Carina’s Floral Journey

We’ve caught up with one of our lovely online students to ask her a few questions about her experience and how she found training as a professional florist with our Academy! Carina Ashworth has recently completed our online level 2 floristry course and was kind enough to share her story with us in the hope that it may help others who are considering a career in floristry.

What inspired you to pursue a career in Floristry?

It might sound cliché, but I’ve always loved flowers and since arranging them as a child with my grandma in her kitchen, have daydreamt about having a career in floristry. I even have a video of me aged seven, telling someone that I want to be a florist when I grow up! Like many people, the pandemic made me re-evaluate things and decide that I needed more creativity in my day to day life – it was time to grow up and become a florist. My current ‘day job’ can be quite heavy going in terms of subject matter, so doing something as joyful as floristry is a great balancer, and I’m hopeful that one day I may be able to tip the scales in floristry’s favour.

How did you find learning online?

The online experience was great for me as it allowed me to partake in a brilliant course with incredibly knowledgeable teachers whilst offering me the flexibility of being at home. I feel that doing the some of the making ‘solo’ made me more aware of what I was doing and more critical of my makes, preparing me well for a time when I will likely be working on my own. The handouts to accompany the units were great as were the video tutorials, and knowing that I’ve got the videos to refer back to for a length of time is really reassuring.

What new opportunities have come your way since you have completed the units?

Since I completed the level 2 course I have been lucky enough to join a group of freelancers for a successful florist. She works as the lead florist at a beautiful wedding venue near Yeovil, as well as doing her own weddings elsewhere. This has given me the opportunity to put what I’ve learnt into practice at big, busy, weddings whilst working alongside a team of other amazing florists. Doing the course gave me a fantastic foundation of learning as well as the confidence to be able to put myself forward to do this, something that seemed a million miles away not that long ago.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Carina for taking the time to share her experience! We hope that this success story reassures all of you aspiring florists and reminds you that anything is possible and it’s never too late to follow your passions. – If you’re looking at taking the next step but don’t know where to start, our highly qualified team of Academy tutors and Directors are here to help! Whether you want a complete career change or to just learn some floristry from the comfort of your own home, we’re here to support you every step of the way!