Floral & Garden Expo has announced that Albert Graves, president of
Bloemen Décor, has been appointed as artistic director. Graves brings
with him over 20 years experience in the floral decor industry and has
been a pillar in our community since coming to Canada from the
Netherlands in 1987.
“We’re really excited to have Albert join our team and are looking
forward to enhancing the floral element of our show through his
creative designs and recent floral introductions from Top 10 growers,”
said Paul Day, show manager. "The goal of Floral & Garden Expo is
to engage our show visitors in more interesting ways and to expose them
to ideas and visual concepts that can be replicated in retail stores.
Albert will be instrumental in reaching this goal,” he added.
Graves worked and visited the Horti Fair in Amsterdam for many years
and realized the importance of communication within the floral
industry. His vision for Floral & Garden Expo is to create a place
where the industry comes together; a place where retailers can
communicate with growers, wholesalers and suppliers. Floral industry
professionals will leave the show feeling appreciative of being
involved in a creative profession and inspired to achieve new levels of
innovation and growth in serving their customers.
“My goal is to improve the communication flow between growers,
wholesalers and suppliers,” said Graves. “It is crucial that all
industry partners are on the same page to ensure that a majority of the
products make it to the market. The Floral & Garden Expo provides
an excellent avenue to exchange information and discuss trends in the
industry. I want to create a show where the visitors and exhibitors
feel proud to be in the industry, the same way that I feel after I
leave the Horti Fair in Amsterdam,” he added.
Growers will be on-hand to showcase their new products which will be
located on the main centre aisle. The spotlight will be on recent
introductions from Top 10 Ontario Growers: Balfour Greenhouses Ltd.,
Comic Plants Inc., Pioneer Flower Farms Ltd., Prins Grow Inc., Rosa
Flora Ltd., Slaman Greenhouses, Sunrise Greenhouses, Timbereno Flowers
Ltd., Van Geest Brothers Ltd., and Virgil Greenhouses Ltd.
Graves has been teaching the floral design program at Humber College
for the past 12 years. His book, “FLEURISTIC”, was published in 1998.
He is a trendsetter in the floral industry in Canada and received an
award from Flowers Canada for largest floral arrangement, a record that
still stands today.
|
