OCTOBER 31st 2021 – JURYS INN, HINCKLEY, LEICESTERSHIRE
VISION CONFERENCE 2021
This year our October event will be slightly different than previous years, mainly because this years FleurEx trade show was not possible. We know you will missing all the hustle and bustle, large stands, workshops and group activities, so we’ll be putting that event on in 2022.
Sunday 31st October – a day full of business and inspiration sessions and debate for business minded florists. This starts at 10am so plenty of recovery time from the gala dinner and awards!
Programme
Sunday October 31st 2021
9.00am Welcome & Sign in desk open, sponsor showcase open.
9.30am Tea & Coffee served
10.00am Conference begins – Welcome by BFA Chairman
10.05am British Flowers by Helen Chambers followed by Q and A
11.15am Tea and Coffee
12.00pm Brexit, Covid, supply chains and prices by Nigel Jenny & John Davidson, followed by Q and A
1.00pm Lunch in the restaurant (badge holders only)
2.15pm Trends by Merel van den Burg followed by Q and A
3.15pm Product development for the modern floral consumer by Karen Barnes and Richard Eagleton
4.15pm Wrap up ! Close of business, last tea and coffee before home.
The Vision 2021 conference will be held in the ballroom at Jurys Inn Hotel, Hinckley Island, (minutes from M1, M6, M69) and tickets are £65.00 per person for BFA/IoPF members (plus VAT & booking fee) or £80.00 (plus VAT & booking fee) for Non BFA members.
THE SPEAKERS AND ITINERARY
10.15 Helen Chambers (Evolve LTD) – British Flowers
We’ll begin our day by chatting to Helen about the practicalities of buying British. Looking at seasonality, what is available, what is actually grown in the UK and how we can do more to improve our use of British flowers. Supporting our industry ethically and sustainably whilst also providing quality and professionalism is a discussion we are all looking forward to.
Helen is ideally placed based near to Spalding in Lincolnshire, surrounded by commercial scale flower growers in the hub of the UK’s produce distribution area. Founder of Evolve flowers Helen has worked in Horticulture and Floriculture for the majority of her working life. Her passion and knowledge of British blooms escalated whilst spending five years developing and selling floral and horticultural products to Waitrose from Lincolnshire based grower-packers.
She is passionate about British flowers and with her experience designing horticultural products for the supermarkets and as a formally trained floristry tutor she is keen to share her knowledge with the wider industry, through workshops, consultancy and training services.
12.00 -1.00pm John Davidson (Tom Browns Wholesale) and Nigel Jenny (Fresh Produce Consortium) – Brexit, Covid, supply chains and prices, what to expect from the year ahead.
Nigel Jenney 
John Davidson
There’s no better people than these two to chat with us about the ongoing situation with Brexit and Covid. What are the implications of plant passports, mountains of paperwork and what do we need to look out for in the coming year so we can prepare, plan, order and price properly. We’ll be chatting though the whole lot with plenty of time for questions from the audience.
Nigel Jennys role means that he has insight over the whole UK for all fresh produce importing and exporting. He has years of experience and industry knowledge.
John Davidsons family history is all about flowers and wholesale, and with experience in the financial sector too, he understands the logistics, pricing and supply chain relevant to our specific industry and you, the florist.
1.15 Lunch
2.15-3.15 Merel Van den Burg (Florismartdirect) – Trends
We’ll be talking about the latest exciting trends, products and materials, what to look out for and how to attract your customers using upcoming trends to inspire them and yourself. After all, if you are excited about your work it shows!
As a former florist Merel knows exactly what you need and just how important it is to get that order spot on. She’s in contact with many leading flower growers and she knows the answer to almost every floral question.
Passion-driven, she never stops and thanks to hard graft and enthusiasm for the job, Merel has reached new heights. Just as so many florists like you, it’s through doing what she loves. Her knowledge in trends and the latest floral fashion is well known within the Industry and Florismart Direct, the company she manages with partner Ronald with an enthusiastic team, shows you the latest inspirational products.
Karen Barnes 
Richard Eagleton
3.30 pm Karen Barnes (Karen Barnes Consultancy) and Richard Eagleton (McQueens Flowers LTD) – Product development for the modern floral consumer. Join us as we talk about everything to do with products! Keeping up to date, adapting to changing buying patterns and much more!. It’s so important to make sure that the products we design are what the customer wants so we’ll be chatting about how to achieve that, stay ahead of the game and keep your customers coming back for more!
Karen Barnes has more than 35 years’ experience in the flower industry, sharing her love and passion for flowers with her clients. She has become a leading Floral Interior Designer, Wedding and Event Floral Designer & Planner, Teacher & Coach, Trend Expert & Colourist, Product Development Specialist, Flower Photography Stylist, and International Competition Judge & Presenter.
Karen travels nationally and internationally, working on society weddings, royal events, celebrity weddings in London, New York, Dubai, Mumbai and Turkey. Karen has also worked alongside Master florists in Helsinki.
Richard Eagleton is the CEO of McQueens flowers LTD with specialisms in product development, Luxury and premium consumer brands, Business process improvement, Retail management and operations, Business strategy planning, Vision development and Business growth to name just a few!. Having lived and worked all over the world, Richard brings our industry a well rounded and diverse view of flowers as products.
Package deals available from £120.00
Thank you to our sponsors. Click the logo to read all about them and how they are supporting our Industry and leading the way.
BFA INDUSTRY AWARDS
So instead, this year we do have our BFA industry awards and Vision business conference so that we can all meet safely and benefit from taking part in an event focused on moving forwards and adapting.
Celebrate the best of the best at the awards and then, if we can remember how, dance the night away with friends.
The Jurys Inn, Hinckley is the host venue for both the BFA Industry Awards 2021 and the Vision conference. It’s location in the UK means the Jurys Inn is just 5 minutes’ drive from the M69 and 10 minutes away from the M1 and M6 motorways and just 5 minutes by taxi from Hinckley train station. It offers everything for a weekend of fun with outstanding exhibition facilities, 300 rooms, 2 restaurants, 3 bars, a café, a heated indoor pool, fitness centre and spa.
To book hotel rooms ring 0870 4100 800
Problems booking the hotel ? – email Eleesha at Hinckleyisland_Conference@jurysinns.com
On Saturday night, the scene is set for the sparkling annual Gala Dinner and Industry Awards ceremony, celebrating the cream of the floral crop. Join us to find out who has won the coveted awards as they are crowned the best in their category as voted for by the industry, and in some categories, judged by the panel too.
We also recognise the hard-working level 4 and 5 students as they are presented with their certificates by the BFA Chairman. Black tie attire is optional, and we’d love for you to join the Board and the Chairman at the drinks reception at 19:00hrs.
This is followed at 19:30hrs by a 4-course meal. The evening continues with presentations of all the various awards and concludes with a music and dancing until the early hours.
Rub shoulders and network with the biggest names in floristry, be the first to find out who’s won in the BFA Industry Awards and then dance the night away.
The Gala Dinner will be held in the ballroom at Jurys Inn Hotel and tickets are £65.00 per person for BFA/IoPF members (plus VAT & booking fee) or £80.00 (plus VAT & booking fee) for Non BFA members.
Saturday 30th October
3pm – Check in to Jurys Inn and meet in the bar!
5pm – BFA General meeting.
7pm – Chairman’s Drinks in the Rotunda followed by Gala dinner and Awards ceremony.
Package deals available from £120.00
The luxurious Jurys Inn, Hinckley is the host venue for BFA Industry Awards and Vision Conference. As central to the UK transport networks as can be, the Jurys Inn is just 5 minutes’ drive from the M69 and 10 minutes away from the M1 and M6 motorways and just 5 minutes by taxi from Hinckley train station. It offers everything for a ‘getaway’ weekend. Jurys Inn hotel at Hinckley Island has 362 bedrooms in total, which have all been updated and feature the Jurys Inn DREAM bed it also has 2 restaurants, 3 bars, a café, a heated indoor pool, fitness centre and spa
Hotel Accommodation
PLEASE NOTE ROOM BOOKINGS ARE LIMITED.
Guests to call our Central Reservations on 0870 4100 800 in order to make their bookings.
Guests to quote Code BRIFLO291021 (please special room rates have now closed)
Problems booking the hotel ? – email Eleesha at Hinckleyisland_Conference@jurysinns.com
All guests responsible for settling their own accounts
OTHER HOTELS AVAILABLE
Premier inn, Coventry Rd, Hinckley LE10 0NB tel : 0333 003 1725
Sketchley Grange hotel, Sketchley Lane, Hinckley, LE10 3HU. tel 01455 251133
