Industry News FLORIDA DESIGNER WINS SYLVIA CUP COMPETITION


>Michael Smith, AAF, AIFD, FDI, FSMD, owner of Artistic Designs Unlimited Inc., in Marianna, Florida, won the 54th annual Sylvia Cup Design Competition at the Society of American Florists’ annual convention in September in Phoenix. Smith walked into the competition


with a plan. He wanted to embrace clean lines and a modern design, regardless of the competition’s surprise theme. That theme, revealed at the start of the competition, was the “Wild West.” That helped Smith determine his color palette and create the feel of the open prairie that he wanted to capture. “I focus on what’s being asked, and


the principles and elements of design,” he says, of his approach to design com- petitions. “It’s about following directions and listening.” Last year’s winner, Kelsey


Thompson, AIFD, owner and head designer of Bloom Floral & Home Studio in Algona, Iowa, was the first runner-up and received $500; Patience Pickner, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of The Picket Fence, Chamberlain, South Dakota, was second runner-up and received $250. Twenty- five designers competed in the event. Certified American Grown provided the


fresh product and Smithers-Oasis pro- vided the hardgoods. With two hours, each designer was


challenged to create three pieces: a “Spirit of the West” design for an art gallery opening, a “Gold Rush” mono- chromatic wedding bouquet, and a “Dearly Departed” sympathy tribute. Smith molded the provided stems


and hardware to his vision. He created a vertical modern art design of stems using the black midnight foam for his gallery piece. Then he set out to make a sympathy cross from flowers and foliage — a design he has produced in his retail shop — by manipulating many of the products. While he eschewed using the standard cross foam, he busily stripped berries from vines, bent an easel to give his piece depth, and whittled a hole in a black designer tray. With 20 minutes left to create the wedding bouquet, he reached for yellow calla lilies and bent wires to make leaves. Smith added bear grass for movement. “You have to think outside the box,”


he says. “The one thing I was most happy about when I walked away at the end was that my table looked like nobody else’s. At that point I didn’t care if I won.”


DISTINCTIVE DESIGNS Michael Smith’s unique use of products won over the Sylvia Cup Design Competition judges.


Smith’s distinctive approach won


over the judges, earning him the $3,000 prize and Sylvia Cup trophy. “His unique use of the product,


especially the first category, really stood out as separate,” says Jodi McShan, AAF, one of the three judges. “There were similar themes throughout his work, and it was mechanically sound and had the creativity points.” The bouquet and the wire work


kept a solid line, and the sympathy tribute embodied the Wild West theme without going the traditional route of rope, she says, noting that his three pieces were consistent and showed a lot of creativity. The win was humbling and vali-


dating of the hours of work and study Smith has put into learning his art form, he says, and adds to a growing list of accomplishments. A member of SAF’s Next Gen group, Smith is busy growing his business and staying involved in the industry. Smith is also the presi- dent-elect for the Florida State Florists’ Association.


DESIGNER’S TOUCH Michael Smith, AAF, AIFD, FDI, FSMD, owner of Artistic Designs Unlimited Inc., in Marianna, Florida, puts the finishing touch on his winning designs.


Amanda Jedlinsky is the senior content strategist for the Society of American Florists and editor in chief of Floral Management.


The magazine of the Society of American Florists (SAF) 45


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