Bloomhaven School of floral design
introducing bloomhaven!
The Bloomhaven School of Floralcraft & Artistry is a brand new work-study program created for teens living in group foster care in Charleston, SC to learn floral design taught by Sara Skinner. Students aged 13-20 are immersed in a variety of beautiful flowers every week, learning how to make bouquets, bud vases, wreaths, and more, with most of their arrangements being donated to retirement homes and hospices around Charleston. Lots of students like to keep their masterpieces on display so we leave it up to them.
Our advanced class of high school grads ages 18+ is focused on gaining hands-on job experience. They’re working with Sara and the Scarlet team on real weddings and subscription floral arrangements as we enter our busy spring season. Just like our college interns, they’re learning the fundamentals of balanced color and design, budgeting, and techniques essential to starting a career in the industry. Our main goal with this class is to set our youths up for success when they leave the foster system with practical experience in a fast-paced environment leading to solid employment opportunities in floral design, or along other avenues in the hospitality industry as our program expands.
turning trash into treasure
Charleston, SC hosts around 4,000 weddings per year and sadly about 90% of the flowers go straight into the garbage afterward. But we’re changing that with Bloomhaven by using leftover flowers in classes every week! Students practice what they’re learning by refashioning leftovers into smaller bouquets and arrangements, which we share with residents at the Daniel Pointe Retirement Community and others around Charleston. We’re also gifted with fresh flowers from our friends at Charleston Wholesale Florist enabling the kids to learn how to handle and process flowers before events.
It’s a win all around!
how to get involved:
Donate your wedding flowers! Florists, brides, and planners in Charleston, please contact us below to coordinate the pick-up of your leftover flowers during breakdown or the following day.
Sponsor Wish List items for Landmarks for Families, formerly the Charleston Orphan House, where we teach our weekly classes
Sponsor supplies for our students. Contact us below or simply call Charleston Wholesale Florist to pay for fresh product for us one week!
Do you have a career in the hospitality industry you’d like to share with our youth? Maybe you’re a pastry chef or own a catering company? Volunteer to teach a class or invite the kids to a “field trip” to your business! We’d love to introduce students to all kinds of career paths and job opportunities in hospitality. Contact me below and tell me your idea!
Stay tuned for more opportunities to get involved by joining our newsletter (we’ll eventually start one… someday).