Graduate Students shine at Fleurs de Villes floral event for Sydney world Pride

The recent Fleurs de Villes event at the Royal Botanic Gardens was a showcase of floral talent. And we were thrilled to see PSF graduates amongst the Sydney florists who exhibited at the event.

Read on to find out how they went about creating floral mannequins in fresh flowers, to last 10 days in 30 degrees plus heat!

Fleurs de Villes is an experiential floral event like no other. Originating from Canada and now global, Fleurs de Villes 'Flowers of the cities' connects Florists, Flower growers, nurseries and the flower loving public in the cities they visit around the world.

At the most recent February event, talented floral designers were tasked with creating a floral mannequin that played homage to inspirational members and allies of the LGBTQIA+ community. The event timed perfectly to coincided with Sydney World Pride.

We asked our fabulous graduate students what their experience was, being part of this amazing show.

Derek Law - Fable Studio Co (Mannequin - Kylie Minogue)

(Placed 3rd as the peoples vote for Fan Favourite mannequin!)

Derek graduated PSF in 2018 and has since built a beautiful business with his wife Wendy. Together they have created floral magic for countless weddings and events,  have been featured in many leading publications and are the preferred vendor of many prominent venues.

Derek and Wendy created the mannequin for Kylie with such incredible attention to detail. And were awarded the People's Fan Favourite vote at the show.

Derek said daily visits to top up during the extremely hot days was a challenge.

"The challenging part of the design is the use of flowers and how to execute the structure to the closest look of the photo provided. We have to refresh the flowers during the show with a limited budget therefore the water sources are important. We used buckets and wet Sphagnum Moss as our water sources which can last for a longer time compared to using floral foams, even though that makes the shapes more difficult to create." - Derek

Abby Schofield - Once and Floral (Mannequin - Vanity)

Abby came to PSF on our fast-track course. Living in Dubbo it wasn't an easy commute, so Abby relocated to Sydney for the duration of her course. Right from the get-go Abby was sure to be a success with her beautiful sense of style and incredible work. Once and Floral has gone from strength to strength.

Abby certainly was busy, creating not just one but two, stunning mannequins. Her magical work brought to life the vibrant Vanity (wigs by Vanity) at the Calyx, capturing the hair detail perfectly and another gorgeous design, to celebrate Pride, at Paddy's Haymarket.

Taking part in this event was a once in a lifetime opportunity that Abby couldn't say no to "The hustle was something I had never experienced before but the finished piece was worth all of it. Having thousands of people view my art was so cool. Getting to chat to the public about the flowers and the process of design really opened up their eyes as to how much work is involved".

Suzanne Robbins - Bold Botanicals  (Mannequin Keiynan Lonsdale)

Not long after starting the career course at PSF, previous Interiors teacher Suzanne, was hooked and by a few lessons in had registered a business name and started the ball rolling on Bold Botanicals. Now a couple of years into her business journey Suzanne has taken on many interesting and unusual events. We asked, how was the experience at Fleurs de Villes - 

"Being asked to participate in FDV was a personal challenge I couldn’t resist. It was hard work, and many hours in the studio of planning, prepping and working on the foam-free structure. 

The experience overall was fantastic. My highlight was both hosting live demonstrations and workshops at the venue AND getting to meet Keiynan himself to walk through the installation on Launch night.

I brought him to tears when I explained the “Metamorphis” concept of him from cocoon to butterfly! Engaging with visitors during the day to walk them through the concept and unique flower selections was fun and a great way to educate.

I love that my style of floristry from abundant seasonal locally grown to dried native meadowscapes is truly unique!"

 Kris Mckee - Kris McKee Floral design - (Mannequin Peter de Waal)

After a career as a nurse Kris decided to follow her creative calling and enrolled and PSF to start her journey to becoming a Floral designer. Kris believes that its the small personal touches that can have the biggest impact.

It is these beautiful little details that stand out so clearly in Kris's stunning mannequin of Peter de Waal. The exquisite attention to detail in the Hydrangea covered jacket even down to the be-flowered spectacles.

Kris thoroughly enjoyed her experience at Fleurs de Villes, especially meeting Peter at the opening night and sharing the joy of bringing him to life in fresh flowers.

See more of the fabulous designs from Fleurs de Villes  Sydney Pride show.