Every single petal has to be perfect. Points are deducted for brown or wilted areas. This is just one of many potential stressors Nicolaus Peters has to deal with. A lot is at stake – after all, the 54-year-old Berliner will represent Germany at the Floristry World Cup in England from Thursday. “This is the high point of my professional life,” he told the German Press Agency in advance.
In 2008, Peters already became German Florist Master. He doesn’t have a flower shop where you could spontaneously pick up a bouquet for your mother-in-law. He works differently: He supplies his customers directly from the workshop in his home in Schöneberg. Peters is also preparing for the World Cup there.
Peters was enthusiastic about the job right from the start. “In fact, I grew up under the tying table at my mother’s flower shop,” he says. “I’ve wanted to be a florist since I was a kid.” Learn something different, he used to hear – and so he took a detour and trained as a gardener. But the passion for flowers remained, so that he finally trained as a florist. “The fascination for me is that I’m working with something living and ephemeral, which is only beautiful for three or four days, and then withers.”
20 countries represented
According to the organizers, 20 countries are represented at the world championship of the best florists in Manchester – the title contenders come primarily from Europe and Asia, but also from Colombia and Canada. Only five finalists make it to the final on September 9th. First place is worth 15,000 pounds (about 17,500 euros).
Even if taking part is an honor in itself, it is also a financial question. He does get the participation fee for free, which is at least 12,000 euros. But the rest is not irrelevant either. “All together I’ll put about 40 to 50,000 euros into participating in the World Cup,” he says. If he gets the title – or even a good placement – it would be a boost for his career. After that he would probably be unable to save himself from requests for floristry seminars all over the world.
The Association of German Florists is absolutely convinced of Nicolaus Peters. “He is a fantastic, creative floral designer, a concentrated technician and craftsman who sets innovative impulses, and we are convinced that we are really well positioned with him,” praises the President of the Association, Klaus Götz. “He inspires and motivates the international floristry world.”
