed thirteen more designs to copy. I created it because I wanted the thinking behind installation work to feel visible, understandable and available to anyone willing to learn.

Of course, throughout the masterclass I'll guide you through thirteen complete installation projects step by step. We'll explore archways, statement vessels, freestanding structures, flower walls, hanging designs and more contemporary installations using hydrangea, grasses and caladium.

But the projects themselves are only part of the story.

What matters more is understanding why one mechanic is chosen over another, how flowers behave when we begin working at scale, how to create movement, balance and proportion, and how to adapt an idea when the venue, season or materials change.

Because once you begin to understand those principles, something wonderful happens.

You stop relying on someone else’s exact instructions and start making confident decisions within your own work.

Installation Design Is a Skill

I think one of the biggest misconceptions in floristry is that installation design is a talent you’re either born with or without.
It isn’t.

Like everything, it’s a skill, a way of thinking and a collection of practical systems that can be learnt, practised and gradually made your own.

You don’t need to begin with a ballroom ceiling filled with flowers. You might begin with a generous urn, a freestanding design, a pair of pillars or an archway. Each project teaches you something new about scale, structure, mechanics and the relationship between flowers and the space around them.

Very often, confidence grows in exactly the same way. Not through one enormous leap, but through a series of thoughtful, manageable steps.

That was something I wanted the Masterclass to reflect from the very beginning. Each project introduces new ideas and techniques, but the learning builds gradually. The aim is never to overwhelm you. It is to help you understand the process well enough that larger-scale work begins to feel exciting rather than intimidating.

Beautiful Flowers Are Only One Part of the Work

Creating a beautiful installation is only one part of delivering it successfully.

The design also needs to be planned, prepared, transported, installed and removed professionally. The mechanics need to be suitable for the flowers and the venue. The structure must be safe, the materials need to remain fresh, and the project has to be achievable within the available time, budget and level of support.

These are the parts of installation work that often create the most uncertainty, which is why they sit at the heart of the programme too.

Alongside the floral projects, we explore safe working, installation techniques, suitable flowers, marketing, site visits and how to sell installation work. We talk about the practical systems that help larger projects feel calmer and more organised, and the business decisions that allow them to become genuinely worthwhile.

Because knowing how to make something beautiful is one thing.

Knowing how to deliver it professionally is what gives you the confidence to say yes when exciting opportunities come your way.

Something Bigger Than Thirteen Projects

When we first launched the Installations Masterclass, I knew florists were curious about larger-scale work. What I didn’t expect was just how many people would embrace it.

Years later, it remains one of our most-loved Masterclasses, and I think that’s because florists often gain something much bigger than thirteen installation projects.

They develop a new understanding of mechanics and a calmer way of solving practical problems. They begin to see scale, movement, architecture and proportion differently. They create work that strengthens their portfolios and naturally captures attention.

Venues begin recognising their designs. Planners remember their style. Clients start imagining what they could create for their own celebrations.

But perhaps the most important change is in how they begin to see themselves as designers.

The kind of work they once admired from afar starts to feel possible, not because it has become less ambitious, but because they now understand how to approach it.

That transformation is incredibly rewarding to witness, and it’s one of the reasons this Masterclass will always hold such a special place in my heart.

Continuing the Learning Inside Flower Class

The complete Installations Masterclass also sits inside Flower Class, alongside all five of my Signature Masterclasses, hundreds of additional floral design and business lessons, monthly live coaching with me and our wonderfully supportive community.

I think that continued support can be especially valuable with a subject like installations because confidence rarely comes from watching one lesson once and immediately knowing everything.

It grows through revisiting ideas, asking questions, noticing how the same principles appear in different designs and gradually putting the knowledge into practice.

You might return to a mechanic before an upcoming event, bring a site visit question to one of our monthly coaching calls or discover another lesson that helps you think more carefully about colour, pricing, proportion or presentation.

Flower Class allows the learning to continue around the Masterclass, helping you cement what you’ve learnt as your skills, business and ambitions develop.

For some florists, owning the Installations Masterclass with lifetime access will be exactly the right choice. For others, Flower Class offers a broader path with continued education, support and access to the complete collection of Signature Masterclasses.

Whichever way you choose to begin, my hope is the same.

If you’ve ever admired an extraordinary floral installation and thought, “I’d love to create something like that one day,” I hope the Masterclass helps you discover that it may be far more achievable than you think.

EXPLORE THE INSTALLATIONS MASTERCLASS