photo Joni Shimabukuro

Portland, OR

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
March 12 - 14, 2018
9:30AM to 4:30PM

Class size limited to 5 students.

Lodging and additional information can be viewed here.

Price: $1295

photo Ted Mishima

A New Approach

Childhood vacations foraging in the forests of Switzerland have inspired Françoise to create her trademark woodland designs. Her home base in the Pacific Northwest provides ample inspiration and material for creative botanical designs.
In this workshop students will be taken on a journey thru the thought process of the unlimited potential of woodland designs. Using logs, barks, branches, mosses, mushrooms, seedpods, berries, foliages and a few flowers you will create detailed and textural compositions that are unique and interesting.

Students will learn to create show stopping headpieces, purses and jewelry, using striking foliage, flowers and a plethora of textures. Françoise is recognized for her innovations in wearable floral art and will impart her knowledge of the technical skills needed to design your own catwalk pieces.

Françoise will show you her methods for deconstructing plant materials such as evergreen cones, succulents, seedpods and flowers. Tools to find your own vision and local bounty will be emphasized during this exhilarating, hands-on class.

photo Gwen Severson

Botanical Couture

Françoise is known for her avant garde headpieces. She will guide you through the construction of flexible armatures as you build intricate and cascading designs.

Whether being used as a centerpiece, distinctive bridesmaid or flower girl bouquet, we will go through the process of creating a handbag armature that will support your floral fashion fantasies. Learn to artfully layer your purse with foliages, petals and grasses, before flowers and textures are added for the finished touch.

Learn to how to create jewelry designs using aluminum wire as a base for rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Piece together the often overlooked bits of texture occurring in seedpods, tendrils, succulents, herbs and tropical greenhouse favorites to add color and movement to the designs that will make a statement at galas, weddings and on the catwalk.

photo Joni Shimabukuro

Woodland Design

You will build arrangements from forest logs, burls, branches, even root balls and will learn how to cover more conventional vessels with barks, mosses or leaves. Students will explore how to create simple structures as the base of designs. In the afternoon we’ll go over the mechanics involved to create stunning woodland bridal bouquets.

*Day three begins with a trip to the Portland Flower Market.