Bloomhaven

The Bloomhaven School of Floralcraft & Artistry is a work-study program designed for teens in foster care throughout Charleston and the Lowcountry to learn floral design led by Sara Skinner. Students are immersed in a variety of flowers every week, gaining hands-on job experience working with Sara on real weddings, learning the fundamentals of balanced design, budgeting, and techniques essential to starting a career in the event industry when they leave care.

Bloomhaven School of floral design

our work is about more than just throwing weddings and parties. we’re fostering a love of floral design through teaching. introducing bloomhaven!

The Bloomhaven School of Floralcraft & Artistry is a brand new work-study program created for teens living in group foster care in Charleston, SC to learn floral design taught by Sara Skinner. Students aged 13-22 are immersed in a variety of beautiful flowers every week, learning how to make bouquets, bud vases, wreaths, and more, with most of their arrangements being donated to retirement homes and hospices around Charleston. Lots of students like to keep their masterpieces on display so we leave it up to them.

We’re leading the way in creating job opportunities for teens living in foster homes as they prepare to leave care.

Younger students learn basic floral design skills at our free weekly classes taught at various group homes in Charleston, while our older college-aged students have the opportunity to join our team for a season or two in the same capacity as our interns. They gain real-life job experience (and paychecks!) working on weddings and in the studio leading to better employment opportunities when they leave foster care.

As we develop the program into a proper non-profit, our goal is to provide graduates with guaranteed job placements, ongoing community support, and assistance in securing or furnishing their first homes. Stay tuned for ways you can help!

Charleston, SC hosts around 4,000 weddings per year and sadly about 90% of the flowers go straight into the garbage afterward. But we’re changing that with Bloomhaven by using leftover wedding flowers in classes every week! Students practice what they’re learning by refashioning leftovers into smaller bouquets and arrangements, which we share with residents at the Daniel Pointe Retirement Community and others around Charleston.
We’re also gifted with fresh flowers from our friends at Charleston Wholesale Florist and Aperio Farms enabling the kids to learn how to handle and process fresh flowers.
It’s a win all around!
Younger students learn basic floral design skills at our free weekly classes taught at various group homes in Charleston, while our older college-aged students have the opportunity to join our team for a season or two in the same capacity as our interns. They gain real-life job experience (and paychecks!) working on weddings and in the studio leading to better employment opportunities when they leave foster care.
As we develop the program into a proper non-profit, our goal is to provide graduates with job placements, ongoing community support, and assistance in securing or furnishing their first apartments.
- Donate your wedding flowers! Florists, brides, and planners in Charleston, please contact us below to coordinate the pick-up of your leftover flowers during breakdown or the following day.
- Sponsor Wish List items for Landmarks for Families, formerly the Charleston Orphan House, where we teach our weekly classes
- Sponsor supplies for our students. Contact us below or simply call Charleston Wholesale Florist to pay for fresh product for us one week!
- Do you have a career in the hospitality industry you’d like to share with our youth? Maybe you’re a chef at a catering company or run a print shop? Talk to us about work placement or hosting an intern.
- Volunteer to teach a class or invite the kids to a “field trip” to your business! We’d love to introduce students to all kinds of career paths and job opportunities in hospitality. Contact me below and tell me your idea!
- Stay tuned for more opportunities to get involved by joining our newsletter (we’ll eventually start one… someday).
Classes are completely free! Our instructors donate their time and our flowers are leftovers after events or donated by Aperio Farms or Charleston Wholesale Florist.
We would be thrilled to teach a class at your group home or foster program. Sara is CPI & TFA certified and working on CASA certification to be able to best serve our students, especially those dealing with trauma or past abuse. Please contact us below to talk more.
Students ages 18-25 are welcome to join our upcoming Summer Program starting June 2025. Classes will be taught Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00am -2:00pm with lunch breaks at 12:00pm. Transportation assistance is available.
inquire below for details!