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Pricing Tips For Florists: Customers Don’t Set Prices with Alison Ellis

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In the midst of a busy wedding season, when all of your attention is rightly dedicated to the clients you’re working with, florists also have to manage new inquiries for next year’s season because….well, frankly, we don’t get to choose when people decide to reach out to us!

They get engaged, book a venue and bam!….they’re ready for us!….even if we’re already busy with this year’s clients.

This is why prequalifying clients for style, personality AND budget is an important part of your client management systems.

One important point to keep in mind as you’re vetting next year’s customers is that customers don’t set prices; you do!

Click to watch “Why Customers Don’t Set Prices” (I kept short for you and it’ll take less than 4 minutes to watch!):

About Alison:
Alison Ellis, founder of realflowerbusiness.com and creator of Flower Math, is a floral designer and educator who teaches florists around the world how to increase their income and have more freedom in your business.
With over 25 years in the floral industry, Alison teaches the business side of the flower business to talented designers who want to maximize their profits and establish a long lasting brand.
Through her online courses, private & group coaching, and free videos, she’s helped thousands of florists streamline their business processes and make more money.


Wedding Wednesday :: Coral and Peach Bridal Bouquets

Three New Varieties of David Austin Cut Roses

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Flirty Fleurs Rose Study - Ella Effie Eugenie David Austin Garden Roses - Alexandra Farms

David Austin has added 3 new varieties of garden roses to their cut rose collection, they became available in the Spring of 2019. Alexandra Roses grew the beautiful roses seen here and shared them with us so we can share them with you!

Effie is a beautiful buttery yellow with a hint of apricot, super posh petals on each bloom.
Ella is a stunningly shaped crisp white garden rose, a very round bloom which has a very long vase life.
Eugenie is a super romantic, ruffled perfect blush garden rose.

Flirty Fleurs Rose Study - Ella Effie Eugenia David Austin Garden Rose - Alexandra Farms

Flirty Fleurs Rose Study - David Austin Effie - Alexandra Farms

Flirty Fleurs Rose Study - Effie Garden Rose by David Austin - Alexandra Farms

Flirty Fleurs Rose Study - Eugenie David Austin Garden Roses - Alexandra Farms

Flirty Fleurs Rose Study - David Austin Eugenie Garden Rose - Alexandra Farms

Flirty Fleurs Rose Study - Ella David Austin Garden Rose - Alexandra Farms

Flirty Fleurs Rose Study - Ella David Austin Garden Rose - Alexandra Farms White Rose

David Austin Garden Roses grown by Alexandra Farms

Click on the image to watch a video featuring the three new varieties of David Austin Garden Roses, grown by Alexandra Farms.

David Austin Garden Roses - Ella Effie and Eugenie

Wedding Wednesday :: Chair Treatments

Wedding Wednesday :: Hair Flowers!

Wedding Wednesday :: Burgundy Wedding Inspiration

Tips when working with Gladiolas with Alison Ellis

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Hey Floralpreneurs! Welcome to July. If you’re in the midst of a busy season like most florists I know, I’m sharing a super short, quick tip with you today. Well, actually, it’s 2 tips!…2 tips on gladiolas to be specific.
I LOVE gladiolas. I know they have a reputation for being “funeral flowers”, but that’s just because they’re so useful for their height! They have a beautiful bloom, come in wonderful colors, and can be fantastic in wedding work. (They’re also beautiful in the garden to boot!)

Today’s video has 2 gladiola tips: first, how to get the blooms to open more quickly and then, how to wire a gladiola for a bouquet or hair flower. I particularly like gladiolas in bouquets. The next time you need a “coral” flower for a bouquet, consider a gladiola!

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch! As always, keep doing beautiful work!…and I’ll see you here on flirtyfleurs.com next month with another fresh post.
xo, Alison

P.S. This quick tip is part of my online training, How To Start A Floral Design Business, and you can get the FREE course here: https://realflowerbusiness.com/startup

Alison Ellis
Fresh Event Design, LLC

See my wedding work: floralartvt.com
Find courses for Florists: realflowerbusiness.com

Wedding Wednesday :: Fresh Bouquets of White and Green


Claude Monet’s Gardens in Giverny, France

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The House and Gardens of Claude Monet is the beautifully restored home of the painter Claude Monet, the founder of French Impressionist Painting. Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny is probably the most famous garden in France with over 500,000 visitors annually. Monet painted some of his most famous paintings while living at Giverny, these included his water lily and Japanese bridge pieces. Claude Monet lived in Giverny from 1883 until his death in 1926.
This is a garden I’ve wanted to visit for quite some time and am quite pleased we made the day trip out to the countryside, an easy one hour drive from Paris. If you love gardens be sure to add this one to your list of ones to visit!

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Maddie peering out the window of Claude’s painting studio

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Claude’s painting studio

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Claude’s painting studio

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

The map of the grounds

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

My niece, mom, and I right outside Claude’s home.

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

The famed Water Lily Pond

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs Blog visits Claude Monet's Gardens in Giverny, France

The famed Water Lily Pond

Wedding Wednesday :: Sweetheart Table Inspiration

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Discussing Mock-Up Policies with Alison Ellis

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Have you ever been asked to do a mock-up for a wedding? If a customer asks for a mock-up it can be difficult to address if you don’t have a company policy. A “mock-up policy” will help ensure you deliver the best customer service to your customers.
Do you do “free” mock-ups?
Do you charge?
Is it something you “just won’t do”?
Or something that’s “extra”?

Click to watch “Should Florist Make Mock Ups?” and let me know what your company policy is in the comment below!

Thanks for taking the time to watch and keep doing beautiful work!
xo. -Alison
P.S. I recently wrote a free eBook called “Everything I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Business” and you can get a free copy here: https://realflowerbusiness.com/everything-i-wish-i-knew-before-starting-my-business

Alison Ellis
Fresh Event Design, LLC

See my wedding work: floralartvt.com
Find courses for Florists: realflowerbusiness.com

Wedding Wednesday :: Fall Bouquets with Red


Online Class focused on Instagram for Floral Designers starts on Monday!

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I’m excited to announce our next online class specifically for Floral Designers looking to increase the online presence of their Floral Design Business. This class will focus on working with Instagram.

This e-course will be held online via a private, password protected online space. This is a one week long class. I will be posting 3 lessons daily for the 5 days – August 12 – August 16, 2019. You’ll learn how to build your presence on instagram which will lead to attracting more clients. The class notes will remain active on the website for one additional week, ending on Friday, August 23, 2019.

The lessons will be posted in the morning hours each day, please keep in mind that I am located in Washington State and will be posting Pacific Standard Time. You may log in at your leisure to review the lessons, there is not a set time as we will have students in the class from around the world.

Requirement for class: Participants must have a Smart Phone with the Instagram App installed prior to class beginning.

Class Starts: Monday, August 12, 2019
Class Ends: Friday, August 16, 2019
Investment: $89

Ready? Sign Up Here:





  • Class Begins Monday, August 12, 2019. Your log-in information to to the course will be emailed to you on Sunday, August 11, 2019.
  • We will email log-in instructions to the email you have noted on your PayPal payment. If for some reason you’d like us to email a different address please do notify us at info@flirtyfleurs.com
  • If you have not received an email from us by Monday, August 12th please do email us as sometimes our emails get sent to spam… or outer space. 😉

 

FAQs:
*There will be no refunds or transfers once you have registered & paid for this class.
*Information from this class will not be shared with others outside of this class. Immediate cancellation of your membership will be enforced if you are caught distributing information.
*As the saying goes “what you put into it, is what you get out of it”, full participation is the best way to gain the most success possible.

Questions? Email Alicia

Wedding Wednesday :: Pretty Pastel Bridal Bouquets

Wedding Wednesday :: Pew Bouquets

Floral Design Workshop with Françoise Weeks & Alicia Schwede

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Early Bird Registration Rate Ends on Saturday, August 31, 2019 — Reserve Your Space Now and Save $500!

Floral Design Workshop in Seattle Washington with Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs, Francoise Weeks, Miles Johnson of Fiori Floral Design. Floral Design Class in Seattle.

Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs, Miles Johnson of Fiori Floral Design, and Françoise Weeks surrounded by students of the Fall 2018 workshop in Seattle. The group is sharing the bridal bouquets they designed. Photographed by Alexandra Knight Photography.

FUSION | Flowers + Art
a three day floral design workshop
Hosted by Françoise Weeks and Alicia Schwede
Seattle, Washington
October 11, 12, 13, 2019
 

Get ready for a workshop that will be illuminating, productive and so much fun. Join Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs and Françoise Weeks of Françoise Weeks European Floral Design for a three day intensive of floral mastery where you can expand your horizons as an artist and where flowers are your medium!

Create, learn, and explore your creative side as you try your hand at designing woodland inspired centerpieces, bridal bouquets, large scale arrangements, and botanical jewelry – to name a few of what we’ll be creating at this unique workshop.
Day 2 of the workshop will be dedicated to large scale and artistic designs. Students will be given the option of two different tracks.
Track 1 will be the super artistic Floral Dress and intricate masks.
Track 2 will be large scale wedding inspired designs.
We will be in touch with each student prior to the workshop to discuss which track the student will like to participate in.
This is a one-of-a-kind workshop where you’ll push the boundaries, learn valuable mechanics, delve into the art of floral design and have lots of fun!

These two talented floral artists are joining forces to share their diverse styles in one weekend. Attendees will be immersed in each artist’s unique vision in a way that will encourage the discovery of your own unique style. No matter what your personal style is, you will learn valuable skills from two seasoned teachers.

The workshop is being hosted at the famed Seattle Wholesale Growers Market on October 11, 12, & 13, 2019. Over the three days attendees will engage in hands-on instruction with both instructors, learning techniques for flower care, color distribution, and mechanics. Attendees will work in small teams to create fantastical botanical couture and an impressive woodland designed installation. The floral arrangements, wearable art and installations that are created during the workshop will be totally swoon-worthy.

Photographs shared in this post are from the Fall 2018 3 Day workshop, as you can see we shared a lot of laughs! All photographs are by Alexandra Knight Photography.

Floral Design Workshop in Seattle Washington with Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs, Francoise Weeks, Miles Johnson of Fiori Floral Design. Floral Design Class in Seattle.

Françoise shares instruction on how to create a woodland inspired centerpiece. Second photo shows Françoise’s finished centerpiece.

What is Included:
• Three days of hands-on instruction including personal time with each instructor. Explanation for why the instructors make each choice and which mechanics that are the best practice for the techniques being demonstrated so that the skills learned are easily transferable to the each attendees unique design style.
• A limited number of spaces will be offered so that each participant will have time to have meaningful interaction with each instructor. Feel free to ask about anything floral or business related during down time.
• The opportunity to work with foraged and locally grown flowers, many of which are grown by the instructors. All flowers, foliages, and containers used will be provided. You may keep every arrangement and wearable art piece that you create or the workshop team can donate it to a local women’s shelter if you are unable to take it home with you.
• A write up after the workshop on Flirty Fleurs Blog will mention each student with a photograph of their work and links to their website and social media accounts to increase their exposure.
• Lifelong friendships and community. Participants may decide what contact information and social media accounts they would like to share with the group so that everyone can stay in touch.
• Continental breakfast and a catered lunch each day.
• A gift basket of items personally selected by the instructors for their usefulness, helpful information, or because they are just plain fun.

Floral Design Workshop in Seattle Washington with Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs, Francoise Weeks, Miles Johnson of Fiori Floral Design. Floral Design Class in Seattle.

Christina and Shirley share the bridal bouquets they designed during Alicia’s bouquet creating session at the Fall 2018 workshop.

Where:
The workshop is being held in the Seattle Wholesale Grower’s Market, a co-op of Pacific Northwest flower farmers located in the Georgetown neighborhood south of Downtown Seattle. This Seattle treasure provides locally grown fresh flowers, foliage and plants to the floral industry. You will want to arrive early on Friday so that you will have time to browse their amazing offerings, especially the enormous variety of dahlias that their farmers bring in. The Market will be closed on Saturday and Sunday.

Investment:
Register by Saturday, August 31, 2019 for an early bird rate of $1,750.00.
Registration price is $2,250 starting September 1, 2019.
Save Your Space with a $500 Deposit, Balance Due on October 1, 2019
Make an investment in yourself by attending the FUSION | Flowers + Art workshop! We will be sharing tips and techniques that took us many years to learn. By the end of the workshop, you will gain tremendous confidence in your abilities. You will benefit greatly from two instructors who are extremely passionate about what we do. Combined, we have over 50 years of experience in the floral industry, and we want to share what we have learned with you so and watch you grow!
For registration after September 30th please email Alicia at workshops@flirtyfleurs.com to confirm availability.

What is not included:
• You will be responsible for all travel arrangement to get to the Workshop (including airfare and car rental/train fare/etc.). The market is an easy Uber ride from all parts of Seattle.
• Accommodations are not included. However, we are happy to recommend nearby accommodations or we suggest checking out AirBnB listings for the Georgetown Neighborhood. 
• Evening meals

Cancellation policy:
The FUSION | Flowers + Art instructors have spent a lot of time and energy planning and preparing for this workshop to give you the best possible experience at an incredible value. We regret that we are not able to offer refunds for any reason including but not limited to any kind of emergency, travel breakdown, no shows, or acts of God. You are strongly encouraged to purchase travel insurance for protection against natural disasters and unforeseen circumstances. You may transfer your registration to another person as long as the workshop team is notified by email of the transfer. Notification that the registration has been transferred may be sent to workshops@flirtyfleurs.com and must be received by midnight on September 30th. The initial registrant is responsible for collecting any payment from the person who is assuming their registration. The workshop team is unable to assume any responsibility for collecting payment for a transferred registration.
The FUSION | Flowers + Art team reserves the right to cancel the workshop if there are less than six (6) attendees. In the unlikely event that the workshop is cancelled all registration fees will be refunded within 90 days.

Floral Design Workshop in Seattle Washington with Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs, Francoise Weeks, Miles Johnson of Fiori Floral Design. Floral Design Class in Seattle.

Miles takes in and critiques all the bridal bouquets designed at the workshop — you can see we are all laughs!

The Schedule Of The Day: Friday, October 11th
8:00am  Browse the flowers at  Seattle Wholesale Grower’s Market
Start Time: 8:30 Gather for coffee, tea, and treats and get to know each other during introductions
Morning Session: Françoise will kick off our three days together with a design session on creating woodland inspired centerpieces.
Lunch Time: Enjoy a catered lunch
Afternoon Session: Start the afternoon creating Bodacious bridal bouquets with Alicia – design time to create your own work of art!
Second afternoon session: Surprise design …
Day Concludes, enjoy a free evening in Seattle!

The Schedule Of The Day: Saturday, October 12th
Start Time: 8:30 Gather for coffee, tea, and treats
Morning Session: Françoise and Alicia will share a variety of techniques and mechanics to create various installation pieces. Exact pieces will be shared on the day of the workshop – think big, think fun, and think educational.
Lunch Time: Enjoy a catered lunch and afternoon project planning
Afternoon Session: Continue with learning and designing how to create a variety of installations.
Day Concludes, enjoy a free evening in Seattle!

The Schedule Of The Day: Sunday, October 13th
Start Time: 8:30 Gather for coffee, tea, and treats
Morning Session: Ask the Experts! Get your pens & notepads ready as we’ll start the day with a business session. Your instructors spill the beans on anything that you want to know (almost).
Lunch Time: Enjoy a catered lunch
Afternoon Session: Botanical Wearable is the plan for our afternoon — get ready to have fun and try your hand at creating a variety of botanical wearables. Both Françoise and Alicia will share a variety of bracelets, necklaces, flower combs, halos, rings – if you can wear it we’ll show you how to make it!
Day Concludes, closing conversation, gratitude and send off
Floral Design Workshop in Seattle Washington with Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs, Francoise Weeks, Miles Johnson of Fiori Floral Design. Floral Design Class in Seattle.

Botanical cuffs created by students of the PNW Trio workshop in Fall of 2018.

Francoise Weeks, Portland, Oregon floral designer and instructor

Theresa Bear Photography

Françoise Weeks, born in Belgium, has infused her work with a quintessential European reverence for flowers and nature. Combined with creativity and mechanical ingenuity, she has crystalized her singular style of Textural Woodlands and Botanical Haute Couture pieces, garnering a global following.
Her generosity of knowledge and perspective in use of floral materials, structure and techniques, create rigorous and exciting learning opportunities for her students to explore all that nature has to offer.
Françoise’s studio is located in Portland, OR. She teaches workshops in her studio and offers online courses and skype classes as well. She also has taught in many cities in the US and in Mexico, England, Sweden, Iceland, Canada, China and Australia. Her dynamic work has been published in national and international magazines.
In December 2018 her book “The Herbal Recipe Keeper” was published by Timber Press.

 

alicia Schwede flirty fleurs floral design class seattle washington

Emily Merrill Photography

Alicia Schwede practically grew up in a garden, playing amongst her grandmother’s roses and clipping sweet peas and lilacs from her neighbor’s yards. Alicia launched her floral career in 1998 in San Francisco, California. After a move to Denver, CO, she launched Bella Fiori in 2003. Within two years she was winning awards for her floral art and receiving the first of over 40 features in print and nearly 100 online.

Alicia launched her website Flirty Fleurs in 2010 as a blog to share her love of flowers with others, celebrate great floral designers, and support other florists. It has become one of the most heavily trafficked websites in the industry because of her passion and the wealth of information that is available. She has become a leader in the industry, presenting at Florabundance Inspirational Design Days every year. Alicia is a sought after adviser to growers, wholesalers and florists alike and has her own collection of bulb flowers offered by Longfield Gardens.

In addition to Flirty Fleurs, Alicia has published a book of bridal bouquets titled Bella Bouquets, and the magazine Flirty Fleurs. She has been sharing her passion for flowers since 2007 through more than a dozen workshops that she teaches each year, one-on-one instruction and mentoring. Alicia serves on the board of directors of the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a co-op of flower farmers in Washington and Oregon, as an industry liaison. Alicia takes on the occasional wedding through her studio, Bella Fiori in Arlington, WA outside of Seattle.

 

Floral Design Workshop in Seattle Washington with Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs, Francoise Weeks, Miles Johnson of Fiori Floral Design. Floral Design Class in Seattle.

Alicia and Françoise teaching and sharing their love of floral design at the Fall 2018 workshop.. Photographed by Alexandra Knight Photography.

The Details:
Date: October 11, 12, & 13, 2019
Location: Seattle Wholesale Growers Market
Investment:
$1750 – Early Bird Rate until Saturday, August 31, 2019
$2250 – Registration Fee September 1 – September 30, 2019
Save Your Space with a $500 Deposit, Balance Due on October 1, 2019
Email us at workshops@flirtyfleurs.com with any questions and/or you’d like to pay for your space with a check.
Register Here:

 

Wedding Wednesday :: Fireplace Installations

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