Recent Highlights

Currently serving as Lead  Floral Designer for Everyday & Event Collections at The English Garden in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Marcela leads concept development and design execution for everyday floral, seasonal collections, and event work. Her role combines creative leadership, trend awareness, retail strategy, and team collaboration while maintaining a strong focus on elevated customer experience and production efficiency within a high-volume shop environment.

• Everyday collections

• Seasonal launches

• Wedding/event collaboration

• Teleflora integration

• Team mentorship

• Trend adaptation

• Production systems/mechanics

In 2025, Marcela was elected to serve as Director-at-Large on the National Board of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD), one of the floral industry’s most respected organizations dedicated to design excellence, education, and professional advancement.

In this leadership role, Marcela contributes to national conversations surrounding floral education, industry growth, member engagement, and the future of professional floristry. Her appointment reflects a career rooted in creativity, service, education, and international industry involvement.

As both a national board member and Past President of the AIFD Southern Chapter, Marcela remains deeply committed to supporting and mentoring floral professionals while helping strengthen connections across the floral community in the United States and beyond.

In 2025, Marcela was selected as part of the prestigious American Grown Flowers design team for the annual First Lady’s Luncheon in Washington, DC,  a nationally recognized event celebrating American-grown flowers, agriculture, and floral artistry.

Working alongside some of the country’s leading floral designers, the team created large-scale floral installations and event décor for one of the floral industry’s most visible and meaningful collaborative experiences. The opportunity highlighted the artistry, professionalism, and teamwork required to execute floral designs at a national level while showcasing the beauty and importance of American-grown flowers.

Participation in the event reflects Marcela’s continued involvement in high-profile floral initiatives that connect design, leadership, education, and industry advocacy.

Marcela proudly serves as a Brand Ambassador for Smithers-Oasis North America, one of the floral industry’s leading manufacturers of floral mechanics, design products, and professional floral solutions.

Through educational presentations, industry events, workshops, and collaborative projects, Marcela helps showcase innovative floral mechanics and practical design applications that support both creativity and efficiency within the floral industry. Her work emphasizes modern techniques, strong foundational mechanics, and real-world solutions for everyday floral design and event production.

As both an educator and active retail designer, Marcela brings a valuable perspective that bridges artistic vision with practical industry application, helping inspire floral professionals across a wide range of design environments.

In early 2026, Marcela collaborated with the Teleflora team at their Los Angeles headquarters as part of the development process for future floral collections and offerings.

Working alongside industry professionals, the experience focused on creating designs that balanced creativity, profitability, replicability, and nationwide floral availability for Teleflora member shops across the United States. The collaboration included product development, styling, and photography within the framework of real-world production and pricing parameters.

As a designer actively working within a Teleflora retail environment, Marcela brought both artistic perspective and practical shop experience to the process, helping bridge elevated design concepts with everyday retail execution.

In 2025, Marcela served as an educational presenter at the AIFD National Symposium in Palm Springs, California, leading the hands-on workshop “Bridal Bouquets Made Easy.”

Sponsored by Smithers-Oasis, the workshop focused on efficient bouquet construction techniques, European-inspired mechanics, and practical methods for creating sturdy, production-friendly bridal designs without sacrificing artistry or style. Participants explored time-saving approaches, structural mechanics, and modern bouquet frameworks designed for today’s wedding and event market.

Known for blending technical knowledge with approachable teaching, Marcela’s educational style emphasizes both creativity and real-world floral application, helping designers build confidence, efficiency, and strong foundational mechanics.

At Gather 2025, the AIFD Southern Chapter’s educational retreat held in Hardinsburg, Kentucky, Marcela presented the hands-on class “Shoulder Corsage Mastery: Creative Floral Techniques.”

The workshop explored innovative approaches to wearable floral design, focusing on mechanics, movement, proportion, and contemporary styling techniques for modern shoulder corsages. Designed to encourage creativity while strengthening technical skills, the class combined practical construction methods with artistic floral expression in an engaging hands-on learning environment.

Marcela’s participation as an educator at Gather reflects her ongoing commitment to floral education, mentorship, and creating accessible learning experiences that inspire both emerging and experienced floral professionals.

Throughout her career, Marcela has presented floral design education and demonstrations to audiences virtually and across the United States and Latin America, combining technical expertise, creativity, and cultural connection through both English and Spanish instruction.

Her bilingual background allows her to connect with a broader floral community while helping make floral education more accessible and engaging for diverse audiences. From hands-on workshops and stage presentations to mentorship and industry programs, Marcela brings an international perspective to floral education while fostering connection and professional growth within the floral community.