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Frequently Asked Questions
About The Rittners Floral School Distance Education Floral Design Materials
We are delighted to be able to offer you Distance Education Floral Art "How-To-Do-Its". These exciting new floral education resources are informative and a great value.
In this section we touch upon some of the questions that we are most frequently asked about our Distance Education Floral Design Materials. Should you have any additional questions please feel free to phone us at 617-267-3824 for more information
about these distance education publications, about our school and about our various hands-on courses.
Table of Contents
- What is the Purpose of Your Distance Education Floral Design Materials?
- Do I Need Any Special Talent In Floral Design To Be Able to Profit From These Digital Floral Design Learning Resources?
- Can I Buy And Use These Distance Education Materials At Any Time of The Day or Night?
- Do I Need Any Prior Floral Design Experience Or Knowledge?
- So Is There A Minimum Number of Digital Publications That I Have To Buy?
- Should I Buy These Digital Publications in Any Particular Order?
- How Are These Materials Structured? That is To Say What Is The Format?
- I am Curious About How These Digital Materials Were Developed ?
- Are These For Professional Use or For hobby?
- I am Looking For A Really Nice Floral Design Workshop, But Not Something As Detailed As Your Hands-on, In House Diploma Courses?
- How May Professional Floral Designers Benefit?
- Are The Distance Education Floral Design Materials The Same As Your In School Diploma Courses?
- Don't You Already Have Digital Lessons Available On Your Website?
- Is There Any Specific Style of Floral Design Presented?
- So If I Buy These Digital Resources, Do I Have To Buy All of The Various Containers and Supplies Needed From You?
- I Bet These Floral Art Digital "Cookbooks" Are Incredibly Expensive, Aren't They?
- I Have Some Additional Questions?
What Is The Purpose of Your Distance Education Floral Design Materials?
Rittners Floral School has been providing hands-on courses in floral designing for over sixty years at our facility in Boston. We continue to offer them and they are wonderful programs. If you want more information about diploma courses that you can take at our school please go to Hands-on Courses At Rittners Floral School.
Our Distance Education Digital Floral Design Materials discussed in this part of our web site have been developed due to popular demand for a different kind of need.
Many folks, friends, graduates, and florists, have been contacting us asking for some kind of learning experience that would give them detailed step-by-step floral design instruction of high quality, yet allow them to do it in the privacy of their own homes or shops. In other words, folks have been asking us for some kind of distance education experience in floral design.
Well, we have responded, and the results are truely awesome. We have developed a huge number of distance education digital cookbooks in floral design that are really easy to look at and understand. They are best described as tons of photographs showing step-by-step how to make all kinds of pretty floral designs. Best of all they are inexpensive. You pay a moderate price for them, download them and enjoy!
These digital cookbooks are almost like having members of the Rittners Floral School team right there with you in your home or flower shop, patiently guiding you through the secrets of how to make a variety of floral designs. (But we won’t ask you to serve us dinner.)
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Do I Need Any Special 'Talent' In Floral Designing To Be Able To Benefit From These Digital Floral Design Learning Resources?
There is a myth, especially in many artistic fields
such as floral art, that you need some kind of magical, mystical talent
in order to be able to learn floral designing......Many designers would work hard to have you believe it........("Either you have IT or you don't"....It' being some kind of special, magical, mystical combination of artistic talents that most mortals simply don't have........)
In our experience, that is simply not true.
It is great to have talent. It certainly can make life easier..But we have found that floral designing is a skill
that can be taught just as driving a car, learning a language
or learning to use a typewriter. Anyone can learn floral designing...
But there is an important aspect that can make the difference, and can make the process of learning floral art faster, easier and far more enjoyable.
What is it???
What makes the difference is the teaching!
At Rittners we have experience spanning decades of teaching floral art. We know what works and what does not when teaching an art form utiilzing natural media!
You benefit from our experience in teaching floral art, in these downloadable, distance education "how-to-do-its."
We start right at the beginning in each digital publication, and we take you step-by-step through the construction of all kinds of floral designs... You will be amazed at how easily you will be able to follow the instruction and create your own floral art masterpieces!!
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Can I Buy And Use These Distance Education Materials At Any Time of The Day or Night?
Learn What You Want... Whenever You Want!
One advantage of these materials is that you can pace yourself according to your own specific learning style.
Are you the kind of person who likes to learn early in the morning or late at night?
Do you have a challenging schedule?
You can purchase and use any of our distance education floral design " digital cookbooks" at any hour of the day or night and study them any time that you feel like it, at your convenience.... How neat!!!!
That’s part of the beauty of this Distance Education Rittner offering. You can download and enjoy these step-by-step photos and commentary early in the morning or late at night. If you feel like being creative at 3:00 am, these materials are sitting there waiting for you. Simply pay the very reasonable fee and download the digital content. Of course you may want to actually have some flowers around in order to try the various projects taught in the lessons!
(And please don't phone us at 3:30am to tell us how much fun you had! You may, of course do that during regular business hours!)
Earn bragging rights!---Impress your family and friends with the lovely floral designs that YOU will know how to make!
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Do I need any prior floral design experience or knowledge?
We have deliberately structured these digital publications so that most people will be able to jump into most of the materials and be able to enjoy them and benefit from them without any prior background or skills.
That is quite an accomplishment. We are proud that our teaching skills and experience enables us to present information in a way that allows that kind of flexibility.
In some cases, when we feel that prerequisite knowledge is useful we state it clearly on the description that you may read prior to buying.
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So is there a minimum number of digital publications that I have to buy?
No. There is no minimum amount of digital publications that you have to buy.
We want you to really benefit from these materials and enjoy them. You can buy a few. You can buy all of them. (Please buy all of them. And buy additional copies for your friends and family. We would like to feed our dog, and upgrade our computer system. That requires serious money, especially feeding the dog!)
Seriously...There are no requirements that you have to buy any particular number of these digital floral cookbooks. In fact we suggest that you try two or three at first to see how it works for you. They are quite inexpensive so there is very little risk. We believe you will love these instructional materials so much that not only will you be back for more, but you may even end up coming to our school in Boston to earn a diploma in floral design.
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Should I buy these digital publications in any particular order?
As you explore our online listing or download the listing of materials available you will find that there are a large range of topics covered. Each digital publication is assigned a number.
There is no particular sequence that you have to follow when buying. You can buy 033 Romantic Red Centerpiece, (if you are feeling romantic) and then later buy 017 Fall Table Centerpiece (if you are seeking a pretty design with that particular look).
You can buy any digital content in any order you want. The numbers are there only to help identify these e-books as we have so many available for you. They have nothing to do with level of complexity taught. ( We needed to add the numbers simply to help keep ourselves and our store organized.)
We suggest that you buy these materials according to what looks good to you or what subject you are most interested in learning.....
Most of the content can be mastered without any prior background in floral design. If prior knowledge is necessary, we clearly state that in the description.
So by all means, feel free to pick depending upon the topic, not the number assigned to it.
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How are these materials structured? That is to say what is the format?
We spent a lot of time and energy considering the best way to present information to you in a way that is efficient, fast and easy.
In the past our school pioneered in producing instructional video tapes. We considered re-introducing video or DVDs here. We decided however, that one weakness of that kind of instruction is that once you’ve seen it, it’s gone! You have to constantly go back pdf02.jpg) and rewind, or view it over and over again in order to get the information. It requires more time and isn’t necessarily all that efficient.
These distance education materials are best described as lots of photographs (with commentary) in E-book form showing step-by-step how to make all kinds of wonderful floral art . They run from twelve to over thirty pages in length depending upon the publication. Each digital publication features tons of photographs and detailed comments on how to do the designing!
They are in pdf format. This means that they are easy to download and access regardless of your computer platform.
Whether you are on a Windows machine or an Apple Mac, you can read pdf files.
They are relatively small files. They may be viewed and stored on your desktop, laptop or simply printed out and placed into a binder. In fact placing them into plastic sleeves and putting them into a binder is a great way of keeping them with you and consulting them as you are actually doing the designing. They are like floral designing "cookbooks."
FAR MORE EFFICIENT than videos or DVD format!
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How were these materials developed?
The Rittners Floral School Team has been involved in the planning, and execution of each  and every one of these digital instructional materials. But these little e-books have been very much a cooperative endeavor.....
A variety of design techniques and approaches from our talented floral teaching staff are apparent and make these distance education resourcess quite strong. Our staff includes folks with both strong floral art skills as well as a Doctorate in Education. This combination of skills is very evident in these terrific resources.
They feature a huge number of photos. Our outstanding floral photography studio has been working overtime to produce the fabulous floral photography that illustrates each digital publication.
Our computer and graphic art resources have made outstanding contributions to these exciting products.
The outstanding IT support staff of our school, has been invaluable in the formulation and availability of these materials.
We are fortunate in that our floral design school has been in existence for over sixty years, making us one of the longest running programs of our kind in the United States.
Our practical experience in teaching floral art pays dividends for you for we have had plenty of practical experience in learning what works (and what doesn’t) in teaching modern floral art. This depth of background, knowledge of teaching and level of commitment becomes quite obvious in these exciting new materials that we have developed for you!
All of our teaching and support departments at Rittners Floral School have come together to create some truly wonderful floral art teaching materials....Clearly thousands of hours in development time have been spent for your benefit!
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Are these for professional use or for hobby?
They are for both. They are for anyone with a love of flowers who would like to learn how to arrange them more professionally.
Hobbyists will find that they will learn the ‘tricks of the trade’ that will enable them to achieve professional floral design results with much more ease and confidence. Many hobbyists find that they have a wonderful vision, but it takes so long to achieve it or more materials than anticipated. These digital floral design cookbooks will help you gain control over your designing rather than your designing controlling you!
Perhaps as a hobbyist, you’d like to turn that hobby into something that will bring in more income….Or perhaps turn your hobby into a full time business. Many great floral designers have started that way. These wonderful resources will definitely help you!
If you are a professional floral designer these floral design digital cookbooks will definitely help you develop your craft and your professionalism. They may fill in gaps in your knowledge and give you far more self confidence. The designing is quite varied from classical to cutting edge which works to your benefit. The more you know, the more competitive you may be..... And you may develop your skills privately, at your own convenience, and whenever your schedule will allow it.
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I am looking for a really nice floral design workshop, but not something as detailed as your longer hands-on, in house courses....
  
Our school is renowned for the terrific hands-on diploma programs that actually occur at our school. But once in a while someone contacts us asking if we have a half day or one day instruction in a very specific area.
These digital floral design downloadable cookbooks are designed specifically with that in mind.
If you need instruction in a very specific area, these materials are perfect for you. They are not a diploma program. They are digital publications. They are meant to bridge the gap for someone seeking quality floral design education, but not wanting to take a longer course.
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How may professional floral designers benefit?
Perhaps you are in a bit of a rut, doing the same thing day in day out. Perhaps you are working in a flower shop, and find that the style or approach to floral art done in that shop seems to be pretty much standard everyday things, and feel a need to jump start your own creativity.
Perhaps you would like to surprise or impress your boss or your fellow designers with some new ideas/styles/approaches.
Perhaps you are seeking some new ideas to be more competitive with other floral outlets across the street or across town.
Perhaps you have already taken a course in floral art and want to continue learning even more floral designing. These instructional materials are wonderful for professional development, and continuing education.
Some designers will find them ideal as refreshers.
Regardless of your motivation, we believe you may find approaches of value in these distance education materials.
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Are the Distance Education Floral Design Materials the same Content or Style as your In School Diploma Courses?
No. They are different. If you want to earn a diploma from our school you still have to come to our school! ( We are generous, yes! But not foolish!) These distance education digital materials are just that... digital downloadable floral design "cookbooks" teaching a huge number of floral designs and techniques. But they are not a diploma program....
Nor is the manner of presentation exactly the same as our live teaching. When we teach live, there is a wonderful give and take of questions between our students and staff, and we can adjust our teaching style to individual student and class needs. That is obviously not there in a distance format. In other words don't look at these digital floral art cookbooks and try to speculate if the approach is identical to our live teaching. It isn't.
We do make it easy to actually attend Rittners Floral School with a variety of great hands-on diploma courses.
We offer Day Courses and Evening Courses. These are hands-on programs where we provide you with flowers, materials and supplies as well as outstanding instruction.
Our Day Courses are offered in two formats: Our longer Day Course starts in the fall. It is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the nation.
Our Short Concentrated Day Course is offered in the spring and summer for folks seeking a concentrated learning experience of high quality. It is a good solution for scheduling issues.
Our Evening Course is for local folks seeking a great floral art program at night that allows them flexibility in their day schedule.
Our hands-on in school workshop courses are world class and attract folks from all over the country and overseas. If you attend in person you enjoy great presentations and also our staff personally guiding you as you learn the art of floral design. You would also enjoy friendships that you make that will last a lifetime!
No. Our distance education publications are not a substitution for our longer hands-on courses. Nor are they an accurate portrayal of student/teacher interactions in the classroom.
They are intended as a very special, and very different new resource for folks who are seeking distance floral art instruction.
(Enough of the informercial already! But after experiencing some of our distance education floral art materials we believe you will want to attend one of our Diploma Courses At Rittners Floral School.
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Don't you already have digital instruction available on your website?
Yes we do. We have a section of our website called our "floral education center." There are a large number of "how-to-do-its" there. Best of all they are free! By all means, please look at them and enjoy them.
But the free content on our web site are nowhere as detailed or complete as these distance education offerings. Typically the free materials in our "floral education center" may have a few photos and some commentary.
These distance education floral design digital "cookbooks," on the other hand, are far more detailed, with page after page of step-by-step photographs and comments explaining how to do the designing...The difference is dramatic.
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Is there any specific style of Floral Designing presented?
The comment that a designer has one particular "style" is, in our opinion, outdated.
The contemporary floral designer has to be able to design in many modes. If one customer wants something classical, the floral artist has to be able to make classical designs. If another customer wants something bizarre or a little kinky, the designer should be able to work in that mode as well.
These digital publications reflect that modern reality. Some of them are very traditional. Others are more cutting edge.
We clearly indicate that both in the thumbnail photo, and in the description of each publicaiton.
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So If I Buy Any of These Digital Resources, Do I Have To Buy All of The Various Containers and Supplies Needed From You?
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Absolutely Not.
We are here to provide you with the best floral designing instruction that we can, not to force you to buy containers or supplies from us.
If you are a professional you already are acquainted with various supply sources.
If you are a hobbyist there are a huge range of craft and hobby outlets, including your local retail florist from whom you can buy most of the things you need.
We try to make it clear throughout our digital instruction, how you may use a variety of bases, not necessarily the exact ones we use.
That actually works to your benefit. You become a far better and more independent floral designer if you don't have to rely upon container #53702 to do a specific design. And it allows a lot more creativity. We want to give you the ability to make all kinds of beautiful floral designs, and not have to rely upon buying container A or container B from us. That gives you far more versatility & value in the instructional content that you buy.
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I bet these Floral Art Digital "Cookbooks" are incredibly expensive aren't they?
NOT.
In fact these distance education materials are one of the best deals available in floral design education anywhere!
The cost of each digital publication is attractively priced at $12.50
Yes. You read that right.... $12.50.... Let us repeat:
The cost of each digital publication is attractively priced at $12.50
WOW!!!
And many of these contain more than one design, or variations on a theme.....
At these prices, you simply can't go wrong!
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I have some additional questions?
We hope that this brief section has answered many of your questions. This is a "Frequently Asked Question" section. It is not meant to cover everything, just some of the more commonly asked things.....
Here are some links that will offer further information for you:
Should you have any additional questions, feel free to phone Dr. Steve Rittner at 617-267-3824. I am very accessible and I enjoy chatting with folks.
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