Have you ever thought about bringing in a professional florist to teach your flower shop team of floral pros? I know that might sound strange, but keep reading!

Recently my family floral business, Pugh's Flowers, brought in a professional. Your first thought may be the same as some of our designers: "Aren't we all professionals?" My answer is yes—and no. My dad grew up designing in our flower shop alongside the other designers for over 30 years. They have a lot of experience, but most of them have not had the opportunity to receive any formal training or education; they had to learn from each other.

We have a designer on our team, Angela Brown, who decided she wanted to improve her skills and become AIFD certified. She has been taking every opportunity to travel and become inspired! She also had the incredible honor of helping with this year's 2020 Rose Parade. But not all of our designers have the opportunity to travel and learn—which is why it's important to bring inspiration to them.

My first chance to gain additional in-person floral training was when I traveled to Dallas to learn from Jenny Thomasson, AIFD, PFCI, EMC. She was awesome! She is amazing and inspiring, and I knew I had to bring some of that fire she brings to floristry back home to Memphis. So I decided to invite her to our family-owned shop to teach our designers.

Jenny graciously came and taught us so many new things. Keep in mind, while some of us had been there for two years, others had been designing for more than 30! We learned how to create a hand-tied spiral, our dozen roses got a modern upgrade, and we mastered the art of the Japanese Kokedama moss ball. On top of that, our cost of goods has improved as we minimized our use of tape. I could go on and on. Jenny not only taught us new, innovative methods, but she also inspired every single one of our designers.

3 Reasons Why Every Flower Shop Should Bring in an Outside Professional for Staff Training:

1. Designers need someone who has traveled across the country and can bring them up to date on the latest trends and styles in the floral industry. Many retail shops are local staples and employ designers who have been there for many years. Rarely do they have the opportunity and funds to travel.

2. We are artists—we need to be inspired! While inspiration can come from many different avenues (art, nature, etc.), there's nothing like watching another floral artist create something from their own creative space.

3. You'll find that spending money on training your designers in the beginning will pay dividends in the long run. For your business to stand out from large grocery stores or drugstores, your designers need to be educated.

My advice to other local florists and floral shop owners: bring in a professional! Not only will they teach your staff modern techniques and the latest trends, but they will also ignite a passion in your designers that maybe they haven't had in a long time. Most florists can't afford to send every designer on their team out to another state to be inspired or further educated, but maybe they can afford to bring the inspiration home!

Looking for affordable floral education for yourself or your team? Check out our online floral design classes. We cover floral design, floristry business, and flower growing topics—there’s something for everyone, no matter if you’ve been in the floral industry for 40 years or 40 minutes!