Summer is almost here, and for us that means another season of our Summer Intensives. Starting in early July, new students will be arriving for five weeks of full-time classes, Garden tours, and field trips. The Summer Intensive allows many students to complete their Certificate requirements in a compressed yet stimulating time frame, like Alix Astir, a graduate of our Floral Design Summer Intensive.
Alix is the first to admit that she doesn’t sugar coat anything when it comes to advice, so we knew she would be a good person to ask for anecdotes about her abundant experience as a student and now as the owner of Trellis Fine Florals, with locations in Manhattan’s Flower District and on City Island.
“Take a deep breath as you enter the Summer Intensive. You are going to be completely inundated with information every day. Get really good sleep, pack a great lunch, and have a good support system.” Alix entered the five-week, full-time program of everything from basic arrangements and flower identification to wedding design and event planning with gusto. “The payoff is that you’re going to get the most comprehensive, in-depth education in an art and trade on the east coast.”
It was only a few short months ago that Emily Thompson stood in the White House’s East Room and envisioned the task of “bringing outside in” to create her exciting holiday decor project for the First Family. Now Thompson is sharing some of her inspired creative talents at The New York Botanical Garden. Later this month, she will bring her floral shears to the NYBG’s midtown location, encouraging students to delve into the design elements that embody the forest, bog, and jungle.
Thompson’s work is best known for its sculptural and naturalistic elements as inspired by her native Vermont. Her clients are not only among the internationally famous, such as the Obamas, but include her local Brooklyn friends and restaurants as well. Having studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and earned an MFA in sculpture at UCLA, Thompson eventually moved to New York, where she set up her shop–Emily Thompson Flowers–on Jay Street in Brooklyn’s DUMBO district, one of the city’s premier art havens.
Summer is almost here, and for us that means another season of our Summer Intensives. Starting in early July, new students will be arriving for five weeks of full-time classes, Garden tours, and field trips. The Summer Intensive allows many students to complete their Certificate requirements in a compressed yet stimulating time frame, like Alix Astir, a graduate of our Floral Design Summer Intensive.
