The 2026 edition of Madrid Blooms was truly extraordinary. The central theme, the bold primary colours, red, yellow and blue, the refined curation by Sylvia Bustamante – founder and director of Madrid Flower School and co-founder of Madrid Blooms – the seven exceptionally talented floral artists, and the passionate creative energy of 75 students alongside dozens of leading floral professionals all came together to create something our industry has been longing for for a very long time.
What Is Madrid Blooms?
Madrid Blooms is a cultural and floral event that takes place each January in Madrid, Spain, organised by the leading floral education institution, Madrid Flower School. The core team – CEO Sylvia Bustamante Gubbins, director Daniela Ortiz, production manager Madeleine Rolland, producer Irene Rodríguez de Soto, alongside many team members and volunteers – has developed a unique format.
It's a place where all faces of our industry meet: floral creatives, growers and breeders, trade companies, and education. The program includes a symposium, demonstrations, hands-on workshops, and large-scale installations. Yet it is fundamentally different from a traditional floriculture trade fair, where commerce leads, and creativity follows.
At Madrid Blooms, creative forces take center stage. Floral artists, designers, and florists lead the event. The event feels like a curated museum exhibition of floral art. Over three days, the Palacio de Santa Bárbara was transformed into an immersive floral art space, created entirely by artists and their teams of students.
Alongside the installations, a beautifully curated mini-fair displayed flowers and products from leading industry sponsors, including Hoek Flowers, Decorum Flowers and Plants (whom I proudly represented as a brand ambassador), Alexandra Farms, Rosaprima, Barentsen, and World of Spray Roses, among others. The atmosphere was electric, charged with avant-garde creativity, talent, beauty, and the power of floral art. Madrid Blooms was unforgettable.
The Artists
Curated by Sylvia, the 2026 edition featured some of the world’s most outstanding floral creatives, such as:
- Bryce Heyworth, the face of September Studio, from Sydney
- Mikey Putnam of Rosandich Designs (formerly Putnam Flowers), New York
- Master florist Gregor Lersch, Germany
- Berlin-based floral sculptor Studio Lilo, Germany
- Fine-art floral designer Blue Jasmine Floral, USA
- Floral and event designer Victoria Claesen, USA
- Avant-garde Chilean artist Carolina Spenser of Matagalan Plantae
What made this selection exceptional is that all these designers have succeeded beyond the industry bubble. They have built strong brands recognized and commissioned by the wider public, in fashion, art, and luxury, not only within floriculture trade events. These are creatives shaped by real-life challenges, real clients, and real artistic expectations.
What the Program Was Like
I arrived a day early to set up Decorum’s presence and was warmly welcomed by the Madrid Flower School team. I was especially touched by Carlos, whose kindness and enthusiasm set the tone for the entire event. Wednesday opened with seven inspiring demonstrations by the seven artists, interspersed with generous networking coffee breaks.
Thursday began with a relaxed late networking breakfast (Spaniards truly know how to honor a slower, human rhythm), followed by themed workshops and educational sessions led by each designer. Friday was dedicated to creating large-scale installations inside the historic Palacio de Santa Bárbara. In the evening, celebratory cocktails marked the revelation of the works and the achievements of everyone involved. Saturday opened the palace doors to the public and featured two additional workshops, including one led by garden-style floral designer Holly Chapple, alongside another international guest designer.
It was an intense yet deeply inspiring program. I feel incredibly grateful to have experienced this edition firsthand and to have been invited by Sylvia as a brand ambassador.
September Studio – Bryce Heyworth
Bryce Heyworth, the face of September Studio, is a Sydney-based floral creative with a viral social-media presence. Originally trained as a ceramicist, Bryce has been working with flowers for just six years, yet his rise has been remarkable. He is known for large-scale arrangements using unusual tropical materials, often locally sourced in Australia, displayed in his own handmade ceramic vessels. His work is celebrated for both its movement and impeccable flower care.
For Madrid Blooms, Bryce created a striking, large-scale piece using only clear cylinder vases and a refined selection of extraordinary flowers. The mechanics were beautifully sustainable, just pure composition and balance skill, colour, and artistic expression. His installation was equally bold: a bright yellow, break-dancer-like sculptural form made of Chrysanthemums and lemons. In the evening light, it was simply breathtaking.
Blue Jasmine Floral
Paulina, the creative force behind Blue Jasmine Floral, created a stunning contemporary centrepiece: sculptural and refined, unmistakably her signature style. She worked with exquisite garden roses from Alexandra Farms, botanical lisianthus from Montana, Japanese Ranunculus from Floraprima, and elegant sweet peas. Her installation explored the colour blue in a dream-like fantasy garden filled with layered blue flowers, ferns, and begonia plants by Decorum.
The installation included a seating area, inviting visitors to pause, reflect, and capture a moment within the floral dreamscape.
Carolina Spencer
Chilean-born visionary Carolina Spencer of Matagalan Plantae explored the color red through her unmistakably avant-garde lens. Known for experimental floral sculpture and strong fashion sensibility, Carolina transforms individual flower heads into rotating sculptural forms. Her installation in the entrance hall and staircase area was one of the most theatrical floral works I have ever seen. The rotating elements and dramatic lighting created mesmerizing shadows, turning flowers into moving art.
Her long-standing collaborations with fashion brands and her fearless botanical experimentation made her one of the most influential artists of this edition.
Studio Lilo
Berlin-based Studio Lilo, originally trained as a fashion designer, brings a conceptual and minimal approach to floral art. Her work – often using a single or very intentional material selection – has been featured in Cartier shows, Google events, and museum exhibitions.
For Madrid Blooms 2026, Lilo and her students created a dramatic, conceptual installation using amaranthus and preserved moss. The piece was unsettling, impressive, and visually magnetic, reminiscent of the monumental spider sculpture at the Bilbao museum. It did exactly what great art should do.
Gregor Lersch
The program also honored floral design through master florist Gregor Lersch, who demonstrated traditional techniques that deserve preservation for future generations. An advocate of eco-friendly mechanics, he explored floating arrangements using modern sustainable tools. His two large-scale pieces were technically impeccable and poetically calm.
Beyond his nearly 60 years of experience and multilingual fluency, Gregor charmed everyone with his dry German humor and genuine warmth. Sharing a quiet moment and a small plate of food with him during the busy buffet felt like a gesture of mutual respect – one I will always treasure.
Victoria Clausen
Victoria Clausen, a U.S. floral designer with Ukrainian roots and Sylvia’s former mentor, is a woman of extraordinary stamina and talent. After winning a Green Card lottery, she built her American dream through years of dedication, evolving from wedding floristry into full-scale event design. During her demonstration, Victoria openly addressed the business side of floral art – fair pricing, respect for creative labor, and sustainability. Her arrangements were met with audible awe.
Her installation celebrated yellow in all its glory: a contemporary garden-style environment where a fireplace was embraced by a magnificent arch of forsythia, mimosa, Chrysanthemums, carnations, and amaryllis. On the floor, scattered carnations, amaryllis, lemons, and even salad crops created a poetic tribute to spring and new beginnings. Her work touched my heart deeply, and I made sure she knew it.
Mikey Putnam – Rosandich Designs
My absolute favorite, Mikey Putnam of Rosandich Designs (formerly Putnam Flowers), is a legendary New York-based floral designer and author. For Madrid Blooms, Mikey created a breathtaking floral design of dried grasses, mimosa, alstroemeria, and amaranthus, as well as a deeply atmospheric installation inspired by Dutch dunes, a landscape he has never seen in real life, yet captured perfectly.
Living in Amsterdam, I recognized the textures instantly: grasses, mist, scattered flowers, fallen branches. It was emotional, tactile, and profoundly beautiful. Mikey is also known for his generosity of spirit, including his unforgettable hugs. From him, I learned something essential: the importance of presence, openness, trust, and creating beauty with both hands and heart.
Sylvia Bustamante – Madrid Flower School & Madrid Blooms
Sylvia, originally from Chile, is a journalist and historian by training. After studying floristry in New York, she fell in love with flowers. Together with her husband, Fernando, she moved to Madrid, where she recognised a gap in contemporary floral education. She founded Madrid Flower School, based on sustainability, contemporary aesthetics, and forward-thinking techniques. The school quickly became a hub of progressive floral art, attracting leading international artists and students from around the world.
Madrid Blooms 2026 sold out with over 75 students. Looking ahead, Sylvia plans to grow the event further: a larger venue, an expanded fair, and even more opportunities for talent to shine. I first met Sylvia at the Aalsmeer Trade Fair last November, kindly introduced by Arnold, founder and CEO of Thursd. I was instantly charmed by her elegance, vision, and love for flowers and people.
A Closing Note
I would like to close with a message I sent Sylvia after the celebratory cocktails:
“Sylvia!!! You are incredible! You organized something truly beautiful. This event felt like the beating heart of the floral industry. I feel honored and incredibly lucky to witness so much talent, beauty, and love. Thank you again and again. Congratulations to you and your team. What an achievement!”
Yours sincerely,
Katya xxx
Author & Photography: Katya Hutter Floral Design.
