Creativity

Thanks to the crash of the high-tech industry a few decades ago, Dalia Bortolotti, EMC, freelance floral designer and educator from Carp, Ont., Canada, shifted her professional path from the telecommunication industry to floral design. She reinvented herself within the floral industry and began teaching others how to run their own businesses. After years of owning a brick-and-mortar shop, she opened a home-based studio. Her passion for continuing education paved her path as an international educator and self-professed lifelong floral student. By being open to new possibilities and continually evolving, her floral designs are an homage to her out-of-the-box design style.

Have you ever had a mentor, and or do you mentor others now? In what ways does having or being a mentor foster and inspire creativity in you?

My mentor is Belgian Master Designer Tomas De Bruyne. I began mentoring people on the business side of the industry for years before beginning to mentor individuals on the educational side. Because of being a mentor and now a teacher, I am constantly pushing myself to hone my skills to stay sharp and ahead of my students. Education is one of those gifts that keeps on giving. By continuing my education, I am able to pass on what I’ve learned to others, on both the educational and creative sides.

In Canada, we have four distinct seasons. A lot of my inspiration comes from nature. With the change of each season, I see changes of color, changes in the landscape, changes in what is growing or not growing. Every season, I see something new. I create based on the seasons and what it renews in me at that moment. Nature reinvents itself, and this awakens my creativity. When the snow begins to melt and the green comes back into the garden, I begin to design with the same delicate flowers. During the summertime, I create with bold, robust blooms. It’s as if nature and I become one mind.

Where do you look for inspiration outside of nature and the floral industry?

Traveling! When I go to Mexico, for example, I see unbelievable vibrant colors used within its culture. It’s the same in India.

The colors are everywhere – in the clothes people wear, the art, the flowers, the marketplaces and the food. In Europe, on the other hand, I am attracted to the aesthetics, styles and different use of colors. I have had the privilege to be able to filter all these influences into my design aesthetics. The diversity is so impactful on my creativity.

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