About Mike Gaffney

It's a Flower Power Story...

World renowned floral designer Michael Gaffney teaches flower design from the ground up. Learn from the master and you, too, could become a designer. Want an artistic, creative life that adds emotional significance to nearly any experience? Then consider American Floral Design Schools.

Once upon a time, Michael Gaffney worked away in a cubicle on Wall Street. Overworked and uninspired, he didn't really know how unsatisfied he was until one day, on a visit to his Midwest hometown, he stepped into a flower shop.

"I realized how much flowers can affect a person. They're part of every stage of life - birth, death, weddings, funerals, memories, romance. And I saw how good designs make a stronger impact. Suddenly, I wanted to be part of that. I saw floral design as a way to help people renew, recover, express sympathy, fall in love, and share friendship. And in doing that, I understood that I could actually make a good living, doing something I love, while adding beauty and flair to events that touch people's lives."

Michael's floral designs have graced a wide spectrum of occasions, from a simple first date bouquet to grand wedding arrangements; from movie sets to haute couture fashion shows, and everything in between. "I came to see myself as an artist for people's emotions. I made a good living, yes, but my art made other people happy. It was remarkably satisfying. And flowers, of course, grow and bloom, but they don't last forever. They disappear. It's a medium that's both dynamic and ethereal. You're always being called on to create something new, but it won't last either. And that's okay. That's what makes every bouquet, every event special. It's like working every single day with the best things in life - flowers, certainly, together with energy, creativity, reinvention, renewal."

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