80 Friday, September 6, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS GOT A QUESTION? BACK PAGE Israeli Florist Continued from Page 96 Call the Jewish Information Service The noted designer adds the finishing touches to his Interflora World Cup entry. 967-HELP Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. In cooperation with these Jewish Welfare Federation member agencies: • Fresh Air Society •Hebrew Free Loan Association •Jewish Community Center •Jewish Community Council •Jewish Family Service •Jewish Federation Apartments •Jewish Home for Aged •Jewish Vocational Service and Community Workshop •Midrasha—College of Jewish Studies •Resettlement Service •Sinai Hospital •United Hebrew Schools h cording to his interest and needs. Gil maintains contact with former students by holding monthly floral club meetings to discuss new ideas and techniques. In the last three years, Gil has taught 200 students. In 1982, he published The Living Flowers, a glossy, coffee-table book illustrating his lifelong interest in floral arrangements, with color photographs and explanatory text. Today, Gil's floral ar- rangements are found in the Israeli president's home or at special embassy affairs. Participating in the 1985 Interflora World Cup repre- sented a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Gil. It was a chance to grow and learn, to offer his own unique insight and creativity within an in- ternational forum. Gil explains, "I see myself as a winner just be being here. I was willing to take on the great expense of the trip and the competition because I see myself as a cultural emissary. I will be able to bring back to Israel the newest trends and ideas from the world's greatest floral designers." • Preparing for the Interf- lora took time and effort, and posed unique problems. Six months prior to the contest, Gil received a booklet outlin- ing the five known events. The sixth would be a sur- prise. Each event offered a different theme and specific requirements and limitations as to size, materials, flowers or fruits. Gil spent . six months in a creative whirlwind, plan- ning, sketching and design- ing his response to each event: "Table Design," "Bri- dal Bouquet," "This is My Country," "Flowers, Fruits and Plants," and "FTD's 75th Anniversary." Many potential problems were anticipated and ac- comodated. Realizing that fresh flowers are not allowed through customs, Gil sent In- terflora a list of all the fresh flowers he would need for each event. He prepared himself for working with American spe- cies whose properties would be different from Israeli varieties. "American orchids, for example, are stiffer and less pliable than Israeli or- chids," he explains. Before coming to Detroit, the Gils flew to California to find figs, grapes and pomegra- nates that would be similar to the Israeli varieties. Once here, he visited greenhouses and flower warehouses, searching for last minute additions. The Interflora World Cup ran from Sunday, Aug. 18, until Thursday Aug. 22, and coincided with the FTD Florists Conference held the same week. Yossi and Shifra planned on spending Sunday through Tuesday at Ford Auditorium in their assigned booth, practicing and making final preparations for Wed- nesday's contest events. Mira Eisenberg would act as their interpreter. But Tuesday brought catastrophe. When Eisenberg arrived at Ford Auditorium that morning, she found Yossi and Shifra bewildered and upset. Gil's many crates of flowers were missing. For the next six hours, Eisenberg and the Gils tried to replace all the necessary flowers, . fruits and greenery. Eisen- berg directed and coordi-