“I didn’t plan to go into floristry. When I was 13, I was looking for a Saturday job and I lived in Huyton, just outside Liverpool. There were not many jobs out there and a job in the florists was literally the first that came up.
A few eyebrows were raised about a 13-year-old lad working in a florist. But my mates were okay about it because once I started work, I was the only one who had any money.
By the time I was 15 and we started discussing future careers, I realised I was happy in floristry and that was what I wanted to do. There was a lot of resistance from teachers at school. I was pushed academically and did really well at my GCSEs and my teachers thought it was mad to go on to do an NVQ Level 2.
But I stuck to my plans and did the National Certificate in Floristry at St Helens College. When I was halfway through my first year at college, I entered the Young Florist of the Year competition.
I was so inexperienced and just expected to get a form back thanking me for entering. But I got through to the final and was placed in the last seven nationally.
Getting those foundation skills at college is essential. Your training makes you – it is as simple as that. If you start working in a shop without training, the staff will be too busy to teach you everything you need to know. You need to know things like the Latin names for flowers and the range of different styles and it’s not possible to learn these things in a busy shop – college is the best place to build these foundations.
After my first competition, I started doing them more regularly. I would describe it as feverish. There are seven or eight of you on stage next to each other and every person wants to win. It is a fantastic opportunity to build on your skills and showcase them.
My boss at work is very supportive, giving me the opportunity to take part in competitions. But equally, it reflects well back on the company. It is part of the way we market ourselves as a shop with highly skilled stylists. If you can show people a portfolio of amazing designs and build up your reputation - that is great for business. People come to us because of our skills and what we can offer in design.
I will be going back to college for one day a week to do the NVQ Level 4 course. I’ll be working with Paul Raven, who is an amazing tutor, at the Welsh College of Horticulture. Training makes you – it is as simple as that. If you don’t have the basic training and build on your skills, you won’t develop and grow. I don’t want to do the same bouquets until I’m 95.
My skills have given me so much confidence and I want to keep building on them to become the best in my field. I’m taking each day at a time, but in the future I would love to do demonstrations and work on magazine shoots.”
