All in Articles
I believe in the importance of finding the deeper colors and hidden rooms of your soul. One of the reasons why I fell in love with floral design is that it creates space for just that kind of work. It is kinesthetic, engaging your body with your mind and your senses. And because it is creative, it reveals preferences and beliefs you hold subconsciously and puts them on display in the piece you design.
“It’s ok to grow while others are blooming.” I don’t know if Kelly Perry knew just how much I needed to hear those words when she shared them at the Team Flower Conference in March. For me, the message was two-fold: part invitation to trust that we each grow and flourish at different rates and part cautionary reminder to beware of the slippery slope of comparison.
My favorite bouquets always start with a walk in the woods and end at a local flower farm. It’s there that I find ingredients that are not only unique and special like my brides, but these ingredients speak to the present moment. I think that’s really special. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into a bridal bouquet and the ingredients it calls for. I hope it inspires you as you plan your wedding!
Most florists know and understand that our clients almost never know much about flowers – their season, color varieties, how they hold up in and out of water, mechanics…the list goes on and on! So it’s no surprise that many of the inquiries we get from couples are asking for guidance from us straight off the bat. It can seem overwhelming as a florist when we receive those inquiries – where do we even begin to dig for more information from them?
When you are starting out in the floral design world, sourcing flowers can feel daunting without a resale license. However, you might be surprised by what you can get without one. In this article, Grace McDonald lists some ideas for where to source flowers before obtaining your resale license.
How do we become a better boss to our assistants? How do we manage freelancers well? I think the answer to this question is to learn how to be an open and communicative manager and to make tools and set expectations for our assistants to feel confident and useful while working for us.
Myca shares how to manage a business relocation by researching your market and finding your specialty.
Have you ever grown your own flowers? Annual flower seeds are a low-cost and high-return investment for dipping your toes into a new hobby, bridging the transition from a hobby-grower to a professional grower, and/or expanding and diversifying a thriving cut flower operation. Pressly shares with you her years’ worth of seed-sourcing experience and highlights her favorite suppliers, as the wide world of seed sourcing can be quite daunting for a new farmer or backyard gardener.
Flower farming organically can be tough, especially when it comes to insects. To assist with this, I've researched plants and flowers that are helpful in controlling the population of harmful insects.
Kelly walks through a step-by-step process for creating a garden-inspired centerpiece using Lady's Mantel, Coral Bells, Chamomile, Carnations, Foxglove, Roses, and Chocolate Cosmos.
Gossip, bitterness, hatred, self-loathing, pride . . . these are just a few of the unattractive attributes I've witnessed in my short time in the floral industry—and at times, even within myself. So how do we overcome this? How do we have a healthy view of competition? Below are four things to keep in mind and put into practice as you walk this floral journey.
Many perennial plants can be added to your cut flower farm or garden that provide various benefits to your operation. From diversifying offerings by bridging gaps between spring bulbs and summertime annuals to adding new interest to seasons in which harvests might become slightly repetitive from your fields, their blooms are valuable crops for farmers markets, florist sales, and wedding designs.
Learn from Team Flower member Mandy Hess’ experience getting studio space and the considerations you’ll need to think through to do the same.
Watch how Kelly in this tutorial, step-by-step, puts together a floral chandelier using test tubes and gold wire.
As a working mom, taking on a side hustle might sound crazy, but there are seasons to embark on new adventures and others that require observance of simple tasks. Currently, I run a small floral design business on the side. In a creative industry that often makes us feel like we are never doing enough, I have found that all a side hustle needs to be is a small seed sown.
Maybe instead of shying away from DIY clients, we need to figure out how to make this demographic work for us and still add to our bottom line? In this article, Jalisca shares how her perception of an ideal client changed. To do this, she needed to understand three things about working with DIY brides and in this article she’ll explain what those are!
In this article, learn how Team Flower member Anne Bradfield attached garland and flowers to a long banister. This tutorial is done completely without floral foam as well, and she shows how she puts each step together.
There must be 100’s of ways to structure a group and each group will look different. I’m confident though, that the majority of us will benefit from belonging to a group of floral professionals that have the intent to support one another, collaborate, and make positive contributions to our communities.
Certified American Grown Flowers represents a unified and diverse coalition of U.S. flower farms, including small and large entities in multiple states across the country. Certified American grown flower farms participate in an independent, third-party supply-chain audit to verify both origin and assembly of the flowers they produce.
Let’s be real, being an entrepreneur does have its challenges. Sometimes we have to make tough decisions and learn hard lessons amongst many other things. One thing I’ve found most difficult about being a creative entrepreneur has been making the sale. I’m so excited to share three ways to use social media to increase your sales and maintain authenticity in your creative floral business!
