Education, Energy and Opportunity: Interview With Jenny Thomasson AIFD, PFCI, EMC and Beth O'Reilly AIFD, TMF
Four educators on one screen — Vonda and Lori called it "super women power," and they weren't wrong. Returning guests Jenny Thomasson AIFD, PFCI, EMC (author of Perishable Poetics) and Beth O'Reilly AIFD, TMF joined the podcast to talk about the thing all four women build their careers on: education. The occasion? Jenny and Beth have joined forces for a two-day Floral Sculpture Fundamentals workshop in Dallas — and this conversation is both the story behind it and a master class in why designers at every level should keep learning.
Education never has a stopping point
Jenny has been in the industry almost 20 years and still studies with a different artist every single year — sometimes outside the floral field entirely. Her conviction: there is no finish line with education; you only get better and stronger the more you give yourself to the experience. Beth, with over 25 years in, credits mentorship as her doorway — her mentor Coby Neal opened up a world she didn't know existed, and she now pays that forward with virtual and in-person mentorships for students all over the country. Both agree there's nothing like getting your hands in the materials: grassroots, in-the-process learning is where the light bulb goes off.
How the workshop happened: someone did the ask
The partnership traces back to Kansas City, where Jenny and Beth each presented their first AIFD main-stage programs — both working on structure — and Beth remembers thinking, "this girl has something special." The spark finally caught at the Texas floral expo in July: Beth was deep in her calla tower with her tunes going, Jenny was across the room working with dried materials, and Jenny simply asked, "Hey, you want to do a structure workshop together?" A good reminder from the episode: opportunities often start with one person being brave enough to do the ask.
Who the class is for (hint: probably you)
Vonda voiced what many listeners would think: taking a class from two "rock stars" sounds intimidating. The guests pushed back hard. The target audience is anyone inspired by design and art — it doesn't even have to be a florist, because structure goes beyond floral. The class is deliberately small enough for one-on-one time, beginners are explicitly welcome, and the principles taught — geometric form, problem-solving, mechanics — transfer straight to real-world work like wedding arches. Jenny's word for what you're collecting is "arsenal": a bag of tools you pull from every day in the shop. And as Beth put it, there's not one right or wrong way to do things — what you're really buying is confidence.
The hosts also loved how both teachers frame the principles and elements of design — not as book definitions to memorize, but as a foundation you revisit forever and start seeing everywhere, from billboards to fashion. Jenny goes further: while other industries talk in spreadsheets, florists get to talk in color, texture, and line. "I find the principles and elements of design to be poetic."
The details: Dallas, December 5-6
Floral Sculpture Fundamentals runs Sunday and Monday, December 5-6, 2021 — days chosen so event and retail florists can actually get away — at the Dr. D Design Center and Floral Institute in Dallas, inside the design center of Dr. Delphinium Design and Events, one of the largest flower shops in the country. Attendees get a behind-the-scenes look at a shop of that scale in full December hustle, plus high ceilings, room to suspend large work, demos from both teachers, hands-on time as the majority of both days, a group project to finish — and yes, lunch and snacks. Product partners include Ecuadorian grower Much Flowers. Register through Jenny T. Floristry or Beth O'Reilly, and use code CLIQUERS for 10% off before October 10th.
A leap of faith worth copying
The episode ends with what's inspiring each guest. Beth's answer: the last-minute decision to host a foreign exchange student from Germany, and the joy of investing in young minds. Jenny's answer stopped everyone: she cold-called an art gallery in St. Louis, showed them her work, and landed a two-month show for October and November — dried perishable pieces in black shadow boxes, more like paintings than arrangements. She confessed she'd been hesitant to even post about it, and the group talked her into sharing: when your floral art becomes high art, you celebrate it — not to say "look at me," but to inspire the next person to leap.
Key takeaways
- Treat education as a lifelong practice — study yearly, even outside the floral field, and collect "arsenal" for everyday design problems.
- Don't let big names intimidate you out of a workshop; the right teachers meet you at your level and build confidence, not comparison.
- Structure principles learned in an artistic setting transfer directly to weddings, arches, and shop work.
- Revisit the principles and elements of design constantly — they're the vocabulary that explains why a design works.
- Do the ask. A workshop partnership, a mentorship, a gallery show — most opportunities start with one brave question.