May 26, 2009 – Floral & Garden Expo has appointed Albert Graves as artistic director.
President of Bloemen Décor, Graves brings with him over 20 years experience in the floral decor industry and has been a pillar in the horticulture community since coming to Canada from the Netherlands in 1987.
“We’re really excited to have Albert join our team and are looking forward to enhancing the floral element of our show through his creative designs and recent floral introductions from top 10 growers,” said show manager Paul Day. “The goal is to engage our show visitors in more interesting ways and to expose them to ideas and visual concepts that can be replicated in retail stores. Albert will be instrumental in reaching this goal.”
 Graves worked and visited the Horti Fair in Amsterdam for many years and realized the importance of communication within the floral industry. His vision for Floral & Garden Expo is to create a show where the industry comes together, a place where retailers can communicate with growers, wholesalers and suppliers.
“My goal is to improve the communication flow between growers, wholesalers and suppliers,” he said. “It is crucial that all industry partners are on the same page to ensure that a majority of the products make it to the market. I want to create a show where the visitors and exhibitors feel proud to be in the industry, the same way that I feel after I leave the Horti Fair.”
The spotlight will be on recent introductions from leading Ontario growers, including Balfour Greenhouses Ltd., Cosmic Plants Inc., Pioneer Flower Farms Ltd., Prins Grow Inc., Rosa Flora Ltd., Slaman Greenhouses, Sunrise Greenhouses, Timbereno Flowers Ltd., Van Geest Brothers Ltd., and Virgil Greenhouses Ltd.
Graves has been teaching the floral design program at Humber College for the past 12 years. His book, “FLEURISTIC,” was published in 1998. He is a trendsetter in the floral industry in Canada and received an award from Flowers Canada for creating the largest floral arrangement, a record that still stands.
Floral & Garden Expo is the largest Canadian retail tradeshow for florist and garden centre industries. More than 3,400 people are expected to attend this trade only showcase for new products and recent floral and plant introductions on Oct. 20 and 21 at the Toronto Congress Centre. For more information visit www.gardenexpo.ca.
Landscape Ontario is one of largest horticultural trade associations in North America, with more than 2,300 members. Its mission is to represent, promote and foster a favourable environment for the advancement of the horticultural industry in Ontario. Landscape Ontario produces Floral & Garden Expo and the Garden Centre Symposium.
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