Our CEO and Founder, Corrine, spoke with our special guest, international floral extraordinaire Karen Barnes! With over 35 years of experience, Karen has explored the world of wedding and floral event planning, floral education, floral competition, trend forecasting, and business consultation. We dove into the world of floral competitions and how to prepare as a first-time competitor. She is a wealth of knowledge, and we are so excited to have her join us this month! Here is a complete recap of our session.
Karen has always been involved in the floral industry, so she deeply admires all facets of our community. She has a consultant agency that can help streamline business operations, staffing, design, and build a successful brand. She is here to help make all industry members successful! The number one question she receives from her clients is, How Do I Book Large Weddings/Events? Her advice is to take all the business as it comes. Do not sit to wait around for the perfect event to fall into your lap. Work the smaller events as you build your staff, your inventory, and your skill set so you can execute those larger events successfully.
Another piece of advice is to network as much as possible. Our industry thrives off of networking and connections. Building relationships with clients, vendors, and fellow florists can get you very far in the industry. Always have a positive attitude when meeting new peers!
Karen is very well acquainted with the world of competition floristry. Having competed in competitions herself and judging competitions throughout her career, she has a deep knowledge and love for it. She says she always learns something new when she is judging a competition. Karen provided wonderful advice for first-time competitors. If you want to dive deeper into the top tips for competition florists, read this blog!
Karen judged the Chelsea Flower Show this year. If you are not familiar with the Chelsea Flower Show, it is a spectacular event! Here is her first-hand account of the event in May.
As a judge, especially in the United Kingdom, you must go through courses to understand the fundamentals of judging floristry competitions. There are many regulations that must be adhered to, and each competition has different guidelines that judges must fully understand. If you aspire to judge a floral competition, check out this blog to see more helpful tips!
The Interflora World Cup
Karen has been involved with The Interflora World Cup for many years. She has competed in The World Cup, Judged The World Cup Designs, and now she is helping to coordinate the event. We are so excited to be involved as a sponsor and the procurement software for the Interflora World Cup! This world-renowned event happens every four years, and it is a spectacle for sure! If you are interested in learning more about the Interflora World Cup, check out this blog!
Watch the full Masterclass replay with Karen below!
About Karen Barnes
With over 35 years of experience, Karen Barnes is one of the UK’s leading consultants in the floral industry. A high-profile expert wedding and floral event planner, trainer, educator, prominent international judge, creator of trend directions, and a 1-2-1 business overview consultant. Karen has been awarded RHS Chelsea Flower Show Gold, Silver-Gilt, and Bronze medals and, in 2016, led the Interflora Design Team at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show to achieve another RHS Gold medal.
After being awarded a scholarship to attend an AIFD symposium, Karen got the bug for AIFD and was inducted in San Fransico. She has been a headline designer at three symposiums in the USA and was awarded Laureate status in 2022. Karen is a qualified National & International Judge and is proud to be one of the founder members of The UK Floristry Judges Guild. Amongst many judging assignments, a highlight has been to judge at World Cup competitions in Shanghai, China, Philadelphia, USA, and as an ambassador judge in Berlin, Germany. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and TV programs and has presented the Great British Bloom off, Interflora Live, and Wild About Flowers.