Around 1,800 florists from across Spain took part in the 29th Mercademostraciones fair organised by Mercabarna-flor and held on 11 November. The fair is a singular opportunity in Spain for flower sector professionals (wholesalers, florists, floral art schools and more) to meet and hear about the latest trends and novelties in flower fashion and home and store decorations for the Christmas season.
The people in charge of showcasing the new trends were once again Spanish floral art schools. The nine schools involved each presented a floral design for Christmas which had one thing in common: they were all minimalist, classic compositions featuring a predominance of elements from nature (pineapples, pine branches, nuts, etc.) and a return to the Christmas colours of lore (red, white, gold and cream).
A new event, held in the morning, saw six of the schools run themed workshops on Christmas ornamentation (candles, baubles and centrepieces with dry flower arrangements, among others) to give florists ideas on offering their customers original works at a good price. The workshops proved very popular, with close to 90 florists taking part.

Participants in the AEFI Spanish Floral Art Cup presented their works
The afternoon saw a large floral demonstration featuring the florists who will compete for the Spanish Floral Art Cup sponsored by the Spanish Association of Interflora Florists (AEFI). The participants designed original Christmas works using plants and a floral composition based on a free-choice theme, which was their letter of introduction to the Cup. The event drew around 300 florists and ended with the floral compositions being raffled among the attendees.

Christmas trees for all tastes
As has become tradition, Mercabarna-flor businesses competed in the Christmas Tree Competition, using their own products to decorate the fir trees provided by the Association of Christmas Tree Growers of Catalonia. Around 20 trees were adorned, some with traditional decorations and others using more innovative ornaments including candle wax, mechanical elements, roots and leaves.
The winning entry in the flower section was by the company Reigmat Flor. Mosimoll took home the prize in the accessories section and Plantas Cámara picked up the award for best decoration in the plant section.

Mercademostraciones 2012 picture gallery at:
http://www.mercabarna.es/mercabarna-flor