Hitomi Gilliam AIFD

 
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Hitomi Gilliam AIFD, has accomplished so much as a floral designer, business woman, lecturer, educator, and floral champion. We're excited to share this in person interview with Hitomi right after the Floristry Teacher Conference. She shares many of the topics and key points covered at this ground breaking conference.

Hitomi Gilliam AIFD, has accomplished so much as a floral designer, business woman, lecturer, educator, and floral champion.This week she chats with Scott about expanding your flower choices, social media, trends, and the confidence that comes from learning new techniques and mechanics. Be sure to subscribe to The Flower Podcast and visit our website at www.theflowerpodcast.com.

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Hitomi Gilliam AIFD is a Japanese Canadian flower artist. She is the Creative Director for DESIGN358 (2008). She has guest-designed extensively throughout North America, England, Northern Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Bermuda, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Belgium, Korea, Costa Rica, India and Oman.

She began her career in the Green Profession as a farmer/florist. She currently works with her son, Colin Gilliam in an Event & Education business, DESIGN358 which was established 10 years ago.

  • Hitomi has lectured at Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), Chicago Botanical Gardens, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens (Nashville), Museum of Fine Art Boston, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Bouquets to Art (San Francisco), Houston Museum of Fine Art, New Orleans Museum of Fine Art, Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Honolulu Academy of Art, Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse), The Walters Art Museum (Baltimore), Longwood Gardens, Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens (Richmond,VA), Detroit Institute of Arts, Vero Beach Museum of Fine Arts, The Strong Museum (Rochester, NY), North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh, NC) and Columbus Museum of Fine Art. She has also presented at the Philadelphia Flower Show, Newport Flower Show and Singapore Garden Festival.

  • She was one of the 5 commissioned inter-disciplinary artists to show her floral art installation ‘RISE’ at ‘Les Fleurs Sauvages’ Art Show at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York City (April 2018).

  • Hitomi is the founder of the Annual ‘Survival of the Creative Minds’ Conference in Taos, New Mexico. 20th Annual Conference ‘REFLECTION’ is scheduled for October, 2019.

  • Hitomi is also a co-founder of ‘European Master Certification’ Program with Tomas De Bruyne.

 

Show Notes

  • Understand and appreciate the value in using different product in your designs.  It may cost more, but will set your work apart from others.

  • We need to understand the need to change with time, our customers change and we need to also.

  • If you don’t have a social media presence your customers may not know you exist.

  • If you don’t like a trend then consider and create an alternative.  You create the next trend!

  • Real marketing is connecting with customers with social media to grow the love of flowers.

  • You need to be open to new ideas!!  You don’t know where the next big idea comes from.

  • Everything creative really comes from nature.  Inspiration really begins there.

  • If you get knocked down, get back up.  This is why Hitomi likes to share everything, the more mechanics and techniques you know the more confident you’ll be.

Florals by Hitomi Gilliam AIFDImage by Cindy Qiao

Florals by Hitomi Gilliam AIFD

Image by Cindy Qiao

Florals by Hitomi Gilliam AIFDImage by Cindy Qiao

Florals by Hitomi Gilliam AIFD

Image by Cindy Qiao