LOCAL FLORIST COMPLETES PROFESSIONAL DESIGN CLASS ON FLORAL ART

    /24-7PressRelease/ - RALEIGH, NC, August 18, 2008 - Cydney English (The English Garden Florist), Raleigh, NC, recently completed the class Creative Edge - Design Influences from the East hosted by Teleflora at its state of the art Education Center in Oklahoma City. Floral Designers from all over North America attended the seminar to sharpen their skills and grow their design abilities.

English participated in four days of intensive hands-on design sessions, mastering the latest in creative design techniques and artistic design. Taught by widely recognized floral artist and author, Hitomi Gilliam, AFID of British Columbia, Canada, the students focused on fine-tuning their design skills and building designs with the latest materials and techniques. Each student was taught the "art of seeing" in nature and their environment and was challenged to complete a series of projects during the class.

"This class was filled with inspiring art form designs with an emphasis on structure and mechanics." Said Marie Ackerman, AFID, Vice President of Education for Teleflora. "The students were challenged to expand their creative horizons to develop new designs for their customers."

"Working with Hitomi Gilliam is a career highlight for me. I was truly inspired by how incorporating core design elements found in the study of Ikebana and Asian design can totally transform my daily design work." Said Cydney English, President and co-owner of The English Garden. "It was also wonderful to collaborate with peers from across the country and to witness firsthand what the next floral and design trends will be."

English received a certificate of completion from the Teleflora Education Center, now in its 24th year of providing advanced floral education, in recognition of the advancements made during this intense hands-on design class.

About The English Garden
The English Garden Florist of Raleigh is a full-service retail florist, gift shop and floral event provider located at Brier Creek in North Raleigh. The English Garden brings a number of unique floral and gift services to its customers via its retail location and to national customers through its online presence. Owners, Warren English and Cydney Davis-English are 3rd generation shop owners. The English Garden consistently impresses Brides, Grooms and Mothers with their attention to detail, high level of customer attentiveness and ability to work within any budget.

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