Flower Arranging Workshop at Stems Brooklyn: $150 Class

Stems Brooklyn teaches public flower arranging workshops in its shop at 96 Knickerbocker Avenue, Unit 109, on the corner of Thames Street in Bushwick. The Stems Signature workshop is $150 for two hours, held on weekend mornings, and the ticket covers every stem, a free pair of shears and a glass of wine or zero-alcohol kombucha. A one-hour Bud Vase Experience is $50.

Stems Brooklyn describes itself as a woman-owned and operated flower shop that has been in business since 2013. The same room that sells bouquets, dried flowers and plants all week turns into a classroom on workshop days. The shop is open daily from 11 am to 5 pm, so you can drop in on any afternoon, look at the buckets and decide whether you want to book a seat.

The storefront is at 96 Knickerbocker Avenue, Unit 109, Brooklyn, NY 11237, on the corner with Thames Street. Workshop coordinator Shannon handles bookings and private groups, and reviews on the shop's site mention both Shannon and designer Amanda by name as the people who run the sessions.

Stems works from a short list of values that you can taste in the class. It buys local and seasonal flowers whenever it can, composts its waste and never uses floral foam, which it calls a single-use petroleum plastic. The shop also says that about 80 percent of cut flowers sold in America are imported, and it presents its workshops as one small way of changing that.

The Stems Signature Flower Arranging Workshop is the main public class. It runs two hours, from 11 am to 1 pm on most dates, and teaches the foundations of floral design, including basic flower care, the principles of design and color theory. The shop supplies the tools and seasonal flowers, and you take home a full arrangement. Price is $150 per guest, and the ticket includes materials for one person.

Every upcoming Signature date is a Sunday. The shop lists November 8 at 11 am to 1 pm and again at 2 to 4 pm, November 22 from 11 am to 1 pm, December 6 from 11 am to 1 pm and December 13 from 11 am to 1 pm. Pick the date at checkout, because the booking page sells each date as its own option.

The Bud Vase Experience is the lighter choice at $50. It is held once a month, with November 22 and December 20 both scheduled from 2 to 3 pm. You get one hour of open studio to build a signature bud vase from five seasonal stems with a Stems florist nearby. The design itself takes about 20 minutes, and you may bring your own drinks and snacks.

Every Signature guest receives a complimentary pair of shears, 20 percent off all in-store shopping and a glass of wine or zero-alcohol kombucha from neighbors Henry's Wine and Spirit and BKE. Bud Vase guests get the 20 percent discount for that day only. The discount is a practical reason to buy a second bunch of stems on your way out.

The booking rules are strict. The ticket includes materials for one guest only, all sales are final and non-transferable, and workshops run regardless of weather. Arrive 15 minutes early to get settled, and wear something you do not mind getting leaf litter on. Masks are optional. If your plans are uncertain, this is not the class to book on impulse.

Each workshop also reserves one scholarship space at 50 percent off for someone who needs financial assistance, with priority for BIPOC and QTBIPOC applicants. Ask by email to shannon@stemsbrooklyn.com. It is first come, first served, so ask early if you need it.

Expect a small room, a shared worktable and buckets of whatever is in season. In autumn the shop highlights mums, dahlias, roses, solidago, snapdragons and fall eucalyptus, and the instructors build the lesson around those. Because there is no foam, you learn to build structure with stem placement and a heavy vase, which is the technique you will use at home.

The people who book are friends, couples and the occasional bachelorette group. One reviewer on the shop's site describes coordinating a private workshop for her bachelorette weekend, and another says she left with tips for continuing the hobby at home. Private parties go through a separate private-workshop page rather than the public calendar.

Skip the Signature class if you want a professional certificate or a long course. This is a two-hour introduction, and the shop is not a school. The class is built for people who want to leave with a good-looking vase and a few habits, such as cutting stems at an angle, stripping leaves below the waterline and building from the largest flowers outward. If you want credentials, a Chelsea school such as FlowerSchool offers longer programs at a higher price. Choose Stems for the neighborhood setting, the price and the foam-free method, not for formal training.

Walk north on Knickerbocker Avenue and you reach Maria Hernandez Park within a few blocks, a good place to set your vase down on a bench and photograph it in daylight. The Bushwick Collective street art on Troutman Street is a longer walk, about a mile. From the L train, you can walk from Jefferson Street station to the shop in roughly 15 minutes.

Your take-home arrangement is the main thing to protect. Carry the vase upright with both hands, keep it out of direct sun on the way home, and change the water every day or two.

Practical Notes: Stems Brooklyn, 96 Knickerbocker Avenue, Unit 109, Brooklyn, NY 11237. The shop is open daily from 11 am to 5 pm. Tickets are sold at stemsbrooklyn.com under Workshops. Use Karpo APP to find a coffee stop or lunch near Knickerbocker Avenue before or after your slot, since the class itself includes only a drink.