Dr. Solomon Leong

Dr. Solomon Leong, AIFD, PFCI, CFD

SOLOMON BLOEMEN is the design studio owned by award winning floral designer Dr. Solomon Leong. Here at SOLOMON BLOEMEN we provide expert floral consultation and design services ranging from big events, such as weddings and corporate occasions, to small couture items such as bouquets and corsages.

Floral services provided by SOLOMON BLOEMEN are artistic, bespoke, and distinctively original. Throughout the years, Dr. Leong’s aesthetic approach to floral designs has won him a wide spectrum of clientele ranging from the social elite and celebrities to professionals with eclectic tastes.

Dr. Solomon Leong also provides floral design lessons for those who are interested in designing with flowers. Courses are comprehensive and class sizes are usually small. Serious learners and hobbyists are all welcome.

Influenced by the English garden style and the European flower arranging ethos, the work of the Hong Kong based floral designer Dr. Solomon Leong have been described as ‘extraordinary’ and ’striking’ by international media such as the BBC.

Competitions have formed an important part of Dr. Leong’s professional life. In 2019, Dr. Leong represented Hong Kong to compete in the FTD World Cup, the world’s most prestigious floral competition held every four to six year. At the same year, he has won the Leeds Castle flower festival designer award at the castle’s 900th anniversary. In 2006, 2008, and 2014 he was awarded the Gold Medal and the Best Floral Arrangement Award at the world renowned Royal Horticultural Flower Show at Chelsea in London, UK. At the same show, he has also won the Gold Medals for 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and Silver Gilt for 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2018.

In 2014, 2015 and 2016 he was invited to be one of the leading international designers at the World Flower Garden Show in Nagasaki Japan, where he won Gold medal for both years. At the same show he also won a series of awards including the ‘Best Use of Colours Award’ (2014), ‘Best Innovative Design Award’ (2015) and ‘Best in Show Award’ (2015).

As well as competitions, Dr. Leong is also an active floral demonstrator who has demonstrated regularly at the Hong Kong Flower Show and other locations both locally and abroad. In 2019, his footsteps are all over the world. He was invited to become artist-in-residence at Aargauer Kunsthaus, Switzerland where he participated in the ‘Flowers to Arts’ exhibition. And at the same year, he was also invited as the featured international designer at FleurEx, the UK most prestigious industry show by the British Florist Association. And he was also the sole representative from Hong Kong at 2019 Fleuramour at Belgium.

He presented floral art demonstrations in the Putrajaya Malaysia International Flower Show ‘Flora’ in 2011, and in the Singapore Garden Festival in 2012 and Leeds Castle Flower Festival in the U.K. in 2017, 2018 and 2019. He was the feature designer for the AIFD symposium in 2017 in Seattle and also the 18th China Horticultural Expo in 2018, as the sole representative from Hong Kong.

As a doctor of philosophy in cultural studies, Solomon’s extensive knowledge of cultures and history in relation to floral art has turned him into a successful commentator of floral designs. He has been interviewed by media such as the BBC, TVB, the Radio Television Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Economic Journal as well as the South China Morning Post, amongst many others. Cosmopolitan Bride Beijing named him ‘one of the 50 influential Chinese voices in the wedding world’.

His unique approach to floral styles and aesthetics has made him a regular contributor in fashion and lifestyle magazines such as Elle, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire, both in Hong Kong and China. In 2010, His works were featured in the prestigious Floral International Biannual 2010/11, 2014/15 and 2015/16 which showcases the most creative floral designers around the world. In 2010, ‘Solomon’s Blooming Chic’ was published in Chinese. ‘Secrets of Flowers’, the bi-lingual book which Dr Leong as author, floral designer and photographer of all his floral designs, was published in 2016 Spring.

Dr. Leong is the director of SOLOMON BLOEMEN bespoke floral design studio, a renowned bespoke design studio based in Hong Kong providing expert floral services for a distinguished clientele. Since 2012, he has been repeatedly appointed as the artistic consultant for various prestigious shopping mall and hotels in Hong Kong including ELEMENTS, MGM and Shangrila, specializing in bringing cutting-edge floral designs into the retail environment.

Dr. Leong is a member of the AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers), in which he is also an international representative for the South West regional chapter and the liaison officer for the Society of the Chinese members of AIFD. He is a Professional Floral Communicator – International (PFCI), the World Flower Council (Hong Kong Chapter), the Royal Horticultural Society and an honorary member of the Good Florist Guide UK. He is the technical advisor for Employees Retraining Board HKSAR. He is also the Honorary Advisor for the Hong Kong Flower Club (an affiliated club with NAFAS under the region of London and Overseas) and President of the Hong Kong Association of Flower Arranging Societies. He serves as Vice Chairman of the World Floral Culture Designers Association (WFCDA) and as Professional Consultant to the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ).

Selected credentials

Positions

• Director at SOLOMON BLOEMEN Bespoke Floral Designs Studio
• Professional Consultant, Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ)
• Member of the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD)
• International representative, South West Regional Chapter AIFD
• Liaison Officer, the Society of the Chinese members of AIFD
• Professional Floral Communicator – International (PFCI)
• Honorary member of the Good Florist Guide UK
• Member of the Royal Horticultural Society
• Technical Advisor of Employees Retraining Board HKSAR
• Honorary Advisor of Hong Kong Flower Club
• President of the Hong Kong Association of Flower Arranging Societies
• Advisor of the World Flower Council Hong Kong Chapter
• Member of the World Association of Flower Arranging Societies
• Member of the Ikebana International Society
• Vice Chairman, World Floral Culture Designers Association (WFCDA)
• Artistic Consultant at ELEMENTS
• Artistic Consultant at Island Shangri-La Hotel, Hong Kong
• Artistic Consultant at MGM Cotai, Macau

Awards

Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, London

• 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018 — Silver Gilt Medal Award
• 2006, 2008, 2014 — Gold Medal Award and Best Flower Arrangement Award
• 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 — Gold Medal Award

Hong Kong Flower Show

• 2006 — Grand prize for design excellence (for HK Flower Club)
• 2007 — Special prize for design excellence (for HK Flower Club)
• 2008 — Special prize for unique feature (for HK Flower Club)
• 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019 — Special prize for design excellence (for SOLOMON BLOEMEN)
• 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 — Grand prize for design excellence (for SOLOMON BLOEMEN)
• 2025, 2026 — Gold Medal for design excellence

Fusion Flowers International Designers of the Year

• 2014 — Silver Prize, FREE CHOICE Category
• 2014 — Bronze Prize, CIRCLES Category

World Flower Garden Festival, Huis Ten Bosch, Japan

• 2014 — Gold Medal and the Best Use of Colours Award
• 2015 — Gold Medal, Best in Design Innovation, and the Best of the Show Award

Korean International Horticulture Show

• 2026 — Best Use of Colour Award

• 2019 — Leeds Castle Flower Festival Designer Award

Judging

Singapore Garden Festival

• Junior/young adult section, 2006
• Junior/young adult section, 2012

Hong Kong Flower Show

• Western flower arranging, 2009, 2010, 2012–2018
• Western flower arranging (students category), 2011

• World Flower Garden Festival, Huis Ten Bosch, Japan 2018
• AIFD PFDE Evaluator 2018, 2019
• Shenzhen Exhibition Cup 2018, 2019
• Shenzhen Flower Council 2019

Workshops

• 2006–2013 Hong Kong Flower Club
• 2008 Hong Kong World Flower Council
• 2008, 2012 Pui Wah Flower arranging academy (Macau)
• 2009 Capel Manor design group (UK)
• 2010 Capel Manor design group (UK)
• 2011 Woodford London design group (UK)
• 2012 Southern Demonstrators design group (UK)
• 2012 Stimulus Design Group (UK)
• 2014 Spectrum Design Group (UK)
• 2015 Education and Workshop Series, Guangzhou (China)
• 2016 Masterclass for design group ‘New Visions’
• 2016 British Floral Seminar, Floral Su Shenzhen
• 2016, 2017 International floral workshop for UK: Focus 2000
• 2016 Floral Master Class at Park Hyatt Shanghai
• 2017 Lower Kingswood Evangelical Free Church, Tadworth UK
• 2017 Vanguard Floral Design Group, Kent UK
• 2017 International Class for NFD, Fukuoka Japan
• 2021 Hong Kong Association of Flower Arranging Societies, ‘Floral Feast’

Exhibitions

• 2002–2019 Hong Kong Flower Show
• 2007–2010, 2012, 2017 Guangdong Flower Council exhibition
• 2007 NAFAS national show, Harrogate
• 2008–2017 World Flower Council Winter Exhibition Hong Kong
• 2008 World Flower Council Silver Jubilee Exhibition Macau
• 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017 NFD annual exhibition, representing Hong Kong
• 2011 Putrajaya Malaysia International Flower Show ‘Floria’ representing Hong Kong
• 2011 World Association of Flower Arranging Societies Boston World Show, representing Hong Kong
• 2012 Singapore Garden Festival International Designers ‘Web of Life’
• 2014–2016 World Flower Garden Show, Nagasaki, Japan Honorary Exhibition
• 2014 WAFA World Flower Arranging Show Dublin, representing Hong Kong
• 2014 Guest and Feature Exhibitor, Flower@Oxford
• 2005–2012 Asian Floral Art exhibition Hong Kong
• 2016 Feature design at TangShan International Horticultural Exposition, China
• 2016–2017 Hong Kong Association of Flower Arranging Societies, ‘Ode to Autumn’
• 2017 World Association of Flower Artist, Barbados
• 2017 Leeds Castle Flower Festival
• 2018 Leeds Castle Flower Festival
• 2019 ‘Flowers to Arts’, Aargauer Kunsthaus
• 2019 Leeds Castle Flower Festival
• 2019 Fleuramour

Demonstrations

• 2002–2019 Hong Kong Flower Show
• 2005–2011 Asian Floral Art exhibition Hong Kong
• 2007–2010, 2012, 2017 Guangdong Flower Council Exhibition
• 2008–2017 World Flower Council winter exhibition, Hong Kong
• 2008 World Flower Council Silver Jubilee exhibition, Macau
• 2011 Putrajaya Malaysia International Flower Show ‘Floria’, representing Hong Kong
• 2012 Singapore Garden Festival International Designers, ‘Web of Life’
• 2013 International Flower Design Show, World Flower Council Sapporo
• 2014 Flower@Oxford
• 2014 Guest and Feature Educator, World Flower Council Summit, Zagreb, Croatia
• 2015 Dutch Lily Days China, Beijing, China
• 2016 CIFF Guangzhou, China
• 2016 Floral demonstration at Eslite Bookstore
• 2016 World Garden Flower Show, Huis Ten Bosch Japan
• 2017 World Association of Floral Artists (WAFA) World Show, Barbados
• 2017 American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) Symposium, Seattle
• 2017 Leeds Castle Flower Festival
• 2018 18th China Horticultural Expo
• 2018 Leeds Castle Flower Festival
• 2019 ‘Flowers to Arts’, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Switzerland
• 2019 Leeds Castle Flower Festival
• 2019 Naul & Gardening Club, Ireland Dublin
• 2019 FleurEx by the British Florist Association
• 2021 Online demonstration for Institute of Floral Design (IFD) India

Industry publication features

• China Flower and Gardening News 2007
• Floral International bi-annual 2010–2011
• International wedding floral design magazine ‘Fusion Flowers Wedding’ 2010
• Korean international floral design magazine ‘Leaf’ 2010–2018
• International floral design magazine ‘FusionFlowers’ 2012, 2013/2014
• International floral design magazine ‘FusionFlowers’ Wedding Supplement, 2013/2014
• UK international flower arranging magazine ‘The Flower Arranger’ 2012, 2013, 2014 (Autumn and Winter issue)
• FLORA International February/March 2013
• Russian floral design magazine ‘Flowers’, Mar 2013
• Florist and Wholesale Buyer Chelsea Flower Show Special, 2014
• Industry Design Blog ‘Flower Today’
• Florist and Wholesale Buyer (UK) Chelsea 2014 Special Coverage
• Feature Designer Interview, Floral Today (USA), July 2014
• Belgian International Flower Journal ‘Fleur Creatif’ 2015
• International Floral Art, 2014–15, 2016–2017, 2018–2019
• International floral industry magazine ‘Florology’, July 2016
• Japanese international floral design magazine ‘Florist’ (Japan), October 2016
• 花藝目客 Issue 2, 2018
• Artistic Floral Design 2020
• Thursd – with every crisis come opportunity, 29 April 2020
• The Flower Arranger, July 2020
• Thursd – so much to see at SOLOMON BLOEMEN, September 2020
• Creativity, A Global Floral Introspective, October 2020
• Thursd – Gorgeous Helleborus and Anthurium, October 2020
• Thursd – Warm Sunsets in Summer and Glowing Fire in Winter, November 2020
• Thursd – What the Theme Scorched Earth Means to Me, November 2020
• International floral design magazine ‘FusionFlowers’ January 2021
• UK Floral Magazine – 2021 Spring Issue
• Thursd – Doctor Solomon Leong in an Exclusive Floral Interview, October 2021
• UK international flower arranging magazine ‘The Flower Arranger’ 2024 (Autumn issue)