For the past few years the tiny town of Nemi has invited me along with a very few other floral designers to participate in their annual celebration of wild strawberries and flowers. This little town just outside the center of Rome is famous for these two items.
Since there are many flower growers in Nemi, they each donate all kinds of floral related materials for this event. Upon arrival we are guided to a warehouse full of all types of flowers, greenery, branches and assorted other items. This warehouse is a floral designers dream come true. We are each permitted to chose whatever we want to create our designs. Many of us have brought along other items to add to the vast assortment.
It doesn’t take long before we are each immersed in our design projects. I have chosen types of flowers that I usually don’t use in my work as a way to force myself to create new forms and to experiment. What a wonderful experience to design literally whatever you want using flowers.
Although I am always thrilled with this very special opportunity to create outdoors for the sheer joy of doing it and not bound by customer needs, the best part of all is eating all those strawberries at the end of the night.How blessed I am to be doing something I love.
Debra
