Christine de Beer - effortless floral craftsman
Let’s
- 19 March 2025
- click to send Christine a smile
- and more
... take a moment of reflection as we celebrate 5 years! Happy 5th birthday to my book: The Effortless Floral Craftsman
From the first conversations I had about writing a book the thing I was told over and over was "yeah...no… no one makes books like this anymore! They would never let you do all of that. You have a good idea but if you want this book published you have to water all this way down!"
... so I made a list of all that... and I let myself make my book to be exactly all that.
I decided to publish my artist quality book... turn it into this huge floral design resource- the kind I would want on my design table when inspiration hits... put all the tips and tricks I discovered over the years in it... with all the colour pictures to make it remarkable... great quality binding that ensures the book remains open when you work from it... with a wipe clean hardcover.
AND I poured my heart into each page to fill my book with original ideas for the floral crafters that are insanely passionate… rather than mainstream floral design ideas for people who are mildly interested.
A book on craftsmanship that is expertly crafted!
And were the publishers right about not being keen to let me make this? Of course they were! This book is enormous. It weighs too much, it cost me too much to ship it to my flower buddies. It requires too much skill to print, too much expertise to bind. Who can blame a publisher for not letting anyone work so hard at creating a book that will never make much of a profit purely because of how much it cost to make?
But make it I did.
... and I thought even if I only sell a few books it would be so amazing...
... here comes the plot twist... you guys surprised me. The craftsmanship edition books sold out before I even shared any pictures of it!
And when the specialist bookbinders could no longer cope with the demand of hand binding all the orders? The kind thing to do was to create a new edition book using high-end print-on-demand technology that also automates the process of binding the book with binders thread to continue to create the most durable and usable books possible. Fortunately I had some “social proof” by then and I could find publishers who were willing to take on a book of this size. With that came access to the global network for distribution and an Ebook.
The new design room edition of the book debuted as a best seller on Amazon Canada. And won an Independent Press Book award for outstanding quality... and is now part of the national collection at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa to make the material available for the public to consult, and to preserve it for future generations.
The book is still an artist quality, print on demand, low volume book. Which will always mean: Exclusive.
And many times Sold Out.
But it also means the book is bought on purpose. It is on gift giving wish-lists. It is not an impulse buy.
The people who love The Effortless Floral Craftsman show it to people they know would love to have it. Even today, on the book’s 5th birthday, the only reason why the book is still selling is because you guys tell your flower friends about it.
Meaning… only people who really, really want one... have a copy! How cool is that!?!
And so… the question I am now asked over and over… What is next? What indeed!
Over the last 5 years I have been working on a follow up that is worthy of something that exceeded even my expectations… and we have been working hard to create something remarkable for you… are you curious yet?
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Tutorials
Create a wire platform to rest the fresh flowers on so that they are hydrated but not submerged in the water below the grass dome.
Most leaves and foliage can be slightly manipulated to curve or curl.
For this tutorial I focus on a simple weave pattern that does not require you to soften or prepare the leaves to be more durable or flexible. This is the starting point in...
Weave a canopy or parachute shaped armature in a way that you can place the stems in two vases to keep it hydrated.
A single lily flower design dressed up with a grass veil.
A cool and minimal floral design for summer.
Snip, roll and glue a few blades of grass to create a design feature
Wrap grass around a flat wire shape to create a delicate bridal basket design
so many techniques rolled into one rather pretty tulip nest. Perfect to celebrate new beginnings: Spring and my book birthday... and my online workshop!
Wrap a fairy light grid around a fishbowl vase to interweave dried grass for an almost basket display.
Hide the prettiest of flowers in the entire bunch in plain sight by framing it with elegant grass.
Keep all the fresh flower material hydrated in water by weaving the stems from one side of the vase to the other.
An open egg shaped wreath for Easter styling
Related Designs
Here are a few more examples of woven flax. I also use Typha, palm, iris leaves, Kyogi paper, boat orchid leaves and aspidistra to weave with.
Weave a sphere from grass to catch a precious and exquisite and perfect glistening early autumn dew drop
Loop a grass veil over a lily stem to create a minimalist summer design.
Loosely weave grass to create a decorative grid keeping flowers in place over a square container.
Luxuriously filled design... filled with flowers... filled with grass. But most fun, for us as designers filled with hidden techniques
Mixing permanent and fresh design ingredients to celebrate just how clever the glow of Autumn is.
A closer look at my design at Canada Blooms and The Toronto Flower Show last week. The show was cancelled right after we staged the designs due to COVID-19 concerns.
A creative way to keep foliage hydrated for a cool, water filled summer design.
This week I am so excited to share my article and design that was published in the recent issue of the Floral Art Society of New Zealand's Academy Magazine for NZ qualified...
A bit of a wrong way round pretty Easter design. Put the basket weave inside the egg instead of putting the eggs in a basket.
My article and woven heart basket design featured in the third anniversary issue of DIY Weddings Magazine
After a long winter it is always fun to use the first spring bulb flowers!
This was the first two designs for my Floral Art and craft demonstration at The Capilano Flower Arranging club
