Episode 572: Joseph Massie returns the Slow Flowers Podcast to unveil The Flower School, his new beautiful and useful new design book
August 24th, 2022
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I’m thrilled today to welcome Joseph Massie back to the Slow Flowers Podcast.
I wanted to share the great news of the arrival of Joseph’s first book, The Flower School, which has a subtitle: “the principles and pleasures of good flowers,” published by UK-based Hardie Grant and is now available online for pre-order. Click to read more about The Flower School book.
AND….we have a beautiful copy for a giveaway, so read on to learn how you can win!
The Flower School is an impressive, 305-page book, brimming with full-color photography of the elements, principles and theory of floral design. There are 25 step-by-step floral arrangements – for the home, gatherings, celebrations and the pure pleasure of flowers.
Before we welcome Joseph, here’s a bit more of his story:
Frequently referred to by the media as ‘the floral artist of his generation,’ Joseph Massie is widely regarded as one of Europe’s top floral artists.
When he was just fourteen, Joseph desperately wanted a weekend job, and after successfully applying to the local flower stall, he began spending his weekends working there in his hometown of Liverpool, UK.
Perhaps to some it was an uncommon interest for a fourteen year old boy, but Joseph quickly found his vocation amongst the buckets of blossoms and buds.
Taking steps to pursue his passion, Joseph self funded his education and began to hone his practice and develop a creative ethos, participating in intense training sessions with top international designers and artists. To further build his artistic vocabulary, Joseph began to participate first in regional, followed by national, floral design competitions, and at age nineteen, won his first national design competition, the BFA Young Florist of the Year 2007.
With a clutch of prestigious awards, Joseph turned his attentions to artistic endeavours working across ten countries, on a wide variety of art projects including botanical couture, sculptures and installations. He has received seventeen national & international awards, including five consecutive RHS Gold Medals – and four Best in Show awards – at the world renown RHS Chelsea Flower Show — the youngest person ever to achieve this feat.
Joseph’s work has since been featured in press including The Times, The Independent, The Daily Mail and his work commissioned by international institutions and brands.
Enjoy this sneak peek into The Flower School. You can learn more from Joseph at these links:
🌿 SIGN UP TO FOR JOSEPH’S FREE BEGINNERS COURSE : For the Love of Flowers : Beginnings
🌿 FLOWER CLASS MEMBERSHIP: Join the Flower Class community, for exclusive classes & coaching each and every month.
🌿 BLOG : Discover more free resources on The Cultivate Blog
🌿 PODCAST : Check out The Flowers After Hours Podcast
🌿 TOOLS : For all Joseph’s favourite floral tools & supplies
Thanks so much for joining me today. That was an inspiring conversation and I hope you were just as enchanted by Joseph’s story and love of floral design as I was.
As Joseph and I discussed, this book reflects his true passion to share his knowledge to encourage and inspire absolutely anyone who wants to work with flowers to be able to do so – and do it well.
He wants everyone — professionals and flower enthusiasts alike — to be empowered by the learning process of skills, techniques and principles for a strong floral design foundation. I couldn’t agree more.
By the way, Joseph was a guest on Episode 346, which aired April 2018, after we taught together at Tobey Nelson’s Whidbey Island Workshop. If you want to hear more about Joseph’s fascinating journey to flowers, you can listen to that conversation. I’ll share the link in today’s show notes..
If you’d like to enter our random drawing to win a copy of Joseph Massie’s new book, The Flower School, check out our Instagram promotion @slowflowerssociety — we will accept entries through Saturday, August 27th at midnight Pacific Time and announce the winner in next week’s Podcast episode.
Thank you to our Sponsors
This show is brought to you by Slowflowers.com, the free, online directory to more than 850 florists, shops, and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It’s the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers.
Thank you to our lead sponsor, Farmgirl Flowers. Farmgirl Flowers delivers iconic burlap-wrapped bouquets and lush, abundant arrangements to customers across the U.S., supporting U.S. flower farms by purchasing more than $10 million dollars of U.S.-grown fresh and seasonal flowers and foliage annually. Discover more at farmgirlflowers.com.
Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farmer-owned cooperative committed to providing the very best the Pacific Northwest has to offer in cut flowers, foliage and plants. The Growers Market’s mission is to foster a vibrant marketplace that sustains local flower farms and provides top-quality products and service to the local floral industry. Visit them at seattlewholesalegrowersmarket.com.
Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Formed in 1988, ASCFG was created to educate, unite, and support commercial cut flower growers. It mission is to help growers produce high-quality floral material, and to foster and promote the local availability of that product. Learn more at ascfg.org.
Red Twig Farms. Based in Johnstown, Ohio, Red Twig Farms is a family-owned farm specializing in peonies, daffodils, tulips and branches, a popular peony-bouquet-by-mail program and their Spread the Hope Campaign where customers purchase 10 tulip stems for essential workers and others in their community. Learn more at redtwigfarms.com.
Thanks so much for joining us today! The Slow Flowers Podcast is a member-supported endeavor, downloaded more than 879,000 times by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing – it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it, too.
If you’re new to our weekly Show and our long-running Podcast, check out all of our resources at SlowFlowersSociety.com and consider making a donation to sustain Slow Flowers’ ongoing advocacy, education and outreach activities. You can find the donate button at slowflowerspodcast.com.
I’m Debra Prinzing, host and producer of the Slow Flowers Show & Podcast. The Slow Flowers Podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew Brenlan. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person, company or organization. Next week, you’re invited to join me in putting more Slow Flowers on the table, one stem, one vase at a time.
Music credits:
Lady Marie; Gaena
by Blue Dot Sessions
http://www.sessions.blue
Lovely
by Tryad
http://tryad.bandcamp.com/album/instrumentals
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
In The Field
audionautix.com