Art & Bloom
Art & Bloom is the Concord Garden Club’s signature social event. Every year community members, CGC members, and local florists create floral arrangements to pair with art works by local artists. The paired arrangements and works of art are displayed for the public over a three day period in January and provide a welcome colorful break from our New England winters. Community members are encouraged to participate as designers, or to just attend and enjoy the show. Or both!
Why Design for
Art & Bloom?
Designing for Art & Bloom is rewarding on so many levels. Take a look at what designers say about the experience:
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"For several years three friends and I decided to take a chance and do an arrangement for Art and Bloom. It took all of us to pick art, flowers, and ideas for our arrangements. We had never done anything like it before and ours were not the fanciest or most creative but we had lots of fun. I liked to think that someone could look at it without being intimidated and think “I could do something like that".
Mary R.
HOW TO DESIGN FOR
​ART & BLOOM
Below you'll find information on the design process for Art & Bloom. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
1) DECIDE TO DESIGN SOLO OR IN A TEAM
Welcome! We're so glad you've decided to design for Art & Bloom. The first step in the design process is to decide whether you will work solo or in a team. Both options are incredibly rewarding. We recommend teams of 2-4 max. Make sure you include all team member's names and contact information when you sign up to participate.
2) SIGN UP TO BE A DESIGNER
We welcome Concord Garden Club members, community members, and professional designers to design for Art & Bloom. To sign up to be a designer (or design team) please contact one of us:
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Lucy Gentilhomme - lgentilho@gmail.com
Teresa Rosenberger - teresa.rosenberger@gmail.com
Millie LaFontaine - lafontainefamily@comcast.net
3) CHOOSE AN ART INSPIRATION
The next step is to select a piece of fine art or craft from one of the Kimball Jenkins current exhibits. The Kimball Jenkins will offer three date/time opportunities for designers to come choose their piece. Take into consideration color, shape, scale, and tone. Make sure to take photos of your art inspiration! You can find the schedule of times to view the exhibit and choose your inspiration in the Designer Manual.
5) CHOOSE A COLOR PALETTE & YOUR BOTANICALS
In selecting your flowers be sure to communicate with the flower vendors to make sure they have or can order what you want. They may be able to offer suggestions on substitutions if needed. You can find a list of places to buy flowers in the Designer Manual.
6) COMMUNICATE WITH NICKI KILFARA
At this point in the process, designers send the following information to Nicki Kilfara at nkilfara@hotmail.com:
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Name of Artwork & Artist
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Designer name(s) and contacts, and whether they are from CGC, Business, Organization or Community
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The list of botanicals that you are using!
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Please review the helpful Designer Manual.​
8) PREPARE YOUR TOOLS & MATERIALS
Common tools that are used in flower arranging include:
Chicken Wire
Clean Shears
Water Tubes
Green Tape
Wire/Glue
Mist Spray
9) USE BOOKS FOR INSPIRATION
Flower arrangement books are a great source of inspiration. You can check flower arranging books out from the Concord Public Library or find online inspiration on sites like Pinterest.
10) STAY ON TRACK WITH THE EVENT SCHEDULE
Art & Bloom is held over three days in January at Kimball Jenkins in Concord, NH. On opening day, designers drop off their arrangement at Kimball Jenkins and ​preview other arrangements. On the last day, designers pick up their arrangement. The current event schedule is available in the Designer Manual & Schedule here.​
