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Our New Focus – Concentrated Learning
Retail and Education Matters
In the world of business you must possess a unique quality that sets you apart. It may be ‘Awards you have Won’, the ‘Contacts You Have’, ‘Your Location’, maybe just being in the right place at the right time; but ‘you’ must be able to make it happen and where education comes in!
Retail continues to change rapidly and this and the demands from business makes changes in education inevitable.
Do you expand through word of mouth, advertise locally, only through Google? What do you say and, as importantly, just who do you need to say it to?
Having run successful retail shops in both the West End and outer London, location makes a big difference to the clients you have, but you can tailor the range of products you offer to suit your market and you’ll find that they are equally profitable.
You don’t even need a retail outlet these days and many professional florists are Freelance. Some offer their skills to other retails when there is greater demand; Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and adhoc. Others offer their services through Wedding Fairs and associated Magazines and Websites; while others yet run online business simply promoting themselves through Google and online services.
Continual Professional Development – or ‘Your Investment in You’
You may be the next successful entrepreneur to develop a new floral business in your area and you want to learn us much as possible, as quickly as possible, to start you on your way. All my floristry courses provide ‘Condensed Learning’ – simply add your time and ‘post course feedback’! See below
The ‘Beginner’s’ course is the best place to get the grounding you need for your next career move and this floristry course is designed to do this for you as quickly as possible. If it’s your skill level that will set you apart, then you can increase your skill level by later attendance on the Intermediate floristry course and even on to the Advanced level floristry course. All floristry courses are designed around developing your floristry skills as quickly as possible. There is no homework or exam, but your success will depend on how eager you are to learn and to practice outside of the class – and in the class you will have the feedback necessary so you understand how you are doing and where you need to focus you development.
If you have been a florist for a number of years then the Advanced course may well be your entry point into my college rapid learning process. It doesn’t have to stop there as I offer different short courses with different targeted themes so that you can focus on specific retail opportunities that fit best with your business.
Retailers have to be ready to adapt their businesses successfully to the changing trends of the buying public and investment in the time away from a business can be costly so my courses are ‘concentrated learning’ so you get to walk away with a lot of learning that you simply make use of by adding your time.
What about feedback after each course? Post course feedback
Each attendee also gains access to post course feedback. You can choose 5 separate (maximum per course within 1 year of attendance) occasions where you photograph a said piece and send it for evaluation. The evaluation covers the elements and principles of design and the critique is relevant to the design level of the course you attended. This process is designed to let you really make best use of the rapid learning process you embarked on and to give you feedback as you embark on your new career, or enhance your new standing in your existing floristry career.
New Total raised for Cancer Research – £300
Dear All,
I am sending a third cheque to Cancer Research UK bringing the total so far, since the launch of my first booklet, to £300
Thank you to everyone that has contributed to this process
£100 sent to Cancer Research UK – Thank you – £1 donated for every booklet sold
I have just sent a cheque for £100 to Cancer Research UK – from the sales of my first Contemporary Floral design booklet. I wish to give a very big thank you to everyone who has purchased my booklet and to those who have given a donation to Cancer Research UK. A little book that is full of ideas and techniques, the first in a new series, for the floral designer that are designed to be in inspiring and each sale raises £1 which is donated to Cancer Research UK.
Dear Contemporary Flower designers,
Following the success of the first in this series of new courses here are the final details of my forthcoming Advanced Contemporary Floral Design Course with a wintery theme which commences on Monday 11th November in Crews Hill, Enfield.
The course runs for 5 Mondays 10-3pm.
Monday 11th November Monday 18th November
* Please note there is no lesson on the 25th November
Monday 2nd December Monday 9th December Monday 16th December
Each week we will develop designs focused on a particular product. A minimum of 2 designs will be covered each week which complement each other – normally a table design and a free standing design. A varied range of different techniques will be covered, which have a Wintery/ Christmas flavour which can be “glitzed” up or down as desired. Enjoy the fun of advanced floral design with like minded peers.
The cost of course is £150 to be paid on the first day. (Cash or cheque)
Please confirm via email if you wish to definitely enrol on this course and I will then send details of the materials necessary for the first lesson and the venues full address.
I truly look forward to teaching you.
Kindest regards
Gill McGregor
Advanced Contemporary Floral Design Course
News – letter from Gill – 14th Sept’13
Dear Lovers of Floral Design – Re: The Advanced Contemporary Floral Design Course over 5 week blocks, Mondays 10am-3pm commencing 23rd September.
Thanks to everyone’s response to my request for help last week.
It looks from the positive response that the first of these 5 week Monday courses is definitely running and we are well underway for Course 2 starting on the 11th November
Here’s a bit more about the Course 1.
Every Monday for 5 weeks from Monday 23rd September – 10am till 3pm
Delegates will receive their floral list for their first lesson during next week (That starts 16th September).
Each week delegates will receive the list of materials required for the following week’s lesson; with supporting demonstration/guidance information
Each week delegates should: Bring scissors, materials, and sandwiches (or there is also a restaurant and bar facility if you wish)
Delegates will make and take home at least 2 arrangements per week –
The full fee £150 must be paid before or on the first day, cash or cheque only.
I am looking forward to helping delegates to further explore creative contemporary design techniques.
Kind regards
Gill
Contact me via my twitter account @GillMcGregor
GillMcGregorCollege on Facebook
Or email me info@gillmcgregor.com
Dear Lovers of Floral Design
I wonder if you could help me with some research I am doing; has to be by Friday 13th September?
Would you like to have an Advanced Contemporary Floral Design Course over 5 week blocks, 10am-3pm, and you help to keep your costs lower by providing your own lunch and materials each week ?
I have sourced 2 different lovely venues – both near Junction 25 of the M25 on Mondays – both with good parking facilities. The course tutor will be me – Gill McGregor.
Are you or someone you know (a Flower Arranger – who has similar experience level to you) interested to take part?
I envisage that the first block of 5 would potentially commence Monday 23rd September 2013
The second block of 5 to commence 11th November – with a completely different range of designs.
The course cost will depend on the venue – circa £150 for 1 block of 5 weeks.
My aim is that you enjoy the first courses so much, the environment and the social networking, that you’ll want me to organise further courses.
There are different ways you can contact me – so what do you like best?
Contact me via my twitter account @GillMcGregor
GillMcGregorCollege on Facebook
Or email me info@gillmcgregor.com
I would love to ‘hear’ your thoughts and if anyone is interested in enrolling can you let me know so I can gauge if there is interest or not. And if there is interest, how many potential fellow flower arrangers there will be?
Don’t forget I need your name and contact details.
By registering an interest – this will not mean you are committed in anyway- it just helps me collate everyone’s view
Thanking you in anticipation.
Kind Regards Gill
About Gill McGregor
Gill recently set up GillMcGregorCollege – to provide Courses and Workshops for Floristry, Flower Arranging, Professional and Traditional Crafts; focused on learning practical skills.
Gill’s career choice happened by chance when only 11 years old. Her local school was hosting a horticultural show and she was so curious about the gentlemen bringing milk bottle crates with dahlias that she had to go into the school to find out what was happening. She was even more amazed to see them brushing the Dahlias with paintbrushes- “I expect to rid them of earwigs!”. She found out there was a children’s flower arranging competition -to design an arrangement in an unusual container. She chose to use a grapefruit and made an arrangement of narcissi – Her mother had acute asthma and flowers were never normally found in the house.
Gill won 3rd place and threepence ‘old money’. This started Gill going to every show that was running flower arranging competitions.
It was always expected that Gill would go into teacher training when she passed her ‘A’ levels but she wanted to become a florist – much to the consternation of the Dean of girls who made it a point to meet with Gill every week to try and guide her in a different direction; and as Gill said “you know that the harder someone works to tell you at 18 that you should go for this career and not that, the more you make your mind up that you are right to follow your own dream”
Roll forward 1 year and Gill was leaving Tottenham Technical College with one year’s floristry training under her belt and job hunting round the West End’s florist shops.
Gill had her heart set on working in a West End so she could shop either at Harrods or Selfridges in her lunch breaks; “Such was my confidence and naivety – I didn’t even have a written CV with me” said Gill – She had 5 interviews in 2 days and offered 3 jobs. Gill took the one with the most money – £19 per week, with fares of £12 per week – and only ever did window shopping!
Three weeks after joining the West End shop, the manager had to leave and Gill was promoted to manager with just three weeks retail experience. It was as Gill says “one of the most amazing opportunities I could have had”.
Gill met amazing brides and was able to design their weddings, she had experiences that many florists wouldn’t get even if they worked for a lifetime, and there she was, just 20 years of age and everything going her way.
Gill always wanted her own business and knew she would never get the funds to purchase a West End shop.
To gain experience of running a shop she thought she could afford in the future, she took on a new challenge and started working in Stoke Newington; and was the manager there for another twelve years.
Was this enough for Gill? Of course not, she simply had so much energy and enthusiasm.
Gill’s love of life and racquet sports led her down the competitive Badminton route. This had been the natural route from school as she had been a keen tennis player at school where she played and won against girls 4 years older than her. Gill became a badminton coach at a sports centre in Tottenham. Her wish to learn more about designing with flowers led her to study flower arranging in the evening. Gill did this for two years and was then persuaded by the college to take a teaching qualification. Gill became florist by day and both a flower arranging teacher and a badminton coach by ‘night’.
Gill continued her studies for many years at night school whilst working to glean as much information on Floral Design and Retail Business management. Gill trained to become a qualified Floral Art demonstrator to frequently demonstrate the art of flower arranging to many NAFAS clubs and associations.
It was teaching that really grabbed her imagination.
“To impart my knowledge and teach floral and business skills to others became and still is my passion and I was looking for an opportunity to really make my mark in teaching”.
I wanted to be able to pass everything that I felt had been so lucky to learn and experience and to make other potential florists aware of what can be designed, for clients to fall in love with the designs you create, and that generates great profits too. It also provides one of the most amazing opportunities there is for people to run their own business or be the most successful designer so as to augment their employment.
An opportunity happened when Gill secured employment at Horticultural College as their only Floristry Lecturer.
From Gill’s first year’s intake of just 12 part-time students her student numbers grew to over 600 students studying Floristry, Flower Arranging and Balloon Artistry under her role as Head of School.
Gill worked their for 22 years and her staff and students received many accolades: student medals at the Chelsea Flower Show, Grade One from OFSTED inspectors, achieved Centre of Vocational Excellence status and the college students created many floral works for government agencies.
Gill loves to learn and seize new opportunities as they present themselves. Gill learnt the skill of Balloon Artistry- and travelled around the world teaching the art of Balloon décor; visiting Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Finland and the USA to name but a few. Gill competed and achieved European Balloon Artist/Designer of the Year and her most prestigious award was the Crystal Award – a world wide Balloon Artistry industry award in recognition of the work, promotion and qualifications Gill wrote and helped extend their uptake with other colleges around the UK and to enable the UK Balloon Industry market to help grow and develop.
Gill is a NAFAS Floral Art demonstrator visiting flower clubs around the London and home counties area where she performs to audiences to make 6 totally different floral designs to wow the audience and wrapped in a style that both imparts new creative ideas and delivers with humour – as Gill says it’s an “opportunity to ‘play with flowers’ albeit with an audience – I love that”.
Gill’s vision for her new college is that it provide both high class training for people wishing to learn a new trade or skill and to offer a range of courses for experienced florists, flower arrangers and craftsmen wishing to learn new skills and techniques for their own professional development.
As the college develops her aim is to increase the range of crafts taught with teaching provided by leading specialists in their respective, specialist fields and if you are that person or know that person then please get in touch.
What can students achieve?
Each course will result in the teaching and practising of skills and techniques, networking with like minded craftspeople, learning in a friendly and happy environment and a receiving a certificate of learnt skill level and attendance to add to their CPD files
Gill is keen to retain an open door policy and welcomes your comments, thoughts and ideas. To see the college and its courses please visit www.gillmcgregor.com or follow Gill on Twitter @GillMcGregor or follow her on facebook:gillmcgregorcollege
A college with a difference – Gill McGregor College
Are you looking to embark on a career in floristry and want to achieve the highest levels of creativity to wow prospective customers and build on your business skills to compete successfully in today’s economic climate? – Our floristry courses are designed to take beginners of floristry and all the way through to advanced floristry designs and techniques. The courses are designed to focus on practical skills and the outcome is the skills you learn; Please note this course is not a qualification and therefore no homework, assignments or assessments are set/ administered.
Perhaps you have a flair or passion for flower arranging and take every opportunity to participate in club floral art competitions or help you local community decorate you local church or religious venue. If you love flower arranging and want to learn new techniques, to be inspired as you create your own designs whilst attending Gill McGregor College for Contemporary flower arranging; this then is where you should take a deeper look.