"Every element in a flower arrangement must have a purpose"
 

Max van de Sluis (1967) attended secondary horticultural school and supplementary courses on flower arranging, floristry and floriculture. He gained practical work experience with the Belgian arrangers Joseph Verrijcke and the Dutch arranger Ton Lemmers. Max and his parents have a florist's shop in Zeeland, Brabant. He regularly takes part in competitions. His greatest successes were a sixth place at the Dutch Championships in 1997, a first place at the Dutch Championships in 1998 and the honour of representing the Netherlands at the European Championships in 1999, where he came second. In 2002 he won the third place a the World Cup.

Experimenting

He has worked in virtually every European country, China and the United States. He explains that teaching new techniques is only one aspect of demonstrations and workshops. "I find it just as important to encourage participants to try something new - different shapes, different ways of using colour, a bolder approach. You could call it experimenting with the presentation. However, the products must all be shown to the best effect. If they are not, then I personally am not satisfied." According to Max van de Sluis, clarity is a very important aspect of flower arranging. "Nothing must be done without a good reason. Every choice you make should be properly thought through - there must be a reason for it. I try to pass this on to the participants."

Calm and strength

Max van de Sluis does not have any fixed preferences. "My preferences are always shortterm. They reflect how I feel at a given time. The next year they may be different. In that respect I try to keep up with the times. I take account of the seasons in so far as I never use combinations of products that represent different seasons in one arrangement. No tulips with sunflowers, no hyacinths with chrysanthemums." Max has mastered many styles. The theme that runs through his work is calm and the strength that he feels should emanate from a bouquet. "This can be achieved in classical as well as modern settings."

Keeping a product interesting