The Question:

How do you calculate out your fee for deliveries & installations? What is a reasonable fee for these services?
-Lynda

………………………………………………….

The Answers:

I charge 15% of the subtotal for delivery. There is a separate line charge if I have someone helping me, and another 5% to come back to strike, if I have am required to stay to “flip” the ceremony, or if there are multiple delivery locations. If I am traveling outside my typical area, I would also charge a separate mileage fee.
Blair of Sweet Blossoms, Maryland

………………………………………………….

I think of how many will be needed to setup and strike the event, how many hours the event will take, what vehicle will I need, gas, parking and then I add a little more because we always spend more time than venue/planner/client tells us on delivery times and that’s what we charge.
Alex of Exquisite Designs, Illinois

………………………………………………….

We are a new Wedding and Event floral company, in our 2nd year and I had the same quandary. We are located in Lancaster, PA. Not a big city, but a very spread out area with lots of barn type and Winery venues I solved delivery charge by doing the following for each Bride:

Use Google Maps to determine the Following:

Calculate the mileage to the ceremony location.
Calculate the mileage from the ceremony location to the reception venue if different.
We also add 5 miles for driving around Winey or barn location because they are spread out.
Calculate the mileage from venue back to shop.
Calculate driving time.

Add all the numbers together and use this number as your base for all other charges.

We Charge:

$1.00 per mile
$40.00 an hour for driving time.
The wage of the delivery people.

Example:

Mileage to ceremony location is 10 miles or $10.00.

Mileage From ceremony to reception barn is 10 miles or $10.00.

Mileage around barn venue 5 miles or $5.00.

Mileage back to shop is 30 miles or $20.00.

Driving time 2 hours $80.00

Plus 45 minutes for delivery of items. There is always time involved “the Bouts go here and the Bouquets go there and put the arrangements here”.

Driver who is also manpower for carrying arrangements $15 an hour
Helper $12 an hour.

$94.50 total for 2 hours and 45 minutes for staff.

Total $10.00 + $10.00 + $5.00 + 20.00 + $80.00 + $94.50 = $219.50 to Deliver.

For set up we do the above plus we made up standard charges:

Placing arrangement $2.00 each

Aisle Decorations $2.00 each

Arbors $50

etc……………

As we have become acquainted with repeat venues we sometimes adjust to lower costs.

Wedding Flowers By Cyndi, Pennsylvania

………………………………………………….

Do you have suggestions or advice for Lynda? Please leave us a comment!

………………………………………………….

Do you have a question you’d like to ask for a Q&A session? Email it to me at: info@flirtyfleurs.com

Bridal bouquet designed by Urban Petals

I’ve been surfing various flower wholesale companies to see who has what, always fun to see what is coming into season. Check out some of the pretties (click on flower image to go to the website). Oh, and peonies are back!!

The Question:

I’m curious about freelance rates around the country. See lots of requests for freelancers but never any info on the pay. What is the typical going rate in each city?
-Lucinda

………………………………………………….

The Answers:

I have just done 2 freelancing jobs with the same event/floral company in LA. The going rate is roughly $15-25/hour in our area, all depending on your experience and speed.
Tara of By The Bloom, Los Angeles, California

I receive $15-20/hour in the DC/Metro Area when I have freelance for other designers.
Blair of Sweet Blossoms, Maryland

It varies somewhat, depending on the type of work and time of year. I am an experienced fleelancer in Austin, Texas. I make between $15-25/hour depending on the job and who is hiring me.
Margaret, Texas

It all depends on experience and location. We have junior designers and they charge a rate of $15 per hour, we also have a middle of the road designers, not with a ton of experience take a little longer but they get it done per our specifications and they charge $18 per hour…. and then we have two seasoned designers (floral ninjas) that come when we need them and they charge $25 per hour and they are worth every penny.
Alex of Exquisite Designs, Illinois

$40.00 an hour for free lance if you have couple years experience in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Wedding Flowers By Cyndi

Please leave a comment and let us know what freelancers in your area are paid, we’d love to know!

………………………………………………….

Do you have a question you’d like to ask for a Q&A session? Email it to me at: info@flirtyfleurs.com

Philippa Craddock Flowers
Segerius Bruce Photography

Name: Susan Winston
Business Name: The English Garden, Floral Designs
Location: Los Angeles, California

How did you start your business?
I have always been passionate about flowers and started my business in my garage in 1996, while living in Malibu Lake. I began to miss the ‘English Sensibility’ of floral design from where I grew up, and wanted to bring that to the warmth of Southern California. I was unsure whether others shared my same aesthetic, and initially placed my flowers in a local Starbucks. I was able to experiment with how the flowers held up and gauge my community’s reaction to the ‘English Garden’ concept of floral design. It was a success! I was then doing business deals in the Starbucks parking lot. Due to the pressure of my loving family, I was taking up their space in our home, and I needed to find a studio. So I sublet a space in Westlake Village, where I am today. As my business grew, I was able to expand.

How many years have you been in business?
Since 1996. So 18 years!

How do you create your style and where do you draw your inspiration?
I absolutely draw my inspiration from nature and it is a wonderful fusion of the places I have called home: England and California. Additionally, my intellectual passions of the arts, music and fashion, fuel my creative insight and exert a strong influence on how I formulate the concepts of my designs.

What are the trends, flowers & colors that are unique to your region?
The warmth and temperate climate of Southern California allows for an outstanding diversity of choice. My concentration of flowers I work with are globally imported, influencing the worldly inspiration of my concepts: The flowers inspire the design, not the other way around. Everything I create is a unique surprise on the basis of what I purchase from the market.
Nowadays, for events, center pieces are less likely to be singular arrangements, and it has expanded to include vignettes of flowers. Among brides, cascading bouquets have been significant, containing very natural elements.

What is your favorite part of being a floral designer?
Working with nature and absolute beauty every day… It never gets old! Bringing a vision to life, especially a client’s vision to life. The work is always changing and never static.

Are you a retail shop, studio/warehouse or home based?
We are a floral design studio, with retail items within the space, and we also offer orders for arrangements via our online shop and over the phone.

Do you offer any services in addition to floral design?
We also offer select interior design pieces.

What tool can’t you live without?
A spritzer bottle. It brings me such joy to see how the beads of water set on the petals, and brings it such life and vibrancy of color!

Anything else you would like to share with Flirty Fleurs followers?
It takes a certain type of person to pursue a career in floral design. I cannot imagine working so hard and not being able to receive such joy and pleasure as a reward. This can be back breaking work under the gun. However, the final result is so gorgeous, it makes it worth the effort. You have to be passionate, this is not for everyone. From the moment I started, that passion is still vital to me!

Your Contact Information:
The English Garden, Floral Designs
31143 Via Colinas
Westlake Village, California
Website: www.theenglishgarden.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-English-Garden/195533828058
Instagram: TheEnglishGardenLA
Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/theenglishgrdn/

Max Gill Design
Berkeley, California
http://maxgilldesign.com/

The Question:

I am currently in the process of renovating a new location for my business. In this new space I will be building a 8 x 10 floral cooler. Working with contractors can be scary and frustrating. I am wondering if any other business owners have already been through this process? And if so; any advice to pass along? Mistakes that your contractors or yourself made? Approximate cost for the job?
-Haley

………………………………………………….

The Answers:

Because a cooler will be one of your major expenses, talk to local restaurant owners or managers about their walk-in coolers. Find out who is the most reliable, local refrigeration service company, and give them a call. Check out coolbot.com to see if this technology might be the best option for you. Personally, I love using a floor sink for floral work; it makes processing flowers soooo much easier!
Margaret, Texas

………………………………………………….

Anyone else have advice for Haley? We’d love to hear it!! Just leave a comment on this post, thank you!

Do you have a question you’d like to ask for a Q&A session? Email it to me at: info@flirtyfleurs.com

Your name: Jane Geszler
Your Business name: Budget Blooms
Your Location: North Delta, British Columbia, Canada

How did you start your business?
I was working in forestry at the time selling & shipping lumber around North America. It wasn’t very creative and I have always been creative. When I was getting married I read a magazine that said go to the store you think you’ll get your flowers from and order something. If you like it then talk to them. Well when they told me a bridal bouquet was $350 I thought….. I can do that and be creatively budget minded with it. I started the following year.

How many years have you been in business?
We have been around since 2007

How do you create your style and where do you draw your inspiration?
Our company is a little different than most. We don’t meet our Brides. I ask them to send me two or three pictures of bouquets they like – doesn’t matter if they are the right colours – it’s the style and shape I am looking for. I read what they say but it’s the pictures that inspire me. It’s pleasing someone who has completely put there trust in me over email that really inspires me. I don’t want to ever let them down because they have made a leap of faith trusting me to produce there look.

What are the trends, flowers & colors that are unique to your region?
Round hand tied with a little texture are still the bulk of our designs. Garden roses, succulents & dusty miller are very popular even though not unique to our region. I’d say 80% of our weddings are a combination of white/cream & light pink or peach. We are very lucky in Vancouver to have United Flower Growers auction – growers from all over send there product in to sell. We have a huge variety. Besides our local farms we get a lot of California product & South American.

What is your favorite part of being a floral designer?
Having a bunch of flowers sitting in front of me and then viola – a stunning bouquet is born.

What advice would you give to aspiring floral designers?
Stay true to who you are. You work very hard in this business so ensure to do it your way or it will break you. Everyone thought I was crazy to name my company Budget Blooms! Why I use 2nd hand as a description and not vintage. Every single one of my customers has been an amazing person to work with because I honestly portray my company. I don’t try to be high end when I’m not – I just want to get a great deal so I give one with creative suggestions.

Are you a retail shop, studio/warehouse or home based?
Home based

Do you offer any services in addition to floral designs?
I tried chair covers, but decor is too much work. All that washing.

What tool in your toolbox can’t you live without?
Japanese floral shears – about $40 each, but I love them. Nice way to cut the bottoms of your bouquet perfectly.

Anything else you’d like to share with Flirty Fleurs followers?
I always share ideas and thoughts with other florists. We have to work together to ensure our industry survives and grows. My favourite moments are sitting with other florists and all of a sudden you have an ah ha moment with them. Something small you or they have shared but it makes your life so much easier. I have a network of like minded owners/employees who support me and I support them. We can’t do this alone – well you could, but what fun would that be?

Your contact information:
www.budgetblooms.ca
http://instagram.com/budgetblooms
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Budget-Blooms/358658157484771

The Question:

I just bought my own little flower shop this past February. Unfortunately, being young and going into business for the first time, I was very naive. The elder brother and sister I had purchased the store from were suppose to retired (One was 58 and the other 62 years old). I thought everything was going well until Passover, in April, where I only received a handful of orders. The store, being next to an affluent Jewish neighborhood, this was very unusual. I learned a few days before the holiday, through a customer, that the previous owners had solicited the client list that they had sold me, and took their orders. Not only that, but they were working out of a wholesaler’s warehouse from whom I also bought my own flowers! Talk about being double crossed. I threatened for legal action and the day before Passover, the previous owners agreed to give me the orders.

So here’s my question: Is there anything I can do to protect myself for future holidays? Can wholesalers do this? Isn’t it damaging for the florist community?
(previous owners did sign a non-compete stating they are not allowed to operate a flower shop directly or indirectly within 3km for 5 years)
-Anonymous

………………………………………………….

The Answers:

Unfortunately, we did not have any responses to the above question when we sent out the Questions Email. If you have advice for the above floral designer we would love to hear it – please leave a comment on this post. Thank you!

………………………………………………….

Floral Design by Amy Burke Designs
Page Bertelsen Photography

Hello Flower Friends!
Well, I’m back from a whirlwind trip to Holland! It was a great trip to attend both IFTF & FloraHolland shows and to see lots of new flower varieties. I traveled with Florabundance Wholesale to the shows which was super cool and I think Joost, the owner of Florabundance, knows just about everybody at the shows!
I have tons of images to sort through and lots of interesting things to tell all of you, but for today I am keeping it simple and posting my 12 favorite flowers that I saw last week. (Blame it on jet lag .. it’ll take a bit of time to get all these photos sorted out!).

Gravity Roses

Reflex Spray Roses

Anastasia Star Pink Mums

Anco Pure Vanda Orchids

Antique Carnations

Fabulous Carnations

Grand Pastel Ranunculus

Green Spider Amaranthus

Kahala Roses

Nerines

Pink Lisianthus (exact name unknown)

White Cloud Garden Roses

If you see something you like and want more information on ordering any of these be sure to check in with Florabundance Wholesale – they’ll be happy to help!

Your name: Faye Krause
Your Business name: Flora Organica Designs
Your Location: Arcata, CA

Farm Information:
Flora Organica
Andi and Lisa Zierer
McKinleyville, CA

Faye, your family owns a flower farm and you are a floral designer, can you tellus how the farm first started and how did it evolve into you providing floral designs?

Faye:
The Farm first started in 1984, although my parents had been farming for years before that and my father had worked in a florist shop in Germany, before coming to the US. The story they like to tell is when my mother was pregnant with me they were deciding what to grow and decided if the baby was a boy it would be potatoes, and if a girl they would would grow flowers.
As I grew I was always surrounded by and working with flowers. I remember creating my first Christmas wreath, it took me two days, I was 5 years old. My parents did an occasional wedding and I was always bugging my dad to let me make the boutonnieres, or corsages and head wreaths. When I was thirteen I created my first bridal bouquet for a family friend’s wedding. After I graduated high school I traveled Europe and found that while away from flowers something was missing. I managed a floral department at a local grocery store for a short amount of time, and then decided it was time to go out on my own and Flora Organica Designs was founded in 2005. I had been creating weddings for a few years as part of my parents’ farm I decided to use Flora Organica Designs as my business name.

Lisa:
We started our farm in 1984 as River Rose Flowers in Orleans, California. The first year we grew a mix of summer produce and flowers for the dried flower market. At the peak we did 12 acres of flowers mostly for the wholesale dried flower market. We began to integrate fresh flowers and nursery stock, predominately landscape plants into our production. We moved to McKinleyville, California in 2000 and started another farm, Flora Organica. We grew specialty cut flowers and landscape plants. In 2009 we added herbs to our nursery production and the following year we added vegetable starts. This led to growing produce in the field which we sell at farmers markets, local grocery stores and nurseries. Currently we do a mix of specialty cut flowers, produce, and nursery production with an emphasis on vegetable starts, herbs, colors, lavender, and succulents.

Where do you sell your flowers? Do you ship your flowers?
Lisa:
We sell flowers to local wedding designers, florists, farmers markets, and stores. We did ship when we grew flowers for the wholesale dried flower industry but currently we sell only locally.

Olivia Leigh Photography

Tell us about your design aesthetic, how do you create your style and where do you draw your inspiration?

Faye: I would describe my design aesthetic as natural with a European influence. I draw my inspiration from the flowers and materials themselves. Having grown up on a farm and I have always been conscious of where my flowers come from, and that is reflected in my style, where you will find mostly in season blooms, and unusual local blooms and foliage, and botanicals.

What is your favorite part of being a floral designer?

Faye: taking a handful of flowers or a room filled buckets of flowers and turing it into a curated design…. Getting a shipment of flowers, opening that box is always like christmas morning !…..Handing a bride her bouquet on her wedding day and having her tell me “it is exactly what I wanted and I did not even know what I wanted”

What advice would you give to aspiring floral designers?

Faye: Buy a pair of #2 Felco clippers and accept that you will be always working holidays, but Mondays will become your favorite day of the week!

Do you offer any services in addition to floral designs?

Faye: Along with floral design I offer decorating for the holidays. I also have a dried flower wedding line that I ship all over the country that can be found in my Etsy store www.fayemarie.etsy.com. In my Etsy store you will find many items made from product grown on my parents farm. I ship bulk cases of their lavender, as well as craspedia.

What tool in your toolbox can’t you live without?
Faye: My felco #2 clippers

Your contact information:
Faye Krause
www.floraorganicadesigns.com
www.fayemarie.etsy.com
instagram @fayekrause
twitter @FODesigns
facebook @flora organica design

Flora Organica Farm
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flora-Organica/1725360587688507

Faye and Alicia with one of the Cafe Au Lait Dahlias