Marcela López-Vallejo is based in Raleigh, North Carolina and is an Accredited Member and a Certified Evaluator and Judge of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD). 

 

Marcela has 23 years of experience in the floral industry, gained as a floral designer, shop owner, event manager, lead product developer (mass market), and educator. In 2015, she was awarded "South Carolina Designer of the Year". In 2020, Marcela’s work was chosen to be part of the “Artistic Floral Design 2020,” a book that brings together some of today’s most inspirational and creative floral creations from AIFD designers around the world. 

 

In 2021 she was selected by the AIFD Foundation to receive the S.H.I.N.E. scholarship in Product

Development, which allows professional floral designers expand their education and

broaden their career opportunities. Marcela holds the PFCI designation

(Professional Floral Communicators-International) by the Society of American Florists (SAF)

which accredits the best educators and communicators in the floral industry.

 

Marcela collaborates as a Design Director for Smithers Oasis in Mexico-Latin America

and is the President Elect of AIFD's Southern Chapter. She is an Advertising

major with a background in Arts and an MBA in Marketing from Costa Rica Tech.

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In September 2023, Marcela earned the European Master Certification (EMC) 

in Bruges, Belgium. An internationally-accredited floral design educational curriculum

by lead instructor Tomas de Bruyne.