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NEVER KNOWINGLY CONCISE: EVENTS // LMC x BLOOMON WORKSHOP

Posted on by Claire

IN // B L O O M

EVENT: LONDON MOTHERS CLUB x BLOOMON WORKSHOP
EVENT DETAILS: FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP, BUBBLES & NIBBLES
VENUE: PAPER MILL STUDIOS, LONDON
WHEN: 15TH NOVEMBER’17 – 7:30pm – 10pm

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After recently receiving a lot of beautiful and really thoughtful flowers, I toyed with the idea of going on a Floristry course of some description. I found potting them into numerous vases and caring for them really therapeutic. I felt real joy in tending to them and having the vases scattered around the house was a constant reminder of peoples’ support.

Then, as if by actual magic, @londonmothersclub and @bloomonuk teamed up for a mega floristry evening fuelled by Prosecco & Donuts & (fizzy) Prosecco CRISPS 🌷🍾🍩 I couldn’t respond to the invite quick enough!

Upon arrival at Paper Mill Studio’s (not far from where we used to live in North London!), I was offered a lovely cold glass of the good stuff. The workshop was then promptly introduced by Kerrie-Anne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Bloomon expert florist then took us through the individual flowers she had selected for her arrangement – talking through the process of selecting your blooms and how to arrange them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was then time for us to give the arranging a go for ourselves.

We were each given the same bunch of flowers to arrange, using our new knowledge – and the Prosecco & Prescco CRISPS kept us going too!

So what important tips & tricks did I learn for arranging my flowers?*

  • WATER // Crystal clear water is key. When you first fill your vase, use the little packet of flower food to nourish your plants. After a 2-3 days, refresh the water.  Add a little drop of bleach (YES BLEACH!) to keep bacteria at bay. Less germs = longer lasting blooms. Also, don’t worry about filling your vase to the top with water, they don’t need a FULL vase.
  • FLAT LAY // Lay all of your stems out. Look at the bud ratio’s and heights before arranging.
  • PRUNE // Re-cut your stems. Often the bottom of stems have a hard time absorbing water. A fresh cut – at a nice angle, like the bottom of a drinking straw – will do just the trick. The angle increases the surface area for better absorption. Also, make sure no leaves fall below the water line as they will decompose.
  • REINCARNATION // Keep your longer lasting blooms fresh by taking out stems past revival and removing over-wilted buds. ‘Deadheading’ channels energy into the blooming flowers, meaning healthier flowers that continue to bloom.  
  • HOME SWEET HOME // Blooms can be picky. Make sure they feel right at home in your home by placing them away from drafts, direct sunlight, radiators and fruit.

Your bouquet will look beautiful for upward of 10 days. But, there will come a time when only the very strongest, longest lasting flowers remain. Too few to remain in the vase. Too many to waste. Now is the time to get creative with mini vases!

* Some Tips & Tricks – provided by the Bloomon.co.uk BLOG.

I also managed to dry a few of the steams in some single bud vases from this bouquet above – and from the one I was additionally gifted (read on). The berries, especially, were great over Christmas and worked really well with a vase of greenery!

So with the end of the workshop we were given our personally-arranged blooms all wrapped up nicely, ready to be plonked straight into our huge (and pretty stunning!) vases that we were also kindly gifted.

As usual, it was brilliant to be surrounded by a group of such wonderful women – whilst doing something I’m getting really quite passionate about! I learned how to arrange and some excellent tips for longevity AND I met some new (and familiar!) faces along the way. So much fun. I now REALLY want to be a florist! 👌🏻❤️✨

ARRANGING AT HOME

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for organising K-A! 😘

As an icebreaker we talked about which flowers we like best. I love a vintage peach rose, it holds a real sentimental value for me. I’ll also definitely be adding a lot more foliage to my arrangements from now on too – the greenery really offset’s the colour in the buds (also great for filling gaps!)

So, what’s your favourite flower?

C

✖️✖️✖️

NB: I was gifted the flowers that I arranged during the workshop;  plus an additional bouquet, as well as the large vase,  floristry scissors and towel. I did not receive payment for this review. All views in this post are my own and are 100% honest.

#bloomonUK #gifted

MORE ABOUT BLOOMON

WEBSITE: bloomon.co.uk
INSTAGRAM: @bloomonuk
BLOG: bloomon.co.uk/Blog

 

Who we are

Bloomon was founded in 2014 when three rebels – a flower fan, a supply whiz, and a number-cruncher – got together to turn the flower industry on its head. From a dining room table in Amsterdam, we’re now bringing our beautiful bouquets to homes in five countries. World, here we come!

What we love

We love to test. We love to learn. We love to optimise. Beers on Friday evening. Table tennis after lunch. Random air hockey tournaments. We love creativity. Open minds. Free spirits. Smart kids. Cool kids. We love open windows. Too much coffee. Polaroids. Oh, and our rooftop terrace is pretty much like family.

What we stand for

We make art and science come together. In fact, we’re all about acting on a greater plan. Think big, win big. We seek challenge. Even if we don’t score on our first try, we do it better every day. And we always look on the bright side – no matter what.

What we want

Simply put: We want to spread happiness. And we want to do it together. Diversity is our strength. There is no push without pull. No spark without friction. No yin without yang. At the end of the day, we’re all running in the same direction to make our customers and colleagues smile every day.

IN REVIEW // BFLF Events | Wringer + Mangle, Hackney – 23.04.17

Posted on by Claire

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Helping parents be responsibly irresponsible since 2013. The Real Family Rave. Award winning, critically acclaimed, internationally acclaimed. Created by parents who love clubbing, for parents who love clubbing. Dance/Create/Play – see you on the dance floor! 

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I had been following Big Fish, Little Fish Events on Instagram for a long while and sadly, every time an event came to London town, the date would clash with other plans… or as it happened, we ended up moving to Berlin! If you don’t already know, Big Fish Little Fish “are an independent, grassroots music and events crew that put on family raves with all the freedom and excitement of a mini-festival, right in the heart of cities and towns across the UK”.

So when we moved back, I was desperate to take Eli off to the Family Rave. Fast forward almost a year, and the same things happened – clash of dates. Then finally, FINALLY the 23rd April event came up! At first we thought we wouldn’t be able to attend because Greater Anglia are messing about with the tracks EVERY single weekend for the next few months – which means some weekends, a 3 hour journey into London (which would normally take 35 mins btw). We checked out the trains and realised it was the weekend of the London Marathon – which meant the trains were RUNNING – with no replacement buses, no random journeys. Just direct! BOOM.

Natasha from BFLF got in touch with me and mentioned the theme was ‘Popstars & Rockstars’, as part of the Camp Bestival 2017 tour. Many are now aware, Eli is obsessed with his Starman. So for him, it was a no brainer. He was going as Ziggy. He wanted the red hair and the lightning bolt face. He wanted to complete the rest of his outfit himself, of course. Natasha also mentioned a potential venue change, due to the recent happenings at the Hackney club. I imagine this was quite a stressful week between the event for the BFLF team, through horrendous circumstances. But as it happened, they managed to be able to continue with the same venue – and what a venue to boot!

The Wringer + Mangle was really easy for us to get to. A short journey on the Overground took us to London Fields station, where it was then a 2 minute walk to the venue. Eli was clarted out in full Ziggy regalia – and loving all the comments along the route!

Upon arrival at the location, we saw the queue leading down to The Mangle. We were advised by both Natasha and Hannah that there may be a delay for entry as all bags were searched. Rightly so. The airport style security was very thorough, which is great and welcomed by all. Safety first. I was asked to try the water we had in our bag – as well as test my trusty Lipcote. We then went into the depths of the venue. It was dark, there was neon, there was a craft table (Captain Cookie Crafts), cakes and bar for the adults. PERFECT.

These events are aimed at families with young children (birth – around 8 years old) – though we definitely did see folk of all ages there!

 

Facepainters PHACE by Philly, were also on hand, transforming the faces of both Adults (£7) and Children (£5). Had I not already painted Eli’s face myself, I can guarantee he would have had his face decorated – we loved the designs we saw!

So what else can you expect from a BFLF event?

  • Top DJ’s playing club classics (DJ Food, The Orb, Tom Middleton, Terry Farley, Hatcha, Mixmaster Morris, James Tec and Nihal have all played – check individual events for details)
  • Fancy dress themes.
  • Bubble Machines, club visuals, giant balloons, glitter cannons and parachute dance finale.
  • Captain Cookie craft area with themed crafts, giant colouring mural, play-doh table.
  • Licensed Bar.
  • Home Made Cake Stall and savouries.
  • Face painting stall.
  • Play area with tents, tunnels and inflatables.
  • Villa Pia Babies-only chill out safe space with soft mats, beanbags and ball-pool.
  • Free glowsticks and transfer tattoos.
  • Baby change and buggy park.
  • One-off installations/workshops (at selected events only).

 

DJ’s Terry Francis (FABRIC) and David Fosci (BFLF resident) were on the deck’s for this event.

Parachute Dance – something that the Kid’s and Adults all love, of course.

 

 

Entry into the event also includes free glowstick and transfers. Eli chose a Skull & Cross bones tattoo, obviously.

As this event was in conjunction with Camp Bestival 2017 On Tour, there was the opportunity to pose against the photobooth backdrop (Eli needed zero coaxing).  Photos shared and tagged with #CB17ontour and #BFLF would be entered into a competition to win one of 3 Family Guest Passes for Camp Bestival 2017 itself! (Fingers firmly crossed!)

 

All BFLF events are based on the concept – 2 to 4 Hour Party People (ha), so by 4:30pm the event was drawing to a close. The  glitter cannon finale was epic and Eli proceeded to swim/create snow angels in the remnants.

 

Photo: BFLF on Facebook

We had the best afternoon! I cannot recommend these events highly enough. The music isn’t too loud (for newborns, you might want to bring a set of ear defenders – but the volume was more than acceptable for toddlers). Everything was incredibly well managed, organised and maintained by Hannah, Natasha and their team. The most brilliant amount fun for a few hours – the 3 of us had a good old dance, with Eli getting the ‘big fish, little fish, cardboard box’ dance suspiciously easily…

As parents, with no local support, we don’t get out often. AT ALL. So this was a fantastic way of reliving a little bit of youth and letting our hair down – with Eli absolutely loving every second too!

Just to also highlight, you will need to take cash for additional extra’s once inside (for Face-painting and the cake stall etc), though at this venue, the bar did accept cards.  We had 2 cans of beer from the bar (which does alleviate a lot of spillages I imagine!), but the cans were on the expensive side. So do bare that in mind too. We don’t get out often, so this was fine for us. Adults are not admitted unless accompanied by a child and there is a max of 3 children per adult. This made us feel very safe in a new and very dark environment. Pre-Walking infants do need a ticket, though this is free! (Bonus for new parents!). These events have limited seating (just dance!), club lighting rigs (no strobes) are used and events are busy with around 500 people at each party – which helps create the rave ambience. Each event is stewarded and risk assessed in advance – we saw lots of stewards in high-vis, so you couldn’t miss them! Buggies must be left in buggy park and are not be allowed on the dance floor.

We can’t wait to join the next event! If BFLF visits a city near you, don’t miss it. Travel to one if you can. I urge you. You won’t be disappointed!

C

✖️ ✖️ ✖️

Special thanks to Natasha for inviting us along to this event. This is in no way a sponsored review. All opinions my own. Some quotes and details taken from www.bigfishlittlefishevents.co.uk 

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THE STORY

Drawing on our experience as seasoned clubbers and parents the BFLF crew create anarchic, social, daft fun for all ages. Inspired by Hannah’s (the founder) lifelong love of clubbing and her babies’ enjoyment of festivals. BFLF is something we want to take our own families to – somewhere relaxed, entertaining, and where the adults enjoy themselves as much as the children and vice versa with grandparents, uncles, aunts and carers all in the mix. Raving always came from the heart, a way to express a love of music and dancing with your friends. BFLF extends that across the generations so you can rave with your family too. It’s a celebration of life, love and music.

We work hard to make sure each event is unique – different DJs, creative themes and guest artists running everything from hula-hoop demonstrations to synthesiser workshops to interactive light installations.

Our parties are held in interesting and quirky venues; clubs, arts spaces and pubs, which help create the ambience of being at a real rave.

Started in Brixton, summer 2013 BFLF now runs on weekend afternoons across the UK, and also works with other festivals and organisations (Glastonbury Festival, Camp Bestival, South Bank Centre, Edinburgh Festival, Beautiful Days, Coventry Mysteries, Kendal Calling, National Gallery, Stratford Circus, The Museum of London, London LGBT Pride, Out With The Family, Winterville, Mini VAULT, Farnham Maltings, Dreamland Margate and the London Electronic Arts Festival).

Regular events are now held all over the country including:  Exeter, Bristol, Oxford, Birmingham,Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Leicester and Manchester and many more.