Bay of Plenty
Floral artist Francine Thomas gives Sandra Simpson a few tips.
When Covid-19 restrictions saw her demonstrating work dry up last year, she taught herself how to make videos on her phone, built herself a bench in her shed and carried on.
“You can’t put a monetary value on everything,” Francine says of her weekly videos. “It was about people’s state of mind and doing something to cheer us all up. I’ve been getting feedback from all around the world. Overseas, people are really struggling with the lockdowns and fears.”
The videos – which give full rein to Francine’s bubbly sense of humour when her alter ego Fred in the Shed shares hands-on construction tips – have led to Zoom presentations to groups as far afield as Pakistan and Singapore. “Being creative settles my mind so it’s helping me as much as it’s helping them,” she says.
Flower, floristry and floral art have been part of Francine’s life for as long as she can remember.
Her aunt, Betty Budge, was the first florist in Whanga¯ rei and Francine’s mum Glenys, and in turn Francine, both helped out. “I can remember peering over the bench watching them at work – all the oldfashioned way with toothpicks and wire, treating flowers by crushing the stems and scalding them with boiling water, and flowers being gathered from gardens.”
When the family moved to Tokoroa, Glenys did floristry from home while working as a nurse matron at the local hospital, with Francine wiring flowers for wedding bouquets and arrangements.
Eventually Glenys moved to Tauranga and started a flower wholesalers that Francine, who by then was married and doing wedding flowers on her own account, took over. She also gained qualifications in horticulture and floristry and joined the local floral art group.
Francine has been the Bay of Plenty Floral Art Society Designer of the Year five times, won the New Zealand Designer of the Year (2016) and the Australian Designer of the Year (2018), and been national demonstrator for the Floral Art Society since 2010. She was this country’s official demonstrator at the World Association of Floral Artists show in Dublin in 2014 and will be demonstrator/convenor for the world show in Auckland in 2024.
At the 2024 show, she will also perform one of her renowned floral theatres.
“When you do a national certificate in demonstrating, you have to make a portfolio of how you would do a floral theatre, working out a theme, lighting, special effects and so on. And I thought, ‘Well, I’ve planned it all. Why not do it’?”
One of her biggest shows was Symphony of Flowers, performed in Virginia in the US, which included a symphony orchestra playing live and 55 students on stage. The whole thing was also a chance to promote New Zealand and the Bay of Plenty.
“There are no real boundaries in floral art,” Francine explains. “You have to use the fundamentals of design to make it pleasing to the eye and make sure plant material dominates the design, but other than that, you can let your imagination run free.” ✤
Francine’s videos can be viewed on her Facebook page: A Floral Affair by Francine.