Noel Tribbey, AIFD

A resident of La Costa, CA, Noel is a thirty-five year veteran of the floral industry.  He was the first place winner in the 1990 California Top Ten Designer of the Year competition, and was inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers in 1991.  He has presented at AIFD National Symposium and served as South West Regional President.  He most recently served as a member of the AIFD National Membership Committee.

As owner of his own floral event and consulting company, Noel creates stunning florals and Christmas decor for hotels, casinos and private residences.  He is in high demand for his freelance design services with interior design, wedding, and corporate events.  Noel also enjoys inspiring customers as a merchandising and display consultant, and has worked in that capacity for Shinoda Design Center for the past fifteen years, helping to create the exciting end cap displays in both the Santa Ana and San Diego stores.

Noel has applied his talents to Sweepstakes winning Rose Parade floats and served for fifteen years as a member of the floral design team for the Academy Awards.

Anthony Alvarez, AIFD, CCF

Anthony is an avowed design junkie, frequently taking inspirations for his floral creations from fashion, sculpture, painting and his favorite architecture.  Tony, as he is known to his friends has a formal education from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Ornamental Horticulture.  He brings this training and nearly thirty years of experience working in many facets of the floral industry to work every day.  Tony has a teaching credential from the Ikenobo School of Ikebana and credits this art form with his ability to reduce a design to its essence with respect to negative space, line and focal emphasis.

Tony and his wife Debbie Alvarez AIFD are co-owners of a successful wedding event business called Floral Phenomenon based in Ventura, California.  Tony also serves on the board of directors for the California State Floral Association and is a past president and educator for the group.  He is a founding member of the California Certified Florist (CCF) program which seeks to educate florists in design basics and nomenclature and is one of the first organizations to be recognized as an accredited educational pathway provider for AIFD candidates.   Tony is passionate about design education and is a proud member of the 358 Design team based in Vancouver, BC.  Members of this talented international group routinely present design programs and create memorable floral events all over North America.

Matt Wood, AIFD

Born and raised in a small town in Mississippi, Matt Wood, AFID has long been inspired by the lush natural scenery and rich graceful heritage of America’s Southern states.  He is particularly moved by the seasons of the year, which mark not only the glorious changes in the physical world but moments of our lives as well.  To talk with Matt, one soon learns that his personal mission has long been to bring the field of permanent botanical into a new light…. For individuals to see them as another way to express a love of the flora and fauna that surround each of us.

Matt is an exceptional designer, his incredible sense of color and texture, combined with his ability to breathe life into the same permanent botanicals he spends so much of his time creating in factories around the world is simply unparallel… When designing, he gently turns the flower’s head to face the light source and flexes the leaves as if they have just received a long, cool drink of fresh water.  All these special touches result in floral designs that may fool even the most avid of gardeners.

Matt is Creative Director for Winward International, the premiere manufacturer and distributor of handmade permanent botanicals and seasonal décor and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.