For several years we've run design classes in the summer months. We charge $29.95 per. class and (they take home the flowers arr.) and it runs for 4 weeks. The class starts out with about 6 - 8 and usually end up at 4 or so. Most are "garden club" type ladies, but we usually seem to find one a year that we can employee. If they do good we then ask them to attend a "design school" and some do and some don't. We've found several designers over the last 10 years that way. We even sent one to desgin shcool and took $20 a week out of her pay until complete with a 2 year employement agreement.
Downside, we've lost some of them to "competitors" so we send them a "fully" trained designer....................and they know all of our trade secrets. All of the trades in the US are suffering, no-body wants to learn the trades anymore, everybody wants alot of money, no-supervision, or supervisory positions and pay for 40 hr week but work 20. But, we're plugging along.