Joe’s Wonderful Floral Journey
With over 40 years in the floral industry, Joe Guggia AIFD has learned the business from very early beginnigs. During high school and junior college, Joe was head of delivery and flower preparation at the floral shop (Camfeldt’s Flowers and Gifts) which he and his wife, Dawn, purchased in 1980.
After attending junior college, Joe became the assistant grower at Sandyland Nursery in Carpinteria, California. This growing nursery was the first to sell blooming and foliage plants to the chain stores (Safeway). The nursery was also instrumental in the beginnings of tissue culture growing of ferns, in which Joe participated. After leaving Carpinteria, Joe and Dawn moved back to Santa Maria, CA and he became manager of another growing nursery, then decided the “creative” side of retail was more to his liking, purchasing Camfeldt’s (original owner’s name) Flowers in 1980
Having owned Camfeldt’s Flowers for almost 30 years, Joe has furthered his career by becoming a member of AIFD (American Institute for Floral Design – see aifd.org), the most prestigious association within the floral industry. After his induction in 1996, Joe decided to compete in the California State Floral Association’s “Top Ten” floral design competition. Much to his surprise, Joe placed in the top 5, and was expremely proud of this achievement.
After winning the award, Joe taught classes in connection with the competition, and he has been a member of the California State Floral Association floral design team. As a design member of the Association, Joe has held design seminars in various California locations, and has taught classes in sympathy and party design at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, as well as numerous demonstrations and design shows on that campus. He is currently advisor to Cal Poly’s student chapter of AIFD which participates yearly in competitions across the US.
Attending AIFD’s yearly national symposium held across the country, Joe is able to keep in contact with the latest trends in floral design, enabling his shop and employees to maintain wonderful quality and creativity. Most recently Joe was on the design team to create pieces for the “Partners” luncheon in Palm Springs. Joe was also a designer for Fiesta Floats (see him on a float in the revolving images on the home page) for the 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. This is the company that always wins at least 3 major trophies each year at the parade.
With these years of experience and education, Joe continually scours industry publications to keep aware of current trends and designs in this arena. Along with this a need for professional decor has been a calling, with emphasis on creative personal permanent designs for homes, staging of clients accessories and furnitings, and all around decor management. Currently Joe is working with San Luis Obispo, Ca. interior designer Stephen Patrick. Joe has been commissioned by Stephen to create 3 large scale permanent designs for the Masonic Lodge in that city. With an emphasis on grandeur to represent the lodge’s presence in the world, the designs will be a stately reflection of their ideals and great assets to the world.
Pretty nice resume, right? And the reason I have been able to EXCEL in my field is because I learned PROPER and PROFESSIONAL FLORAL DESIGN SKILLS exactly like those I teach you in my E-Z FLOWER DESIGN program! Follow my E-Z FLOWER DESIGN program step by step, and you too can have a wonderful floral journey, contributing to the beauty of the world just as I have over the years.
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