Upcoming Class: European Hand-tied Designs
Hello Again!
We will be teaching a class at Middletown Adult Ed this coming Tuesday, the 31st. You can sign up for the class through Middletown Adult Ed , there are only a few spots left!
It is a hands-on workshop and we will be creating proper European Hand-Tieds. What is a “Proper” European Hand-tied? Well, for starters, the flowers are arranged in your hand (as opposed to in a vase) and when using the proper technique, the stems all spiral perfectly, allowing the bouquet to stand on its own. We will then enclose our handtieds in cellophane and fill it with water, creating an arrangement in a “water bag” that can stand -unsupported- on a surface, or be easily transferred to a vase of your own.
perfectly swirling stems, the result of proper hand-tied technique
free-standing hand-tied gerbera dasies
This method of arranging is wildly popular in Europe, and also used often when creating bridal bouquets. The perfectly swirling stems allow the bouquet handle to have a tight binding point, as all the stems line up and take up the least amount of space. The one in the photo below was designed by Renee vanRems, who has a few books out on hand-tied bouquets, for he is a true master. This is a biedermeier bouquet, often associated with concentric rings of floral material or color.
Biedermeier Bouquet, concentric rings of floral material or color
Not all need be round, however… Come to the class to see some demonstrations of more modern versions of the hand-tied, and take away the knowledge to create many new styles for yourself, like this Fan-shaped Hand-tied I created while working for Datura, A Modern Garden shown below….
Hand-tied bouquet, fan shape
roxsticksflowers 