Nestled on a private farm near the Sam's Club commercial zone in Tianhe District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, a spire building in French church style stands out strikingly. The building features predominantly white walls, with numerous curved structures inside that exude softness and romance. This is Rachel Floral School, quite well-known in the local area.

"In order to refine my floral design skills, I have visited nearly all world-renowned floral art schools. Most of my students have opened mid-to-high-end flower shops, where the unit price of products generally ranges from 800 to 1,000 yuan," said Xu Weiwei, founder of Rachel Floral School.

XuWeiwe

01
Art Graduate Falls in Love with Floristry, Travels Across Countries for In-depth Study

Xu Weiwei’s bond with floristry began with her graduation project in college. She graduated from Huazhong Agricultural University, majoring in Visual Communication, and her graduation project was to design the storefront and brand logo for a flower shop.

At that time, she looked through a large number of domestic and foreign flower shop cases and found that the decorative designs of domestic flower shops suffered from severe homogenization. Most stuck to a style of red roses paired with gypsophila, while stylish and personalized flower shops were extremely rare. From that moment on, the idea of opening a distinctive and trendy flower shop took root in her heart.

"I studied fine arts and have a deep passion for beautiful things, and flowers and plants are the embodiment of beauty. Even watching buds slowly bloom brings me endless surprises," said Xu Weiwei.

After graduation, she officially embarked on her journey of studying floristry. From 2014 to 2024, over a decade, she pursued advanced floral training in South Korea, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Thailand and other countries. She has mastered nearly all floral styles from these regions and also obtained the AIFD floral design certification. 

Her period studying British natural-style floristry in the UK in 2017 stands out as the most unforgettable experience during her studies. Her British floral instructors guided her to observe the growth patterns of plants and comprehend how to interpret the beauty of nature through floral design. It was her first close encounter with garden-style floral arrangements created in real-life garden settings. 

"When wandering around the local town in my spare time, I could see exquisite garden views everywhere. I spotted clusters of various plants growing together, with low-growing small wildflowers stretching freely under the shelter of tall plants. I even saw two rose bushes growing facing each other, as if they were chatting. By carefully observing and feeling the forms of flowers and plants, I gained brand-new creative inspiration," said Xu Weiwei.

While studying floristry, Xu Weiwei kept putting her learning to the test in the market. In 2015, she opened a small 50-square-metre studio.

"To create differentiated advantages, I mostly used imported flowers or rare new varieties, a practice I have kept up to this day," Xu Weiwei explained. She also made special trips to Kunming, Yunnan and other regions to source uncommon floral materials and new plant varieties. "They are not necessarily expensive, but you have to take the time and effort to hunt them down."

Thanks to her outstanding aesthetic taste and exquisite designs, her floral works attracted a large number of clients. Some of them took the initiative to enquire whether she offered floral training courses. Seizing this opportunity, Xu Weiwei founded Rachel Floral School in 2016, focusing on mid-to-high-end floral design training for students who plan to open their own flower shops.

Over the past decade, Xu Weiwei has gradually expanded her school’s operation scale. The campus, which started at merely 100 square meters, was later expanded to 200 square meters and then 500 square meters, and now covers an area of 1,000 square meters.

"I still remember the school only made 2,000 yuan in its first month. Now our average annual revenue stands at around 3 million yuan, peaking at 6 million yuan in our best year," she shared.

02
Original Floral Design Secrets to Help Students Build Mid-to-High-End Flower Shops

Xu Weiwei made a rough calculation that more than 5,000 students from home and abroad have studied under her since she founded the floral school. Most overseas students are overseas Chinese coming from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Canada and other countries. "We even had a student from Myanmar who brought an interpreter to attend classes in Guangzhou," Xu Weiwei said delightedly.

Her original "Rachel Seven-Point Method" is one of the exclusive trade secrets of the floral school’s courses. Over years of teaching, Xu Weiwei found that most students struggled to control bouquet outlines and arrange floral materials properly. For example, they often confused orientations when making spiral bouquets, resulting in lopsided arrangements, bloated and unattractive finished shapes, and frequent shifting of flowers after wrapping. To address these common pain points, she created the exclusive floral technique, the "Rachel Seven-Point Method", which is designed to define the overall outer silhouette of bouquets. It has won wide recognition among students ever since its launch.

This technique divides a bouquet into seven fixed points. Students can arrange floral materials, set spacing and wrapping angles according to these points. The method is straightforward and allows learners to self-check their floral works after class.

Its core concept lies in staggered heights and airy negative space. Flowers at designated points are raised and extended outward, while other positions are moderately tucked inward with blank spaces reserved. This creates a smooth, natural overall shape with rich three-dimensional layers.

《Purple Mist》Rachel Seven-Point Method

Xu Weiwei’s background in fine arts gives her a unique edge in floral color matching, enabling her to use colors boldly and ingeniously. In her opinion, there are no absolute taboos in color coordination.

"Many people think red paired with green looks tacky, but if you lower the saturation of one color—for instance, replacing bright pure red with dark red or rose red—the whole visual effect will take on a brand-new look," Xu Weiwei explained with an example.

She also pays great attention to distinguishing subtle color differences within the same color family. Among pink roses, the Desert Sand Rose carries yellow undertones in its pink hue, the Menta Rose leans toward purple pink, and the Pisces Rose features a soft milky pink shade.

"When creating a purple-toned bouquet, pairing it with purple-hued Menta Roses will deliver a much more harmonious and natural overall look," Xu Weiwei said. Her sharp color perception stems from the systematic fine arts training she received in her early years.

With her careful guidance, many students have launched successful businesses and made their mark in the industry. One graduate from Shaoguan, Guangdong opened a distinctive local flower shop after finishing the courses, and the highest price of the large-scale floral projects undertaken by her reached 100,000 yuan. Many renowned domestic floral designers have also come to Rachel Floral School for advanced training.

"Many of my former students have now become peers walking side by side with me in this industry," Xu Weiwei said with relief.

One student once commented on Xu Weiwei’s works: "Teacher Xu’s floral designs showcase the incredible versatility of floristry. Her Chinese-style arrangements are gentle and grand, while Western-style pieces are elegant and flowing. Both styles feature bright, vivid hues infused with a fresh, natural lightness. Every time I take a close look, I gain new insights and inspiration."

When talking about the future, Xu Weiwei aims to be more than just a floral trainer. She hopes to make further breakthroughs in floral design craft, create more stunning works, pass on the beauty of floristry to more people, and make greater contributions to the floral industry.

(Photo Source: Xu Weiwei)

Source: Florist & Horticulture Special Issue

Editor: Ma Qiang Producer: Qi Wen