Behind the Scenes: Lessons from Working with Top Video and Design Teams
What happens when experienced floral educators step in front of someone else's cameras? This week Lori sits down with Vonda and guest Julie Poeltler AIFD PFCI CFD, fresh off a week of filming at the Benz School of Design on the Texas A&M campus in College Station. Bill McKinley invited them — along with Renee Tucci, Janet, Ken, John Hosek, and Jack Gallagher — to film floral design videos, and the two came home with bruises (one literal), new techniques, and a sharper way of thinking about how they teach.
Two projects, one very full week
The filming served two purposes. First, AIFD is revising its online courses, which date back to around 2012 and are overdue for a refresh. Second, ICEV — a company producing video curriculum used in Texas high school programs — is building new floral content. Floriculture is part of the ag program in many high schools, and as Vonda pointed out, the teachers running those programs are often ag instructors who have never made a corsage or boutonniere in their lives. Instructors Barbara and Wendy shared that the existing online classes have already drawn over 5,000 views, and what excited them about the new footage was seeing genuine passion on camera — educators making the floral industry look like somewhere you'd actually want to work.
The schedule was no joke: from eight in the morning to five at night, every half hour was booked. Each educator got thirty minutes to prep and thirty minutes to shoot, staggered so someone was always on camera while the others prepped their next design.
When the terminology changes under your feet
The biggest curveball? The revised AIFD book of terminology. Vonda learned mid-shoot that there are no longer "secondary" principles or elements of design — the whole framework has been reorganized with different terms. When you've grown up on the old language, it comes out automatically the moment the camera rolls, and Bill McKinley was behind the camera calling "cut" every time it did.
Julie's solution was smart: she asked for every definition to be loaded onto the teleprompter so she could deliver the technical language precisely instead of "saying it like I would normally say it." Both hosts agreed the rigor made sense — these videos teach students proper terminology, so every word has to be exact. Beyond Bill, a whole team behind the camera was listening for accuracy and flagging anything that wasn't defined correctly.
How a great crew handles a struggling presenter
Anyone who films content knows the spiral: you stumble, you tense up, and it gets worse. The crew's answer was kindness. The camera operator would simply stop and say, "Take a deep breath. You're doing great. Let's go." When Julie hit a wall on a technical asymmetrical design first thing one morning, she asked Bill to join her on camera — they got him mic'd up, and the segment rolled perfectly. Vonda did the same for her crescent design with its five required definitions. Both noted something they've long believed at Flower Clique: sometimes two people behind the bench teaches better than one.
Steal-worthy ideas from watching other designers
Both guests said the high point — besides the honor of being asked — was watching the other educators design. A few gems they brought home:
- Renee's raffia leaf technique, and her trick of wrapping a hand-tied bouquet with waterproof tape sticky-side out, then using it to anchor lily grass.
- A little wooden jig with twelve nails that lets you wrap wire around the pegs and form a bracelet base for corsage work right on the arm.
- Janet's speed and playfulness on the still-shot list — including an Easter nest built from twigs and lily grass with little grouped elements hot-glued together.
"It sharpened my pencil"
Julie's biggest takeaway from the week: precision. Tightening her focal areas, seeing every line in a design, and naming what she'd been doing on instinct for years. Vonda's echoed it — the experience made her watch every word and say it with intention. Back home preparing Prep School content, she caught herself looking up each design style to define it exactly, rather than "it's kind of like this." A pavé isn't "sort of low and clustered" — it's short-stemmed flowers placed closely together with little variation in height.
And the final word from both: what a gift this industry is. A week surrounded by people who challenge you, teach you, and fill your cup is a week that makes you better at your own bench.
Key takeaways
- Say it with intention: when you teach — on video, in a class, or training staff — define terms precisely instead of approximating.
- When you're struggling on camera, stop, breathe, and consider adding a second person; two presenters often teach better than one.
- Put technical language on the prompter (or in your notes) so nerves don't cost you accuracy.
- Watching other designers work is professional development — collect their mechanics and techniques every chance you get.
- Stay curious about who's educating the next generation; programs like the ICEV curriculum are shaping future florists right now.