Floristry of war time: Dutch flowers and Ukrainian experience
With flowers florists help us to express our feelings and emotions when we lack words. Todays victorious struggle of Ukrainians, unfortunately, is filled not only with moments of joy and unity, but also with sadness and painful losses. This year the joint project of Association of Ukrainian Florists and the Dutch Embassy in Ukraine is focused on the mourning floristry.
Ukrainian National Florists Competition
11-13 September 2024 the National Florists Competition took place in the framework of the International Exhibition of New Year's products and seasonal decorations Christmas Trade Show 2024. The purpose of the Competition is to promote the development of the art of floristry in Ukraine. This is the event of Association of Ukrainian Florists for talented florists, schools and courses for floristic design, floristry salons that set the fashion and trend in Ukrainian floristry. This is also a platform for suppliers of cut flowers and decorative materials to present their products and services.
Organizer: Association of Ukrainian Florists
Co-organizer: "Parus Expo Media" LLC exhibition company
Follow the social media pages of Association of Ukrainian Florists in social media for more details:
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine is the partner of the Ukrainian National Florists Competition 2024. Joint initiatives of the Association of Ukrainian Florists and the Embassy are aimed at:
- promotion and implementation of ecological and rational use of materials, reduction of waste through sorting, recycling and reuse.
- introduction of methods and practices in the work of florists that reduce the negative impact on the environment and human health.
- establishing cooperation between florists and enterprises that supply ecological materials and those that process and ecologically dispose of waste from the floristic business.
- support environmental trends and change consumer preferences towards responsible consumption and sustainability.
This year a master class of florist Iryna Kornienko (Dnipro/Kyiv) with a new vision of the mourning floristry was prepared in the framework of a special project from the Association of Ukrainian Florists in cooperation with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ukraine.
Today, Ukrainians are fighting for their independence and identity, rethinking historical events and returning to their roots and ethnicity. Traditions, rituals and cultural heritage fill various aspects of our modern life. The victorious struggle of Ukrainians, unfortunately, is filled not only with moments of joy and unity, but also with sadness and painful losses.
Florists and flowers help us to express our feelings and emotions when we lack words. However, currently Ukrainian traditions of mourning still bear a great legacy of the Soviet past and rarely take into account the individuality of the deceased, our local traditions and heritage.
The time has come to change the Ukrainian tradition of mourning floristry, updating it with today's requirements, aspirations to restore the Ukrainian cultural heritage, the deep bond with nature and faith.
The flower sponsor of the show is the modern company of breeders from the Netherlands Dummen Orang and the project “Bloom room” @dummenorangeeu
The master class of Iryna Korniyenko is a launch of the project which will result into in-depth research of culture and traditions of the Ukrainian people and practical manual and recommendations for florists and ritual services on floristry design for mourning ceremonies.
Among recommendations is a focus on sustainability:
- Refuse the plastic ritual products, if they are not reusable;
- Use of biodegradable, natural materials.
