The Kishwaukee College Horticulture program hosted Iowa Master Florist (IMF) Julie Poeltler as part of the Artist in Residence (AIR) program offered through the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD).
Poeltler AIFD, Professional Floral Communicators International (PFCI), IMF presented a floral design demonstration for Associate Professor of Horticulture Janet Gallagher’s floral students and Kish’s Student American Institute of Floral Designers (SAIFD) Floral Club members. The presentation gave students hands-on expertise in creating sympathy arrangements for caskets, urns and other pieces. Poeltler also demonstrated her experience in working with funeral homes and grieving families.
The AIR program is offered through the AIFD to bring together industry professionals and floral design students at colleges and universities that host student AIFD chapters like Kish. Kish’s horticulture program provides educational opportunities to students both past and present, including former student Emmy Kuhn, who now works as a full-time florist at Kar-Fre Flowers in Sycamore.
“I reached out to see if I could attend the event and get more professional experience. We get to learn about and make an urn piece,” Kuhn said.
Poeltler was inducted into the AIFD in 1994 and has owned Julie’s Fountain of Flowers in Lone Tree, Iowa, for the past 42 years. Her professional experience includes creating designs for the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Academy Awards and multiple U.S. presidential inaugurations.
Learn more about Kish’s Horticulture program at kish.edu/horticulture.