Let’s talk about the pricing of Pomanders (aka Kissing Balls), it seems like these range in price more than any other flower arrangement. I decided to post two different pomanders, one with a mix of hydrangeas and spray roses and the other of only spray roses. I then asked florists from around North America what they would charge. Wow, do the prices range greatly!

What do you think? What would you charge for these pomanders?

(designed by Holly Heider Chapple Flowers, photograph on left side by Anne Robert)
Recipe:
3″ Oasis Netted Floral Foam Sphere
24″ – 1″ wide of sheer ribbon
2 Stems of antique green hydrangea
5 Stems of pink spray roses
5 Stems of lavender spray roses
7 Stems of Gomphrena

Holly’s price for this design is $110.00. Let’s see where all the other florists came in at:

Amanda from Alluring Blooms in Wisconsin priced this at $125.00
Amanda mentioned she loves using the netted spheres, big time saver for her designers.

Alexandra from Exquisite Designs in Chicago priced this at $75.00

Peggy and Carol of Celebrations Florals in Oregon priced this at $75.00

Liza of DBI Events in Arlington, Virginia priced this at $75.00

Sherry of Gertie Mae’s Floral Studio in Georgia priced this at $75-95 depending on the season.

Sheri of Blumen Meisters in New Braunfels, Texas priced this at $100.00

Angie of Posh Floral in Dallas, Texas would price this at $70.00

Laurie of Fleurie in Reedley, California priced this at $117.00

Elizabeth of Flowers Talk in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada priced this at $100.00

Pam at Flourish in Kitchener, Ontario priced this at $125.00.

Jessica of Blooms ‘n Blossoms in Georgetown, Kentucky would charge $105.

Adizat of Klassy Kreations Floral & Event Design in Maryland would price this at $80.00.
Adizat would omit the gomphrena due to quality issues and the price of a bunch.

(designed by Bella Fiori)
Recipe:
4.5″ Oasis Netted Floral Foam Sphere
24″ – 1/2″ wide of sheer ribbon
10 Stems (1 bu.) Mambo Spray roses – (each stem has 5-7 blooms)

My (Bella Fiori) original price for this design was $75.00. Let’s see where everyone else priced it:

Amanda from Alluring Blooms in Wisconsin priced this at $55.00

Alexandra from Exquisite Designs in Chicago priced this at $49.00

Peggy and Carol of Celebrations Florals in Oregon priced this at $75.00
They did account for 2 additional stems of mambo spray roses for a total of 12 stems.

Liza of DBI Events in Arlington, Virginia priced this at $50.00

Sherry of Gertie Mae’s Floral Studio in Georgia priced this at $65-80 depending on the season.

Sheri of Blumen Meisters in New Braunfels, Texas priced this at $70.00

Angie of Posh Floral in Dallas, Texas would price this at $50.00

Laurie of Fleurie in Reedley, California priced this at $66.00

Elizabeth of Flowers Talk in Ottawa, Canada priced this at $60.00

Pam at Flourish in Kitchener, Ontario priced this at $80.00.

Jessica of Blooms ‘n Blossoms in Georgetown, Kentucky would charge $70.

Adizat of Klassy Kreations Floral & Event Design in Maryland would price this at $40.00

What do you all think? What would you charge for these pomanders?

Today we start a new monthly series were we share inspiring photos of beautiful designs we stumbled across on facebook!

Daniel Ost

Flowers & Magazine

Blomsterdekrator Norrgard

Karen Tran

Ariella Chezar Design

Ariella Chezar Design

Florali

Matthew Robbins Design

Tenley Young

Jeff Leatham

What do you think of our facebook finds?

Have you visited the UK based flower blog, Flowerona? I met Rona last November while in London and had a lovely visit with her, we had an inspiring chat about blogging ideas. A weekly feature that I really enjoy on Flowerona is her weekly review called Flowerona Reflects.
This week while I was chatting with Chuck I mentioned Rona’s weekly feature and suggested we blog more about what the two of us are working on in the flower world. After-all we both live flower filled lives, right?

This past week I attended a cool wedding showcase in Sonoma, California called The Lab Event. I had a lovely time visiting with Polly of Valley Flora, Marian of Savage Rose and the event hostess Yasmin of Floral Theory.

Floral Design by Savage Rose.

Floral Design by Valley Flora.

Yasmin sent me home with a huge bucket filled with jasmine, ginestra, ranunculus and astrantia and Marian gave me some peonies and roses. Gosh, it feels good to just design for the fun of designing.

Oh, and it’s been really fun wearing my rain boots:

This coming Saturday I head to Santa Barbara, California. First a visit with my best friend from college, we attended University of California, Santa Barbara many, many moons ago. Then on Sunday the florists start to converge on SB! I can’t wait to see Chuck, Robyn, Holly, Joost, Peggy & Carol and to meet social media friends like Laurie and Sheri + many more!
Hope to see you in Santa Barbara!

How do you find great people to hire? How do you keep your team motivated and happy?

Brandon of Epic Flowers:
Great people find us. We often have them come give us a resume or come in to talk about working with us. We give our designers freedom to perform their art, we buy them unexpected goodies, feed them well at the holidays and sometimes we’ll do trade with other businesses, such as spas and we give the trade to our employees. We are understanding and accommodating when it comes to taking time off or switching hours. Moral is everything when it comes to attitude. And with a positive attitude your employees will go the extra mile for your customers.

Ariella Chezar:
My core group has worked with me for the last 15 years, and they are an AMAZING group. The balance are designers and friends who are based on the West Coast who I work with when I do jobs out there.

It’s a pretty motivated group, but I do think that good food is key. On my bigger events I hire a chef friend of mine to feed us, and this does so much to keep us going.

Cori of Moss Fine Floral:
I don’t have a team solidified weekly as I book a limited number of events a year. I’ve accumulated 22 years in the floral industry so know lots of reliable people to bring in when needed. Some own their own businesses, some make a living as bounce around freelancers and some are excellent friends that have helped me with installations over the years. When I was operating a retail store front I typically would lean on my local wholesale reps for referrals of solid, reliable, and experienced people. I found that any advertisement in the paper rarely brought true talent my way.

I think that keeping my people happy is simple. If I’m positive and happy they tend to be the same. I keep the days as organized as possible and keep the mood light while delegating responsibilities. I also bring in lunch and wine and dine my girls after successful events. I also believe that I pay them well which keeps them smiling and wanting to return for more craziness! So, an environment topped with food, wine and a nice paycheck are all excellent motivators.

Robyn of Bare Root Flora:
We are a boutique firm, so we rely mostly on contract labor to meet additional design needs. We’ve been very lucky to have a fabulous pool of freelancers to draw from when we need help, and we often look to our industry colleagues to trade labor or recommendations on great people. We pay well and take care of our team and we try to make work a lot of fun for everyone so that people want to keep coming back! We also try not to micromanage–once we lay out our expectations, we try to allow our designers to use their own creativity in executing our designs. We find people are more invested and do a better job when they’ve been empowered to use their innate creativity.

Cathy of Sprout Flowers:
When it comes to staffing I have always been fortunate to either know someone, know someone who knows someone, or to have just the right person walk through the door at exactly the right moment. It’s been pretty amazing!

I think one way we have kept turnover to a minimum is that everyone is immensely proud of where they work. They appreciate the quality and variety of materials they have to work with and enjoy a level of creativity that’s hard to find elsewhere. They also like our commitment to our community and feel like they are part of something very special.

Erin of Floret Flower Farm:
It took us a few seasons to master the art of finding the right people. Our business is really unique in that we both grow and arrange flowers. On the growing end, work takes place outdoors, in every type of weather for 9 months out of the year. Our field help has to be strong, in good health and able to roll with any punches that are thrown by nature. Wedding work on the other hand must be done during a condensed time frame, often going late into the night and or on-site under high stress conditions. We’ve yet to find help that can straddle both areas of work.

After hiring many enthusiastic, young, dreamy fresh out of college kids to help on the farm we finally learned our lesson. While super committed to our business philosophy, they just couldn’t hack the hard work. A few days in extreme heat or damp weather and they melted down into a puddle of overwhelm. On the design side, bring in artistic older women, looking for a creative outlet was equally disastrous. In both cases we were hiring lovely people, with no prior experience who lacked the groundedness and energy needed in our line of work.

We’ve finally figured out the key elements needed for the PERFECT employee, at least in our business.
First, they must have a stable life, with no drama! Nothing is more draining than listening to an unhappy person complain about their life all day! Second they must be self generated, self responsible adults! This means they bring heir own lunch, take breaks when they get tired and communicate if somethings not working. Third, they enjoy repetitious, quiet work. This goes for both areas since much of our days are spent harvesting or putting together bouquets. Lastly, they must have a big heart! Our dream team consists of the most loving, generous, kind people on earth! Each brings with them a particular skills set and also a tremendous ammount of love.

Lists are a fantastic way to keep everyone on the same page and clear about what’s expected during the day. It takes the pressure off individuals and breaks large tasks it into bite sized chunks, eliminating overwhelm and confusion. I’ve found the more deliberate, organized and clear I am with our helpers, the happier and more productive they are in the end. People just want to contribute and be useful. Clarifying what’s needed allows them to do this with grace and confidence. By keeping the big picture and responsibility on my plate, then delegating out clear tasks to each person based on their strengths, we fly through the days work with tremendous efficiency.

Of course it is all still a work in progress, but I do feel like we’re getting closer to really figuring it out.

Paula Pryke:
I have lots of CV and resume turn up on my desk each day and occasionally one stands out! Generally I don’t think great people are ‘found’, each floristry business
is so unique, I think you have to train people to be ‘great’ for you. Any relationship is a two way process and in my experience, the more you put in, the more you receive. When I had a lot of retail sites recruiting good staff was a really big problem. It is rare in London to find florists who enjoy customer service and inevitably staff turnover is high as people seek better positions. Also in busy retail environment when things are going well, you are often too busy to devote enough time to staff training. When you have the time to train, you are already thinking it is time to lay staff off!

I think we all love floral design for the variety the job offers us and so it is important to offer employees the chance to work on new areas and to continuously hone their skills.
Motivation comes from encouragement and discussion, letting people know that you thought they did a good job is key. You need to engage people who have the same gaols as you and then create a calm and efficient workplace. Staff need to feel involved, valued and encouraged to have their say. No one choses floristry for the renumeration package so work has to be fun and fulfilling. A couple of years ago, my current and ex-staff all attended the funeral of a brilliant young member of staff whose life had been taken far too early by cancer. At the end of the day I realised what a strong bond we all had as we had spent so much of our working life together and how we were all united by this passion for flowers and people.
The flower business is about life and people and the floral designers that stay the course are very devoted to their art.

I think staff respond well to targets and often the more information they have about how your business works, the more motivated they are. Some managers are too secretive about the financial side and so staff are unaware of the company aims. Staff need to work closely and pull together as a team if everyone is going to be happy. If you have a member of staff who is making other staff anxious or upset, you really need to deal with it. All my staff have been with me a long time and we are now all motivated by the recession and the effect that this has had on business in the UK. At the moment I find that my staff and I value their customers more than at any time before! Sad that it has taken one of the world’s worst recessions to get to that point! My current staff and I have ‘matured’ together and as a group of strong personalities we are very supportive of each other. We know each other very well and I truly feel blessed to have worked with so many talented and hard working people over such a long period. We are all striving to be the best we can and those are the kind of people you need to employ.

Trust is key to any relationship, I recently read this quote and thought it summed up the mind set you need for employing people.

“Friends talk behind your back, partners cheat, colleagues stab you in the back – but trusting no one means you can’t relax, and
your relationships will always be circumscribed, So trust 100% of the people, 100% of the time. Just know you’ll never be 100% right”
Robert Rowland Smith

“Support and encourage all and see who floats to the top! That is the best way to hire the best!”

Thank you to our Expert Panel for sharing their thoughts on the subject of Employees!
If you have a question for our expert panel, please email it to info@flirtyfleurs.com
We’ll leave you with this pretty picture for today:

Designed by Ariella Chezar

www.FrancoiseWeeks.com
www.AtelierFrancoise.com

Chuck Graham

 As many of you know, Alicia and I were in Santa Barbara this past week. We had the honor of speaking at Florabundance Design Days about social media and why it is important for floral designers.

We had a wonderful time and will be sharing more about our trip next week!

Chuck and Alicia teaching at Florabundance Design Days

I had the pleasure of designing a luxury wedding vignette last Sunday, here is a picture of our vignette.

Bloom By Anuschka

Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday!

A few days ago, a prospective client sent me an email asking me to create a wedding floral proposal for a 200 guest sit down dinner reception and ceremony in the Northern California area at a 4 star hotel(*according to Tripadvisor) based on some images that he/she was inspired by.

The wedding was described as the following(to hide the anonymity of the client, I have paraphrased from her email and have changed the rounded the budget to the narrowest thousand).

Different shades of pinks and white hues for 200 guests equaling 20 tables in total. 3 different kinds of centerpieces from low to medium to tall with the tallest arrangement being not too full of flowers to keep the cost down. Incorporating crystals and possibly feathers as it was part of the theme.
For the wedding party will need a bridal bouquet, a toss bouquet, 5 bridemaids’ bouquets, 1 groom’s boutonniere, 10 ceremony aisle decoration with
2 additional floral arrangements for the ceremony to be repurposed for the sweetheart table.

With regards to the flowers, the client said that he/she was not picky about flowers and could even use baby’s breath if needed. In conclusion, the wedding budget for flowers would need to be under $2000.

I am including two visuals of the images that he/she sent so that we as vendors and as potential clients can learn a bit about budgeting.

Even before I address this specific question, I thought I would play “bride” and find an online resource to see what I should expect to budget for an average wedding.

I used a wedding calculator called Cost of Wedding.com.
http://www.costofwedding.com/index.cfm/action/costest.index

After inputting the information the result concluded that the average wedding in Northern California for 200 guests would be $46,900 with an estimated cost per guest of $235 not including any travel.
See below for the breakdown.

I want to highlight the floral information which shows that even the internet calculated the average flowers for this 200 guest to be $2800. The take away from this exercise is the following.

1) Is your wedding at average, above, or below the average in your area?
2) Are your wedding inspirations minimal, fair, or designer?
3) Does your budget also include delivery, taxes, and other rental fees associated with flowers.

As you can see in the budget, the calculator does not factor in deliver, installation, setup, breakdown, prop rental, taxes, or any design shop fees that might incur. A more realistic budget should account for these non related items.
If the calculator offers you a $2800 average cost for flowers, keep that in mind when you are asking for a proposal. The non floral should be on top of the budget. Note: Tell your vendor that the budget you have does not include for non floral expenses so that they can write a proposal that is fair. Or tell your vendor that your budget needs to include all incidentals which means, you will get much less flowers.

When a client says they want the following for less than $2000, that means it is below the average and on the low end. If we were choosing a dinner spot, we would understand that to mean that the restaurant might be off the beaten track, possibly new, or lacking in décor or food quality. If the range for dinner restaurants in SF were $15 to $50 then everyone knows that the $15 dinner place might be hamburgers and fries versus the higher is Wagyu beef.

If your design concept is not your average flowers, more tailored, more designer,it’s almost impossible to expect that any decent floral designer could create your dream inspired wedding at the lowest end of the average for flowers.

This clients’ $2000 floral budget is just not achievable when you break things down.

Here’s my low end breakdown taking the budget below and reducing it by 15% roughly per item.
1 Bridal bouquet $149 each – $148( I took $174 and reduced it by 15%)
5 Bridedsmaid $38 each – $190 ( I took $226, reduced it by 15% and divided it by 5 bouquets)
1 Toss Bouquet $38 each – $38 ( I took the price of 1 bridesmaid and assumed the toss would be at the bridesmaid bouquet price)
1 Boutonniere $24.50 each – $24.50 ( I took the boutonniere/corsage and divided it by 6 pieces(1 for groom, 5 for groomsmen. I took 15% off to get to $24.50)
10 Aisle Pew Flowers $29.50 each = $295 ( I took the $347 for ceremony décor and took 15% and divided by 10)
2 Ceremony flowers $165 each = $330( I took $389 for ceremony flower arrangements, took 15% and divided by 2)
20 Centerpieces – all same style = $65 each = $1300(I took All reception flowers plus the amount for the flowers girl since the client did not request a flower girl and added it together to get to $1531, took 15% off and divided by 20)

Total if I took 15% off the average = $2326.50. The client’s request is still $326.50 below this “below average request”. There simply is no way for any designer to do this unless the centerpiece is below average.

It also assumes that there is a designer who could do a bridesmaid bouquet for $38.00(*it would have to be very very small, perhaps all baby’s breath). Even if I could locate someone to do the flowers, it doesn’t account for any crystals, any vases, any embellishment. It assumes that someone is willing to do 3 varied arrangements so that it averages $65.00. That’s going to be hard to find.

For brides, please just take a quick look at what a $120.00 average centerpieces on 1800 flowers looks like.

I’ll even show you my $120.00 centerpiece.

The reason why I think this client’s budget isn’t realistic is because it assumes that a business is willing to take profit loses. Unfortunately, most thriving businesses can’t just give every wedding away. If so, the floral designer would eventually be out of business. To invest in 1) tall and grand vases is a huge undertaking that involves knowing future client preferences. If a vendor is willing to invest in these props, then there is more of a likelihood that they could sell this wedding at a potential loss. Please note invest for 9 vases is $990(If I were to buy 2 for the sweet heart table + 7(1/3 for the centerpieces) = 9 x $110 each not including shippings/taxes).

Secondly, it also assumes that a business owner is willing to forego the cost of delivery, installation, breakdown and possibly design labor costs. This is also very unrealistic. The cost of fuel is rising. Labor in the SF area is now $10.55 at the minimum wage. Venues are requiring more rental and floral businesses to acquire worker’s compensation. Delivery vehicles rent for approximate $125 for a cargo or mini van a day. Skilled designers to create arrangements as well as delivery is on a rise. All in all, the cost for labor is increasing and unless the business owner can do it all, this is probably not responsible to ask a business to take a major hit to make this one wedding budget.

Lastly, it assumes that one’s flowers are on the below average side. And that is the great folly. When your inspiration images are obviously from a luxury wedding inspiration table, it’s really hard and difficult to do quality work and have quality products and quality props and the low end. Something has got to give. It’s the old champagne taste, beer budget. And in this reality, when your inspiration is on the over the top side, it really is hard to make it fit. It’s like two things are fighting each other.

So to review, ask yourself is your flower style minimal, average or designer. Ask yourself did you account for non floral costs? Do some research and find out what your props might actually costs? Be more realistic when you collect your inspiration images. Do some homework and figure out what average cost is in your area before realizing if your over the top dreams can fit into a below average budget? Find a floral internet website like a 1800flowers or ftd.com. Look and examine what a middle of the road flowers service charges. This will give you insight into what real average design and costs are.

Thank you, Nancy, for this insightful and helpful article!

Nancy’s beautiful floral designs can be viewed on her website:
http://nancyliuchin.com/

B|Brooks Fine Flowers® is proud to announce the launch of the Affiliate Florist Program. This program, driven by customer and florist request and aimed at fine event florists, is part of B|Brooks’® commitment to delivering fine floral arrangements.

The Affiliate program will enable event florists (that do not make daily deliveries) the ability to refer their clients to a trusted network that shares their commitment to fine floristry and exemplary customer service. By posting an affiliate link via the florists’ website to the B|Brooks® order page, florists can generate commissions of 8- 12% on product sales. The cost of participation in this program for introductory members is completely free.

“With the advent of social media sites such as Pinterest and Tumblr and the propagation of ‘inspiration’ sources such as The Knot and Little Black Book – Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about floristry and, in-turn, raising their expectations while simultaneously relying LESS on their local florists,” CEO Barbera Brooks explains, “With most traditional wire services and ‘drop ship’ programs, clients are often disappointed with the results. We all know that the floral industry is changing and, in many aspects, not how we want it to be… This program is a way to counteract the negative by supplying an alternative way: A way to make better arrangements™.”

Inquiries and requests for additional information should be directed to:
Affiliates@bbrooks.com
888.346.3356 ext 4.
www.bbrooks.com

I have been a proud member of B|Brooks Fine Flowers® since June 2003. I truly believe in this company and their dedication to boutique floral designers, supreme seasonal flowers and exquisite floral artistry. If you have ever thought that a service like this might appeal to your clients, I would highly recommend speaking with B|Brooks Fine Flowers®. ~Alicia

An exquisite mix of cream garden roses, beige roses and fresh cut phalenopsis blooms by member florist Ava Flora (NY)

Buffet breakfast is included each morning at the hotels. All workshop days include lunch. Workshops will run from 9 to 2 approximately most days.

4/9/13 Tuesday
Welcome Brunch at Ghent Marriott
& Introduction to European Floral Design
Meet in Lobby for walking tour of Ghent
Dinner on your own in Ghent

4/10/13 Wednesday
Workshop with Gudrun Cotteniere
Owner & Founder of De Groene Verbeelding, Bloemschikschool
“Trend Setting Floristry Techniques to Try & Take Home”
Dinner on your own in Ghent

4/11/13 Thursday
Workshop with Haruko Noda

Dinner at local charming restaurant with the tour group

4/12/13 Friday
Trip to Floral Wholesalers, Dora Flora

Brugge or open afternoon

4/13/13 Saturday
Workshop with Rita Van Gansbeke
“Flowers, Textiles and Nature’s Gifts”
Optional: Design Museum Gent
Dinner on your own in Ghent

Amsterdam, The Netherlands:

4/14/13 Sunday
Drive to Keukenhof from Gent

. Private tour of Keukenhof, World’s Largest Bulb Garden

Drive to Amsterdam Hotel Jan Luyken

4/15/13 Monday:
Tour of Alsmeer Flower Auction & Wholesaler

Afternoon Hands on Workshop with new florist

Dinner on your own in Amsterdam

4/16/13 Tuesday
A.M. Tour of Greenhouses

P.M. Open Afternoon in Amsterdam:
(Flower Shop Tour, Museums or Shopping)

Options for your afternoon depending upon your interests:
Canal Boat Tour of Amsterdam (also nice in the evening)
Museum Ideas: Anne Frank House – Make reservations if possible (also open in evening)
Van Gogh Museum (Small museum near hotel)
Rijks Museum (Near Hotel)
Tulip Museum

4/17/13 Wednesday
Workshop with Rob Plattel
“Vegetative & Decorative Design”

Canal Tour in historic Aalsmeer Garden

Farewell Dinner

4/18/13 Thursday
Depart Amsterdam

Please note that changes may occur as we create this unique & wonderful experience

For More Information, please contact Laura Iarocci at (404) 578-0950 or laura@faithflowers.net

How do you find great people to hire? How do you keep your team motivated and happy?

Brandon of Epic Flowers:
Great people find us. We often have them come give us a resume or come in to talk about working with us. We give our designers freedom to perform their art, we buy them unexpected goodies, feed them well at the holidays and sometimes we’ll do trade with other businesses, such as spas and we give the trade to our employees. We are understanding and accommodating when it comes to taking time off or switching hours. Moral is everything when it comes to attitude. And with a positive attitude your employees will go the extra mile for your customers.

Ariella Chezar:
My core group has worked with me for the last 15 years, and they are an AMAZING group. The balance are designers and friends who are based on the West Coast who I work with when I do jobs out there.

It’s a pretty motivated group, but I do think that good food is key. On my bigger events I hire a chef friend of mine to feed us, and this does so much to keep us going.

Cori of Moss Fine Floral:
I don’t have a team solidified weekly as I book a limited number of events a year. I’ve accumulated 22 years in the floral industry so know lots of reliable people to bring in when needed. Some own their own businesses, some make a living as bounce around freelancers and some are excellent friends that have helped me with installations over the years. When I was operating a retail store front I typically would lean on my local wholesale reps for referrals of solid, reliable, and experienced people. I found that any advertisement in the paper rarely brought true talent my way.

I think that keeping my people happy is simple. If I’m positive and happy they tend to be the same. I keep the days as organized as possible and keep the mood light while delegating responsibilities. I also bring in lunch and wine and dine my girls after successful events. I also believe that I pay them well which keeps them smiling and wanting to return for more craziness! So, an environment topped with food, wine and a nice paycheck are all excellent motivators.

Robyn of Bare Root Flora:
We are a boutique firm, so we rely mostly on contract labor to meet additional design needs. We’ve been very lucky to have a fabulous pool of freelancers to draw from when we need help, and we often look to our industry colleagues to trade labor or recommendations on great people. We pay well and take care of our team and we try to make work a lot of fun for everyone so that people want to keep coming back! We also try not to micromanage–once we lay out our expectations, we try to allow our designers to use their own creativity in executing our designs. We find people are more invested and do a better job when they’ve been empowered to use their innate creativity.

Cathy of Sprout Flowers:
When it comes to staffing I have always been fortunate to either know someone, know someone who knows someone, or to have just the right person walk through the door at exactly the right moment. It’s been pretty amazing!

I think one way we have kept turnover to a minimum is that everyone is immensely proud of where they work. They appreciate the quality and variety of materials they have to work with and enjoy a level of creativity that’s hard to find elsewhere. They also like our commitment to our community and feel like they are part of something very special.

Erin of Floret Flower Farm:
It took us a few seasons to master the art of finding the right people. Our business is really unique in that we both grow and arrange flowers. On the growing end, work takes place outdoors, in every type of weather for 9 months out of the year. Our field help has to be strong, in good health and able to roll with any punches that are thrown by nature. Wedding work on the other hand must be done during a condensed time frame, often going late into the night and or on-site under high stress conditions. We’ve yet to find help that can straddle both areas of work.

After hiring many enthusiastic, young, dreamy fresh out of college kids to help on the farm we finally learned our lesson. While super committed to our business philosophy, they just couldn’t hack the hard work. A few days in extreme heat or damp weather and they melted down into a puddle of overwhelm. On the design side, bring in artistic older women, looking for a creative outlet was equally disastrous. In both cases we were hiring lovely people, with no prior experience who lacked the groundedness and energy needed in our line of work.

We’ve finally figured out the key elements needed for the PERFECT employee, at least in our business.
First, they must have a stable life, with no drama! Nothing is more draining than listening to an unhappy person complain about their life all day! Second they must be self generated, self responsible adults! This means they bring heir own lunch, take breaks when they get tired and communicate if somethings not working. Third, they enjoy repetitious, quiet work. This goes for both areas since much of our days are spent harvesting or putting together bouquets. Lastly, they must have a big heart! Our dream team consists of the most loving, generous, kind people on earth! Each brings with them a particular skills set and also a tremendous ammount of love.

Lists are a fantastic way to keep everyone on the same page and clear about what’s expected during the day. It takes the pressure off individuals and breaks large tasks it into bite sized chunks, eliminating overwhelm and confusion. I’ve found the more deliberate, organized and clear I am with our helpers, the happier and more productive they are in the end. People just want to contribute and be useful. Clarifying what’s needed allows them to do this with grace and confidence. By keeping the big picture and responsibility on my plate, then delegating out clear tasks to each person based on their strengths, we fly through the days work with tremendous efficiency.

Of course it is all still a work in progress, but I do feel like we’re getting closer to really figuring it out.

Paula Pryke:
I have lots of CV and resume turn up on my desk each day and occasionally one stands out! Generally I don’t think great people are ‘found’, each floristry business
is so unique, I think you have to train people to be ‘great’ for you. Any relationship is a two way process and in my experience, the more you put in, the more you receive. When I had a lot of retail sites recruiting good staff was a really big problem. It is rare in London to find florists who enjoy customer service and inevitably staff turnover is high as people seek better positions. Also in busy retail environment when things are going well, you are often too busy to devote enough time to staff training. When you have the time to train, you are already thinking it is time to lay staff off!

I think we all love floral design for the variety the job offers us and so it is important to offer employees the chance to work on new areas and to continuously hone their skills.
Motivation comes from encouragement and discussion, letting people know that you thought they did a good job is key. You need to engage people who have the same gaols as you and then create a calm and efficient workplace. Staff need to feel involved, valued and encouraged to have their say. No one choses floristry for the renumeration package so work has to be fun and fulfilling. A couple of years ago, my current and ex-staff all attended the funeral of a brilliant young member of staff whose life had been taken far too early by cancer. At the end of the day I realised what a strong bond we all had as we had spent so much of our working life together and how we were all united by this passion for flowers and people.
The flower business is about life and people and the floral designers that stay the course are very devoted to their art.

I think staff respond well to targets and often the more information they have about how your business works, the more motivated they are. Some managers are too secretive about the financial side and so staff are unaware of the company aims. Staff need to work closely and pull together as a team if everyone is going to be happy. If you have a member of staff who is making other staff anxious or upset, you really need to deal with it. All my staff have been with me a long time and we are now all motivated by the recession and the effect that this has had on business in the UK. At the moment I find that my staff and I value their customers more than at any time before! Sad that it has taken one of the world’s worst recessions to get to that point! My current staff and I have ‘matured’ together and as a group of strong personalities we are very supportive of each other. We know each other very well and I truly feel blessed to have worked with so many talented and hard working people over such a long period. We are all striving to be the best we can and those are the kind of people you need to employ.

Trust is key to any relationship, I recently read this quote and thought it summed up the mind set you need for employing people.

“Friends talk behind your back, partners cheat, colleagues stab you in the back – but trusting no one means you can’t relax, and
your relationships will always be circumscribed, So trust 100% of the people, 100% of the time. Just know you’ll never be 100% right”
Robert Rowland Smith

“Support and encourage all and see who floats to the top! That is the best way to hire the best!”

Thank you to our Expert Panel for sharing their thoughts on the subject of Employees!
If you have a question for our expert panel, please email it to info@flirtyfleurs.com
We’ll leave you with this pretty picture for today:

Designed by Ariella Chezar

www.FrancoiseWeeks.com
www.AtelierFrancoise.com

Chuck Graham

 As many of you know, Alicia and I were in Santa Barbara this past week. We had the honor of speaking at Florabundance Design Days about social media and why it is important for floral designers.

We had a wonderful time and will be sharing more about our trip next week!

Chuck and Alicia teaching at Florabundance Design Days

I had the pleasure of designing a luxury wedding vignette last Sunday, here is a picture of our vignette.

Bloom By Anuschka

Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday!

A few days ago, a prospective client sent me an email asking me to create a wedding floral proposal for a 200 guest sit down dinner reception and ceremony in the Northern California area at a 4 star hotel(*according to Tripadvisor) based on some images that he/she was inspired by.

The wedding was described as the following(to hide the anonymity of the client, I have paraphrased from her email and have changed the rounded the budget to the narrowest thousand).

Different shades of pinks and white hues for 200 guests equaling 20 tables in total. 3 different kinds of centerpieces from low to medium to tall with the tallest arrangement being not too full of flowers to keep the cost down. Incorporating crystals and possibly feathers as it was part of the theme.
For the wedding party will need a bridal bouquet, a toss bouquet, 5 bridemaids’ bouquets, 1 groom’s boutonniere, 10 ceremony aisle decoration with
2 additional floral arrangements for the ceremony to be repurposed for the sweetheart table.

With regards to the flowers, the client said that he/she was not picky about flowers and could even use baby’s breath if needed. In conclusion, the wedding budget for flowers would need to be under $2000.

I am including two visuals of the images that he/she sent so that we as vendors and as potential clients can learn a bit about budgeting.

Even before I address this specific question, I thought I would play “bride” and find an online resource to see what I should expect to budget for an average wedding.

I used a wedding calculator called Cost of Wedding.com.
http://www.costofwedding.com/index.cfm/action/costest.index

After inputting the information the result concluded that the average wedding in Northern California for 200 guests would be $46,900 with an estimated cost per guest of $235 not including any travel.
See below for the breakdown.

I want to highlight the floral information which shows that even the internet calculated the average flowers for this 200 guest to be $2800. The take away from this exercise is the following.

1) Is your wedding at average, above, or below the average in your area?
2) Are your wedding inspirations minimal, fair, or designer?
3) Does your budget also include delivery, taxes, and other rental fees associated with flowers.

As you can see in the budget, the calculator does not factor in deliver, installation, setup, breakdown, prop rental, taxes, or any design shop fees that might incur. A more realistic budget should account for these non related items.
If the calculator offers you a $2800 average cost for flowers, keep that in mind when you are asking for a proposal. The non floral should be on top of the budget. Note: Tell your vendor that the budget you have does not include for non floral expenses so that they can write a proposal that is fair. Or tell your vendor that your budget needs to include all incidentals which means, you will get much less flowers.

When a client says they want the following for less than $2000, that means it is below the average and on the low end. If we were choosing a dinner spot, we would understand that to mean that the restaurant might be off the beaten track, possibly new, or lacking in décor or food quality. If the range for dinner restaurants in SF were $15 to $50 then everyone knows that the $15 dinner place might be hamburgers and fries versus the higher is Wagyu beef.

If your design concept is not your average flowers, more tailored, more designer,it’s almost impossible to expect that any decent floral designer could create your dream inspired wedding at the lowest end of the average for flowers.

This clients’ $2000 floral budget is just not achievable when you break things down.

Here’s my low end breakdown taking the budget below and reducing it by 15% roughly per item.
1 Bridal bouquet $149 each – $148( I took $174 and reduced it by 15%)
5 Bridedsmaid $38 each – $190 ( I took $226, reduced it by 15% and divided it by 5 bouquets)
1 Toss Bouquet $38 each – $38 ( I took the price of 1 bridesmaid and assumed the toss would be at the bridesmaid bouquet price)
1 Boutonniere $24.50 each – $24.50 ( I took the boutonniere/corsage and divided it by 6 pieces(1 for groom, 5 for groomsmen. I took 15% off to get to $24.50)
10 Aisle Pew Flowers $29.50 each = $295 ( I took the $347 for ceremony décor and took 15% and divided by 10)
2 Ceremony flowers $165 each = $330( I took $389 for ceremony flower arrangements, took 15% and divided by 2)
20 Centerpieces – all same style = $65 each = $1300(I took All reception flowers plus the amount for the flowers girl since the client did not request a flower girl and added it together to get to $1531, took 15% off and divided by 20)

Total if I took 15% off the average = $2326.50. The client’s request is still $326.50 below this “below average request”. There simply is no way for any designer to do this unless the centerpiece is below average.

It also assumes that there is a designer who could do a bridesmaid bouquet for $38.00(*it would have to be very very small, perhaps all baby’s breath). Even if I could locate someone to do the flowers, it doesn’t account for any crystals, any vases, any embellishment. It assumes that someone is willing to do 3 varied arrangements so that it averages $65.00. That’s going to be hard to find.

For brides, please just take a quick look at what a $120.00 average centerpieces on 1800 flowers looks like.

I’ll even show you my $120.00 centerpiece.

The reason why I think this client’s budget isn’t realistic is because it assumes that a business is willing to take profit loses. Unfortunately, most thriving businesses can’t just give every wedding away. If so, the floral designer would eventually be out of business. To invest in 1) tall and grand vases is a huge undertaking that involves knowing future client preferences. If a vendor is willing to invest in these props, then there is more of a likelihood that they could sell this wedding at a potential loss. Please note invest for 9 vases is $990(If I were to buy 2 for the sweet heart table + 7(1/3 for the centerpieces) = 9 x $110 each not including shippings/taxes).

Secondly, it also assumes that a business owner is willing to forego the cost of delivery, installation, breakdown and possibly design labor costs. This is also very unrealistic. The cost of fuel is rising. Labor in the SF area is now $10.55 at the minimum wage. Venues are requiring more rental and floral businesses to acquire worker’s compensation. Delivery vehicles rent for approximate $125 for a cargo or mini van a day. Skilled designers to create arrangements as well as delivery is on a rise. All in all, the cost for labor is increasing and unless the business owner can do it all, this is probably not responsible to ask a business to take a major hit to make this one wedding budget.

Lastly, it assumes that one’s flowers are on the below average side. And that is the great folly. When your inspiration images are obviously from a luxury wedding inspiration table, it’s really hard and difficult to do quality work and have quality products and quality props and the low end. Something has got to give. It’s the old champagne taste, beer budget. And in this reality, when your inspiration is on the over the top side, it really is hard to make it fit. It’s like two things are fighting each other.

So to review, ask yourself is your flower style minimal, average or designer. Ask yourself did you account for non floral costs? Do some research and find out what your props might actually costs? Be more realistic when you collect your inspiration images. Do some homework and figure out what average cost is in your area before realizing if your over the top dreams can fit into a below average budget? Find a floral internet website like a 1800flowers or ftd.com. Look and examine what a middle of the road flowers service charges. This will give you insight into what real average design and costs are.

Thank you, Nancy, for this insightful and helpful article!

Nancy’s beautiful floral designs can be viewed on her website:
http://nancyliuchin.com/

B|Brooks Fine Flowers® is proud to announce the launch of the Affiliate Florist Program. This program, driven by customer and florist request and aimed at fine event florists, is part of B|Brooks’® commitment to delivering fine floral arrangements.

The Affiliate program will enable event florists (that do not make daily deliveries) the ability to refer their clients to a trusted network that shares their commitment to fine floristry and exemplary customer service. By posting an affiliate link via the florists’ website to the B|Brooks® order page, florists can generate commissions of 8- 12% on product sales. The cost of participation in this program for introductory members is completely free.

“With the advent of social media sites such as Pinterest and Tumblr and the propagation of ‘inspiration’ sources such as The Knot and Little Black Book – Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about floristry and, in-turn, raising their expectations while simultaneously relying LESS on their local florists,” CEO Barbera Brooks explains, “With most traditional wire services and ‘drop ship’ programs, clients are often disappointed with the results. We all know that the floral industry is changing and, in many aspects, not how we want it to be… This program is a way to counteract the negative by supplying an alternative way: A way to make better arrangements™.”

Inquiries and requests for additional information should be directed to:
Affiliates@bbrooks.com
888.346.3356 ext 4.
www.bbrooks.com

I have been a proud member of B|Brooks Fine Flowers® since June 2003. I truly believe in this company and their dedication to boutique floral designers, supreme seasonal flowers and exquisite floral artistry. If you have ever thought that a service like this might appeal to your clients, I would highly recommend speaking with B|Brooks Fine Flowers®. ~Alicia

An exquisite mix of cream garden roses, beige roses and fresh cut phalenopsis blooms by member florist Ava Flora (NY)

Good morning from Oregon!

The past two weeks have been an absolute  whirlwind and I’ve loved every minute of it! I feel absolutely blessed for the amazing experiences and the awesome floral designers that I have met.

Last week I traveled to Santa Barbara, California for Florabundance Inspirational Design Days. Chuck and I got to speak about social media and how to use it to promote your floral design business. We also got to spend time with Holly, Ian Prosser and Joost + see old friends and meet new ones. Next week we will blog about the conference and share lots of images with you. (here are a few images I captured via instagram)

Having dinner with Ian Prosser, Holly Chapple and Joost Bongaerts the evening before the conference started.

Bridal bouquet that I designed. I was able to use all the clematis that I so desired! Lots of pretty garden roses, too.

Chuck and I got in on the bouquet making portion of the conference, led by Holly Chapple.

This past week I’ve been in Portland, Oregon to take a 3 day workshop with Francoise Weeks. By pure luck, Janet of Floral Verde also attended the workshop. I’m really enjoying being in Oregon, it is so beautiful, green & lush here. I’ll be writing about my experience at Francoise’s workshop plus, other Oregon adventures soon on the blog.

One of the Woodland inspired arrangements that I made at the workshop.

I’m developing a major crush on begonia foliage. So many textures, colors and varieties are available!

Francoise took Janet & I too the Portland Flower Market for a look .. and look what I saw at FSS. Yes, I really do geek out when I see Bella Bouquets on display!

There’s just a tid-bit of what I’ve been up to. The other good part is that I’ve had plenty of time to think and brainstorm while driving to Santa Barbara & Portland. Thinking about interesting articles to write on Flirty Fleurs and think about what I want to change with Bella Fiori…………

PS- did you notice I added a new pull-down “menu”, top left of page? I’ll be adding more options under this, hope to make navigating the blog even easier. Also, we have a new sponsor – B|Brooks Fine Flowers®, be sure to read more about their new program here.