THE future looks rosy for this Grimsby teenager as she prepares for a national floristry competition.
Seventeen-year-old Ray-Anna Collins, who recently graduated from Bishop Burton College, with a degree in floristry is set to head to the WorldSkills UK floristry competition at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, where she will be tasked with creating a mystery arrangement – putting her floristry skills to the ultimate test.
Ray-Anna caught her love of flowers and flower arranging from her grandma, who she helped at the market while she was in school, and her interest grew from there.
Ray-Anna entered her first competition at Myerscough College in Preston in June, where she was tasked with designing an arrangement related to a wedding anniversary prior to the competition and a wired shoulder corsage and a modern arrangement while she was there. Ray-Anna said: "I chose the Coral Anniversary, which is 35 years as I thought this wouldn't be a popular anniversary that anyone else would choose.
"It was during an open day at Myerscough so visitors were in and out of the competition room watching us as we were creating our designs.
"I wasn't nervous during the competition, I just saw it as having fun.
"I went to the competition for the experience and ended up coming first on the day."
A few months later Ray-Anna received an e-mail telling her she was through to the finals of the WorldSkills floristry competition at the NEC in Birmingham in November.
Ray- Anna said: "I have now graduated from college so I do not have my tutor to teach me or give any tips so I have been out to a few florists in Grimsby asking if they could give me any training or advice to prepare me for the competition.
"I am very excited about going to the finals and definitely see my future in floristry, its my ambition to one day own my own florist shop."
Ray-Anna currently has her own Facebook page called Crème de la Fleur and has been approached by a local wedding shop to produce a floral display which will be featured in the wedding shops brochure.
Parents, Barbara Lynne and David, said: "We were very proud when she said she was going to enter the competition. We always knew she was capable of succeeding in the contest, but she kept telling us she wasn't in it to win it.
"Since coming first in Preston, Ray-Anna's confidence has really grown and we now look forward to seeing how she progresses in the finals."
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