As a dedicated florist aboard a 140+ meter private motor yacht, Kate Argo noticed a need for flower arranging training in the industry. While her business Bloomfield Bespoke offers courses, she’s adding basic step-by-step flower arranging tutorials on her website by February, adding an even more flexible option.
Kate Argo opened Bloomfield Bespoke in South Africa nearly 10 years ago — selling hand-tied bunches of flowers and doing floristry for events — before taking the leap of faith and joining yachting in 2019. She was a stewardess for two years before joining a 140+ meter as a full-time florist, preparing arrangements for each mealtime, all the spaces on board and potting plants.
“After being in yachting, I felt there was a need for floral and tablescaping courses, as many stewardesses I worked with were not confident in either,” she says. “While the average yachting academies offer stewardess training with very basic floral instruction, I put together an essential and comprehensive guide in floral design and table layout designed specifically for yachting.”
While she still does wedding and events, Kate mainly focuses on stew flower arranging and table styling courses in South Africa, on board and over Zoom. The in-person courses are held at the Folha Store in Cape Town, where Kate covers table layout, flowers, vases and plants to use on board, plus some designs to impress guests and owners. For one-on-one Zoom calls, as the stew walks Kate through the interior, she advises on color palettes, size, choice of vase, etc. for each room.
The online tutorials will be available for a small fee to download, but students who have taken one of her courses can watch them for free.