By Cindy Anderson AIFD, CFD
As a fulltime freelancer, I have the pleasure of working for an event company that has had the contract to provide floral décor for the Super Bowl and The Tour Championship Golf, both for Fed Ex. Although working these high-profile events is exciting, as far as I’m concerned, it is just corporate work that I have the opportunity to produce. I did, however, get tickets to go to the Super Bowl when we were in Houston and that was a nice side benefit!
The way that booking these big jobs works is that event companies have their private and corporate clients. They are contracted by a sporting events company for their corporate clients, in this case, the corporate client is FedEx. I have participated with them for Super Bowls in Phoenix, Houston, Minneapolis, Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Which means I have worked in heat, sand, ice and snow, and fog! It all comes with the territory. We have done events in bars, restaurants, wedding venues, libraries, golf clubs, car museums, hotels and even a farm. The format for their events is usually the same from year to year, however the themes and styling of the events changes for each event.
As an AIFD® member, I have to say that most of the work we do is not always AIFD® “over the top”, sometimes it just has to be pretty. It is driven by the client’s request, I have little to no input as to the flowers or design as I come in later in the process. Just like any other freelancing job, we are there to do the work. I am trusted to do the best work I can do within the parameters given, and I am often called upon to work out a particular idea or mechanic that was not clear to the event company. As in “this is the look we want, how do we do it with limited time and materials?”
When we travel to these destinations we have to pre-ship as many of the materials and tools that we might require to complete the look, and we often shop locally for the added materials.
I often look up AIFD® members to help facilitate the procurement when possible. When the event is over, we usually sell or give away props that may have been built on-site to create the look.
This kind of work takes a team effort, and we have a pretty good team. We often hire other local designers or production staff to help produce, set up, and strike the events. Some years the event decor is more involved than others and we need a few more hands.
It is really nice to see different parts of the nation and meet new people. Often, it’s the inside of airports and hotel workrooms, but new nonetheless! I can tell you flying home on Super Bowl Sunday is the best. I usually experience the least crowded flights that day!
I tend to work approximately 100 days a year and that’s enough for me. Freelancing has been my life for the past 9+ years and I do enjoy the variety of work and the travel. I also enjoy the time off between bookings.
