‘The art of letting go’

Andreas Verheijen (1959) is a master binder and flower arranger, but above all he is a designer. This explains why he views flowers and the world around him differently to other people. He grew up in a region full of tree nurseries and was involved in horticulture from his earliest years, so that it was almost a foregone conclusion that he would end up in the green sector. After graduating from agricultural college he trained as a master binder before moving on to the USA where he qualified for certification as a member of the A.I.F.D. (American Institute of Floral Designers). His studies at the St. Joost Academy Visual Arts in Breda changed his vision of design forever.

'Provider'

There was a further important step that had a huge impact on his professional career: his sojourn of more than 16 years in England, where one of his posts was with Harrods as their 'sales executive florist section'. For nine years he also ran his own florist shop in England as well as teaching flower arranging at various schools. Styling is a significant part of his work for shows and trade fairs (from local to global) as well as for various magazines. He is one of the guest arrangers for the Dutch trade journal Bloem & Blad and produced no less than 8 pages of floral design at the invitation of the international trend forecasting magazine Provider.

Design

He finds most of the inspiration for his work outside the flower sector, especially in fashion and product design. He finds the different views of the world most inspiring. "Letting go of everything you know is so hugely liberating ". This is one of the reasons why he can get excited about seeing, for example, a product designer working with flowers. Someone like that is unhampered by knowledge of things like vase life or the rules of flower arranging and can focus purely on the design aspect of what he or she is doing.

Allotment

Although Andreas is a true anglophile, he has had plenty of experience in a number of other countries. For example, Switzerland and Germany (he speaks German as well as fluent English), Spain, Hungary, Japan, the US, South Africa, Uruguay and Barbados. However, the place he feels most at home in and where he can truly relax is his allotment in Amsterdam. This is not a kitchen garden – although he did use to have a vegetable garden – but a genuine botanical garden. No matter how many beautiful flowers pass through his hands, his favourites are still his own garden plants.