The Story Behind EFDE
From a flower shop in Belgium to an international floral education
From practice to Education
It started with a Flower Shop
Our journey began in 1985 with our own flower shop in Lier, Belgium. Running a professional flower business taught us something that would later become fundamental to our educational philosophy: floral design is not only about creativity. It requires craftsmanship, understanding the customer and knowing how to turn creativity into value. Competitions, exhibitions and international floral events gradually brought our work beyond the flower shop — and eventually into education.
Real experience became the foundation of our teaching.
A different way of Teaching
Going Upstream
After teaching for ten years at the Antwerp Flower Academy, we created our own floral school: Fluvium. The name comes from the Latin word for stream and reflected a simple philosophy:
Following the flow is easy. Creating something new means going upstream.
Students learned techniques, but were encouraged to question conventions, experiment and develop their own visual language.
The objective was never to copy a style, but to discover one.
Beyond Belgium
Education without Borders
What started in Belgium soon became international. Floral schools and organisations abroad invited us to teach, demonstrate and develop educational programs. Long-term collaborations followed across Europe and Asia, where we worked with local partners to develop professional floral education and train a new generation of floral designers. Students also became part of exhibitions, demonstrations and large-scale floral projects — learning not only in the classroom, but through real professional experience.
Education became international long before EFDE had a name.
The birth of EFDE
A New Generation needed a New Approach
Our experience in Europe and Asia revealed that professional floral education needed to evolve. Technical skills alone were no longer enough. A successful floral designer also needs a personal identity, an understanding of business and the ability to create value for customers.
This became the foundation of European Floral Design Education — EFDE.
Three Modules. One Professional Future
From Skills to Identity to Business
EFDE brings decades of professional and educational experience together in one progressive program:
Foundation → Identity → Business
Students first develop strong technical and design foundations. They then discover their own creative identity and finally learn how to transform their skills into a sustainable professional career.
EFDE is not designed to create copies. It is designed to develop independent floral professionals.
Today
Still Evolving
Floral design continues to change. So does our education. Today, EFDE combines decades of professional experience with contemporary design, entrepreneurship and an international perspective. The philosophy, however, remains unchanged:
Learn the principles. Find your identity. Build your future.
