Episode 31: The AIFD Journey: Sharing the Voices of a few New AIFD Members and a Few Lessons Learned
To close out a full month of episodes celebrating AIFD, Vonda does something she rarely does: takes the mic solo and walks down memory lane — from a young mother in small-town Iowa at her first symposium in 1987 to accredited member, mentor, and lifelong member of the AIFD family. Woven through her story are the voices of three brand-new AIFD members explaining why they pursued accreditation, and one piece of advice from an industry icon that Vonda still lives by today.
San Francisco, 1987: 250 photographs and a front-row seat
Working at Everts Flower Shop in Ames, Iowa, and hungry to learn, Vonda volunteered at the local wholesale house every time there was a design show. The designers she met there — including the great encourager Bobbi Ecker, she of the big hats and constant sunshine — pushed her to attend a national symposium. So she went to San Francisco alone, knew no one, and signed up for a bus tour of the city, where she met David Schober, beginning a friendship that lasted until his passing this year.
She shot and developed more than 250 film photographs that week. She sat in the front row next to a sweet lady with a cane named Ulayla — only learning years later that her seatmate was Ulayla Overmeyer, a past president and true icon of AIFD. And she watched a painfully shy designer present enormous walk-in floral canvases, so full of depth and texture they looked like fields of flowers — a designer named Hitomi Gilliam. "Look at her now," Vonda laughs. "How we all grow over the years."
Herb Mitchell's advice: don't force it
The moment Vonda remembers "like it was yesterday" came when she worked up the nerve to introduce herself to Herb Mitchell, whose thought-provoking column in Professional Floral Designer magazine she never missed. His advice: AIFD is a great organization and it can help your career — but don't try to meet and befriend people you think will help you get somewhere. Be yourself, learn, work hard, and get to know the people naturally drawn to you. They'll become lifelong friends you can count on for anything. In other words: don't use people; let friendship happen. She still uses that advice today.
Portfolio, flapper dress, and the class of 1989
Accreditation in those days meant submitting a photographed portfolio, then — if approved — traveling to design on site with your own flowers and supplies in tow. Expensive? Yes, then and now. But Vonda frames it like any higher education: if you want the higher level, you reap the rewards. She survived phase two (helped along by Fred Chan singing "Don't Worry, Be Happy" through the whole thing) and was inducted in 1989 at the "Era of Old Chicago" symposium, where she rented a flapper dress to match the theme — and was the only one not in a formal gown. Her induction class included Tom Bowling, Lorie Novak, Keith Harveson, David Schober, Kirk Pamper, and many others she now counts as friends — earned, as Herb said, through work and mutual respect rather than networking.
The deepest friendships, she says, were made behind the scenes in the flower room — designing for final night beside strangers who became family, assisting icons like Tim Farrell, Kathy and Phil Relota, and Gregor Lersch, and eventually widening the circle to include best friend Julie Polar and the "Shine Girls." The circle expands every year, and it's better for everyone when it does.
Three new voices: "Just do it"
Between stories, three of AIFD's newest members share their journeys. Lenzee Bilke kept it simple: education is key to success, and if you don't succeed, try again — "just do it." Joanna Kalina, a designer of eight years, finally took the plunge to learn what she was capable of; her advice is to study the principles and elements until they live in your head and your hands, do mock tests, and expect blood, sweat, and tears — "it's so worth it." And Iraema Carranza, whose love of flowers began as a girl in Cuba, earned two AIFD Foundation scholarships, volunteered backstage at symposia, and passed in 2019 after going back to the textbooks with mentors at her side. All three point to the 2021 symposium in Washington, D.C., where new inductees will finally walk the stage. Learn more at aifd.org.
Key takeaways
- Volunteer your way in — wholesale houses, design shows, and the flower room are where careers and friendships start.
- Don't network; connect. Work hard, be yourself, and let the friendships happen naturally.
- Accreditation costs money and effort, but like any higher education, the investment pays back.
- Study the fundamentals, do mock tests, and prepare — then "just do it," and try again if you fall short.
- Keep widening your circle; the family gets stronger with every new member welcomed in.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist