Floral & Garden Expo appoints new artistic director

Albert Graves to take annual Expo in new direction leading into 2010

-- Casual Living, 6/5/2009 12:43:00 PM

Floral & Garden Expo named Albert Graves, president of Bloemen Décor, as its artistic director. Graves brings with him more than 20 years experience in the floral decor industry, moving 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 of Floral & Garden Expo 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.”

As Graves worked and visited the Horti Fair in Amsterdam for many years, he realized the importance of communication within the floral industry. His vision for Floral & Garden Expo is to create a place where the industry comes together; a place where retailers can communicate with growers, wholesalers and suppliers. Floral industry professionals will leave the show feeling appreciative of being involved in a creative profession and inspired to achieve new levels of innovation and growth in serving their customers. 

“My goal is to improve the communication flow between growers, wholesalers and suppliers,” Graves 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. The Floral & Garden Expo provides an excellent avenue to exchange information and discuss trends in the industry.  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 in Amsterdam.”

Growers will be on-hand to showcase their new products which will be located on the main center aisle. The spotlight will be on recent introductions from Top 10 Ontario Growers: Balfour Greenhouses Ltd., Comic 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 largest floral arrangement, a record that still stands today.