In Loving Memory – Hilary West NDSF
It is with immense sadness we announce the death of Hilary West – a lady we worked with a lot and who inspired so many.
She didn’t suffer fools gladly; she was strict, and she and her friend, the late great Pat Reves named themselves the Welsh Witch and Bristol Bitch as they knew they could be seen as bossy tyrants!
However, not only was Hilary a super fun person to be with, she never seemed to age – she looked stunningly stylish every time we met - was an ace golfer and had a wicked sense of humour.
But when it came to teaching floristry Hilary had few equals and can rightly claim to have been one of the most inspirational tutors in the UK.
Her skill base was exceptional and as lead tutor at Pencoed, nurtured and developed some of the leading florists of the 80’s and 90’s who then went on to inspire and enthuse the next generation and still are.
Together with Pat, she pioneered a series of private courses, held at Dyfrynn House near her hometown of Barry, and where florists gathered from around the UK for an intensive but exhilarating experience.
And as a demonstrator she travelled the world passing on knowledge with kindness and patience – well most of the time! – and also got involved with special project work including creating the first selection guide for SCI, at the time one of the largest funeral groups in the UK.
As an Ambassador for Smithers Oasis she helped launch many of their new products, was one of the first UK florists to work for the then Flower Council of Holland in order to train florists on the intricacies of the new-fangled Hand Tied (yes, it was only introduced some 40 years ago!) and regularly wrote for Florist Trade Magazine and worked with us on Spring Florist Event.
There was her work with Teleflorist (in its time the second biggest relay company) where she helped launch competitions and with Rob Wallace created selection guides and a Judges programme and her immense support for the Society of Floristry where she helped shaped the standards for the prestigious Diploma’s and set the course for excellence throughout the industry.
And all of this alongside her shop which she opened in Barry over 50 years ago and is still trading today.
Ian Lloyd, one of the industry greats and now Trustee of the Society of Floristry Training Fund, told us "Having taken my mother to Dyfrynn House for a weekend course. I thought I would have time to discover Barry Island and South Wales, but oh no! When Hilary said someone had cancelled it was on her orders I started my career in Floristry.
Ian continued; "Trembling inside as the room had some great florists attending, I was at the back of the class but Hilary took me under her wing and the rest is history. When years later I got the gig to demonstrate at the prestigious Spring Florist Event (SFE) main stage I got a card afterwards saying ‘ well done- not bad for a driver’ ... I can’t tell you how much that meant."
Commenting on Hilary’s passing Florist Magazine Editor, Caroline Marshall-Foster said “It’s easy to write off the oldies as ‘has beens’ but, having worked with Hilary for so long, I can hand on heart say that she was one of the most influential educators in our industry and I am proud to have known her.
It is thanks to people like her we have such a strong base of skills and techniques that are used today and the foundation for so many. Yes, she could be scary – she took me to task on a couple of occasions! - but oh boy she could be so kind as well and the industry was lucky to have her.”
If you have a memory of Hilary feel free to leave a comment over on our Facebook page - it would be lovely for her friends and family to see how people felt about her and how far her influence went.
