Winter has been fun but its colours of monotonous hues of grey and white has left my colour ‘taste-buds’ a tad bland. As my two month winter excursion comes to an end with no sight of colourful flowers and green leaves to bloom till spring; I had a sudden crave of re-absorbing a little more colour into my soul. Before I bid goodbye to Asia and head back across the continent to Europe, I mustered a thought of doing something different this year just to add a little flavour to my travel recipe and inspiration.

During my recent transit in Singapore on my way home to Barcelona, I was invited to attend a flower arrangement workshop by A Better Florist. This is definitely something I’ve never laid my hands on before and would’ve been definitely somewhere in my long ‘to-do bucket list’. Frankly, the only flower I personally love is the sunflower as it looks pretty even as a single stalk by itself; just like me going solo. And yet, I have no knowledge about other flowers let alone the art of arranging flowers. Since it sounded rather challenging, I gave it a try anyway. After all, Singapore is more than just eating and shopping.

A Better Florist is located on the ground floor of Riverside Piazza deep in the heart of Singapore’s infamous touristy Clark Quay area. Directly opposite is the Riverside Point foyer entrance which is always crowded with tourists flocking around the Singapore River, roving around its pubs and restaurants centred around there. 

What this florist lacks in signboards and interior design is well made up with its friendly and courteous staffs. At first glance it may not look like a typical florist shop but it certainly does have staffs knowledgeable enough about their flower selections and designs. Its flower arrangement workshops are held on Saturdays and it usually gets fully booked by flower enthusiasts and green thumbs alike. Surprisingly, all the attendees were female while the outgoing instructor was a young guy! 

Enter my first hand at arranging flowers. Though I don’t receive flowers myself, I must say that this workshop has given me much insight as to how much effort is put into arranging a simple bouquet. From a simple array of yellow and white roses, pink dahlias and some green ruscus, it may not look much at first. But once we arrange the flowers in certain ways, a theme almost instantly presents itself.

The instructor was patient and very helpful, often running over to participants one-by-one to help provide some advise and assist with the arrangement and design. Although materials were simple and limited, I must admit it’s the first time in my life I’ve used so much cellophane tape only because my hands aren’t attune to such fine works of art. Unfortunately, two of my dahlias broke due to my inexperienced hands…how sad!

The workshop is engaging and is a great place to hang with friends and even make new ones amongst the fellow enthusiasts. The overall atmosphere of the workshop was fun with each person sharing their similar first hand experience at this hobby. A great hands on experience for me as I learnt how to better curate colours and better appreciate flowers. Best still is sharing the final product with your loved one which is a genuine 100% made by-your-own-hands gift!

Thank you “A Better Florist” for the invitation for this flower arrangement workshop. I’ve finally done something that I can strike off my to-do bucket list. A great workshop where travellers get to make new friends, I would definitely share this meaningful workshop with my fellow travellers as a travel bucket list for those swinging by Singapore. This is truly an interesting new skill or hobby even for locals here in Singapore to easily pick up and maybe get addicted to as well. Definitely something different, meaningful and engaging to do for the weekend.

A Better Florist fronts itself largely through its online e-commerce webpage (address below) and has lots of specially curated designs and flower arrangements to accommodate almost any occasion. One of the few florists in Singapore to offer experiential workshops such as this, A Better Florist does try to be the better florist. Check out their website for the timing, pricing and available slots for their workshops!

A Better Florist
Address: 11 Keng Cheow Street #01-02 Riverside Piazza Singapore 059608
Contact: +65-3163-1525
Opening Hours: 24 Hours Daily
Website: https://www.abetterflorist.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABetterFlorist

This post is written in collaboration with A Better Florist. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.