If your organization has never considered offering a flower crown making class as a women’s history month activity, you are missing out on an opportunity that will have a lasting impact on your team.
A flower crown-making class is not just an outlet for creative expression, it is equally a wellness activity. According to the Craft Council, studies confirm that making something by hand has many therapeutic benefits. Too much time on technological devices and the fact that we buy almost all of what we need rather than having to make it has deprived us of processes that provide pleasure, meaning and pride.
At a flower crown workshop women people design headdresses using flowers (ideally with faux flowers, so people with allergies can freely participate.) But more importantly, a headdress made with faux flowers can be worn for years after the activity is over, versus only several days if made with fresh flowers.
Every time the person wears their headdress they will remember where, when and why they made it. So this activity is creating a lasting memory.
A flower crown class is the ultimate inclusive activity. Why? It is a fashion accessory that all body shapes, sizes, ages, hairstyles and ethnicities look attractive wearing.
Although it is a group activity, it is highly individualized as each person gets to choose the style of headdress they want to design. And both introverts and extroverts can enjoy doing this together.
And, in case you’re wondering: men, who are often excluded from such activities, also enjoy tapping into lesser-used creative, artistic, and feminine sides of themselves for a couple hours to make a headdress. They might make it for themselves or for a favorite woman in their life.
If these are not enough reasons to host a flower crown class, here are six activities you can incorporate to make the activity even more impactful..
1 Display photos of feminine icons from throughout history wearing flowers in their hair (from Cleopatra to Frida Kahlo to Billie Holiday to modern day celebrities). Dedicate a time during the event to talk about the historical contribution of these and other women.
2 The flower most originally associated with International Womens’ Day was the mimosa below. But there are now a range of 10 flowers associated with international Women’s Day. Prepare a handout that explains the attributes of each flower and ask participants to share which flower is most like their personality.
3 In each participant’s chair, place a card with a quote about flowers or creativity. See the example below.
4 Hire a woman-owned business like The Headdress Workshop to host your flower crown event in their spacious venue in Oakland, Ca or the mobile version that they bring to your facility. Include women-owned businesses for other elements of the class e.g. food, gifts, decorations.
5 At the beginning of the workshop, invite a D.E.I. speaker to talk about how we can apply what we appreciate about a garden with a variety of flowers to the workplace with its variety of people.
6 At the end of the event, offer a photo area for group and individual photos. Do a video of each person elaborating on what the headdress making experience was like for her and the significance of the design she chose to make. Not only will these be visually appealing content for your social media platforms, but they will become nice keepsakes for each participant.
Looking for a couple more reasons why a flower-themed event can be valuable to incorporate into your International Women’s Day Activities? Read on.
Traditionally, we give flowers to people in both times of celebration and sadness. While flowers generally evoke feminine energy, they appeal to everyone. Flowers symbolize visual, credible, and caring energy that embraces yet transcends gender.
All female employees should be able to relate to flowers, whether they adhere to the soft girl aesthetic, the radfem or some place in between.
As the poet, Terri Guillemets, said “A flower’s appeal is in its contradictions — so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long in effect.”
Lastly, who wouldn’t love taking home a colorful, creative, and reusable headdress – that you made yourself – to wear again on some special day?
