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Flower Experience
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31-12-07
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Sarah and I worked Christmas Eve, and we both really enjoyed it! As we had been organised with our workload, we were free to serve and spend time with each customer (our customers do like the personal touch and expect a friendly chat!).Of course everybody was in such high spirits and full of festive cheer, it really was a pleasure to work- not something we can say all that often! By the end of the day we both felt joyful and triumphant (keeping with the Christmas theme) and headed off for a well deserved Christmas break. We opened in between Christmas and New Year, admittedly on skeleton staff but found it to be beneficial I am glad to report.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year and I hope 2008 is a very prosperous and rewarding one.
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31-12-07
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I am glad to report that trade is still showing positive signs. We are keeping the shop well stocked with items ready to go and our working agenda is a day-in-hand, so when we start the next trading day it doesn’t matter if we have a busy start! . We had most of our flower delivery on Thursday with a top up at the weekend as we felt the weekend would hopefully be the busier time. Saturday was busy, with a real festive spirit in the air! I opened the shop on Sunday (not a usual trading day for us) as I felt there would be a demand for flowers- I am glad to report I was right! It proved to be very beneficial and the customers appreciated the extra shopping day. One more day to go!
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31-12-07
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We carried on a positive trading streak this week with our Christmas door wreaths being extremely popular.
We had a standard and luxury range and were surprised that considering how difficult trade has been and that our competitor a few doors down was selling the wreaths at half our price, that we sold three times as many luxury as standard, although they were beautiful! We found many parties being held this weekend which meant we were busy making vase arrangements (Amaryllis and red Cornus are proving a popular theme). Decorating fireplaces also kept us busy. Traditional fresh garlands with plenty of natural decoration such as fruit slices, cinnamon sticks, cones and Ilex proved to be a winning combination. We are feeling quietly optimistic about trade for next week.
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12-12-07
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We hosted our Christmas event this weekend and what a great response we had. Many people placed orders to collect nearer Christmas but plenty of people took items away with them which was good but obviously meant we were hastily remaking arrangements all day . The popular colour theme this year seems to be the aubergine/burgundy which those of you who did the workshops will know was predicted by Joke Matt, how good is she!!
I feel it was such a success because as well as posting out invitations we also did a leaflet drop in all the neighbouring streets. To make it more eye catching we rolled the leaflets and tied them with red raffia (see picture) which I think made people curious to see what it was and encouraged them to drop by. I feel encouraged by this weekend as after a very quiet spell it was nice to have the buzz of people in exploring the real Flower Experience, and hearing the jingle in the till.” Oh I wish it could be Christmas every day” oops, a bit carried away I think!!
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11-12-07
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We are getting in the festive spirit now and have been busy sending out invitations to our Christmas weekend we are hosting next Friday and Saturday. The slight problem we had was in our efficiency to make our customer database alphabetical we managed to only put the names in alphabetical order but not the address column as well so unfortunately we lost the correct address for each name. So with plenty of cursing we had to go through as many previous orders as possible to build a new customer list. At least the mistake was noticed by the said person (no names mentioned to save embarrassment!!) before we had sent them all out. The shop will have lots of Christmas arrangements, candles (apple’n’oak from the scented range are gorgeous) door wreaths and decorational ideas for people to view and hopefully order. We have offered a 10% discount as an incentive. I will report next week with how we got on.
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11-12-07
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We are into our second week of workshops now and the shop is really starting to look festive. The seasonal arrangements which have been made by the students look super, as we have been grouping them together to give a really eye catching display. We have had some very positive comments from our customers.
A local school approached us to see if we would be able to help with their Christmas craft fair. The school has a very good reputation and I felt it would give some good publicity for the shop. We donated some pine rings and 1 hour tuition in how to decorate them. In return our leaflets were handed out at the fair to everybody who attended and the school also asked to purchase some more rings and items to decorate them. The school has since placed an order for a Christmas arrangement and had a couple of other enquiries so for a relatively small contribution I am hoping we will see some benefit.
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21-11-07
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We welcomed back Dutch designer Joke Maat who is hosting the Christmas workshops at Flower Experience over the next three weeks. The days went well with plenty of ideas and tips passed between participants. Our students made 4 very different designs, all of which used materials away from our traditional blue pine etc. The colours were based on the jewel colours of purple and red with black, silver and white accessories. Everyone went away with plenty of Christmas inspiration and looking forward to the festive period ahead, and those who could carry their displays certainly had a talking point for their journey home.
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14-11-07
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The week has been very up and down and speaking to other florists this is the case for most. The Tuesday was a little better with a few people using their 20%discount voucher. We have been delighted to get a response as sometimes these exercises can seem to generate very little interest, but I am sure still beneficial as people may not need your service at that moment but if they do keeps your shop name fresh in their mind.
The Christmas workshops begin next week so we have been preparing the shop, I will let you know how we get on.
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07-11-07
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We decided to do a mail shot this week based on the Flower Council of Holland’s promotion “every Tuesday is free flower Day”. We tried this promotion in the summer with reasonable success and thought it was worth a try for November as sometimes the start of the month can be a little uneventful, and also to place our name in everyone’s thoughts for Christmas. We updated our customer database which is now also ready to use for our Christmas promotions. I had a customer telephone at the weekend to send flowers to a relative and she told me she had received our leaflet which had prompted her to send the flowers. The order wasn’t for the promotional day but at least it made sure she phoned us and not a competitor.
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31-10-07
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We welcome a new team member this week, hurrah!!
Her name is Catherine and she is a part time floristry lecturer at Bicton College. She has been in the industry since leaving school and gained her National Certificate in Professional Floristry , ICSF and earlier this year gained her NDSF, so you can see she certainly has an impressive CV. Rosie and I are looking forward to working with Catherine and I feel the shop will benefit from her creative designs. Apart from that another very quiet week but with the half term holidays now over things should start to improve.
Click for a larger image.
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24-10-07
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I have had a really enjoyable week this week as I have had two ladies with me doing a beginner floristry workshop. They are both looking for a change of career but have the advantage of coming from an interior design background. Over the three days we crammed so much information and hands on experience that by the end of the week they were worn out but still bursting with enthusiasm which was a good sign!
We had a visit from a group of Gerbera growers who were over to see the UK market and it was quite an interesting discussion that we had about the treatment of the vase water. Their recommendation was that a few drops of Chloride were placed in the water which I think most of us know for Gerbera as it increases the vase life by reducing the bacteria but other flowers surprised me, as we have found from past experience that it can leave scorch marks on the base of the stem but perhaps the solution was too strong. After their visit I have decided to experiment with the flower water and watch this space for the results.
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24-10-07
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The shop has been fairly uneventful this week so I haven’t much to report, but hopefully will make you feel better if your shop has been much the same. One of our regular customers asked if we would be able to supply flowers for a charity ball, and were given a budget of £300 to provide 30 table arrangements. Because of the tight budget and the arrangements had to sit around the base of a candelabra we made our own frames using foam cylinders and a water cup base, pinned on oak leaves and then grouped Eryngium, Rosehip berry and 1 El Toreo Rose with a few Cucumis added in to give a real Autumn effect. For our help we were given an advertisement on the evenings programme, on their charity website and our cards were placed on each table which all helps to raise the shops profile. Because we were very careful with the amount of materials we used we also managed to make a profit on arrangements which looked super for the function and received very positive feed back.
Click for a larger image.
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10-10-07
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Another busy but enjoyable week with our second series of “Funeral” workshops, this time hosted by Dutch designer Joke Matt who I am sure many of you know. Everybody enjoyed making the creative designs and with Joke giving plenty of helpful advice and ideas everybody felt the day was a great success. Our students made 3 different arrangements and all felt that the techniques they learnt and different use of flower material could be used in many other designs. After a busy but rewarding day everybody went away plenty of inspiration and those who were able took home their beautiful arrangements they had made.
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04-10-07
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A quiet start to the week, which ended in a fairly big wedding just outside Guildford, Surrey. We had to decorate a crypt within a National Trust stately home. We recommended some really vibrant pinks and whites including “Red Lip” Phalenopsis orchid which looked stunning and really stood out in the darkness of the surroundings. I had to make a wired bouquet for the main bridal flowers, which only consisted of Phalenopsis heads and no other materials, something I am a bit out of practice of, so this was a real test. I was terrified to make it too early as it would be out of water for some time, so I came in early Saturday morning to ease my worry! With all the rushing to get everything done on time I forget to take the camera and get some pictures, which was a real shame! More workshops next week so I’ll let you know how I get on.
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26-09-07
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The shop certainly seemed quieter this week after last weeks workshop and as it is still only Rosie and I we really missed not having everyone around. I have started a new weekly contract for a local pub, and he noticed us because of our eye catching window displays, which really should be a reminder to us all how important is to keep our shops looking attractive and exciting. As you know we are short staffed so at times we are pushed to do window displays but all I have tried to do is keep changing the colour scheme to suit the season and to change the products on show to keep it striking and interesting.
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19-09-07
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What a busy but fun time we have had this week as we played host to fellow Metz customers who came to take part in our “funeral” workshop with designer Marlene van Geest. Our guests were really social and it made the week a really pleasurable one. Everybody enjoyed making the super designs Marlene came up with and swapped each others ideas along with some every day grumbles! Because Marlene works in a florist shop in Belgium part time I think we all felt that she understands the difficulties we face within commercial floristry and had many helpful tips to keep us one step ahead of our competitors.
This week we had a few enquiries for weddings next year, which is a good sign, and also another company has started a new weekly flower contract with us, so all positive news.
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16-09-07
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The shop trade has definitely started to pick up this week I am pleased to let you know, but unfortunately I have not much else to report. We have been busy this week preparing the shop for the workshops next week. The shelves have been dusted, the glassware polished and the work area cleared to give all our florists some room to work in, which itself is a luxury for some! I will let you know next week how everyone got on.
I have also managed to sell on a couple of metal tables which had been hanging around the shop taking up too much space. They are now sitting in their new home which is an Indian restaurant, which wasn’t where I thought they would end up but just shows you how useful our work benches can be!
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06-09-07
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We have decided to try and increase our corporate work, so this week I sent out three complimentary bouquets with a covering letter telling the companies all about ourselves and the services we offer.
I targeted local estate agents, as some of them in the area have been revamped recently so I felt it was the perfect time to show them how we could enhance their showroom with our beautiful flowers.
The response was very positive, with one company deciding to have a weekly vase arrangement from next week and the others I will have to work a bit harder on, but still at least they are now considering the idea.
Each of the arrangements I sent out were to the value of £30.00 retail, so with our new contract we will have covered the cost of the exercise. I am hoping to keep trying this over the next few weeks and see what other work we can generate.
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30-08-07
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I had an incident happen to me a couple of times this week. We had our usual display tables outside with plants on, when from inside I heard a crash, going to investigate I found a broken plant and ceramic container with a lady standing there about to walk away. Seeing me she explained her umbrella must have knocked it off, but no apology or offer to pay for the broken item. Her attitude was, our tables must have got in the way of her umbrella! It is amazing how people do not realise a seemingly minor incident to them can have an impact on your margins, especially when you are a small business.
I thought you might like to see a few new items I got in this week for the start of Autumn. I chose the 17d Brown Swirl Pot with a Calathea Plant along with the Orange Capsicum Plant for a new seasonal display, mix these with Orange Mitsumata branches and Autumn fruit and you have a striking display which is easy to do.
Click for a larger image.
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22-08-07
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Neill has now left, so I have spent time this week interviewing candidates for our florist vacancy. I placed an advert in our window some weeks ago, but unfortunately haven’t had one response, so I advertised on a local website which generated some interest. The advert stated a qualified florist was required, so it is quite amazing how a pizza delivery driver, a model, an accounting manager and an economics student to name but a few, all with no floristry experience applied. I never realised how many other skills fit into our job description! The search continues!!
The summer holidays seem to be going on forever, (I’m sure Mums would agree!) so passing trade is still very slow but I am looking forward to next week when we will change our shop displays and bring in plenty of autumn materials such as Physalis, Achilla, Amaranthus etc. and the autumn fruits, to give a real splash of colour.
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15-08-07
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I learnt a hard lesson this week when a customer who bought a plant used a fake Scottish £50 note. A young man and his sister came in to make the purchase, I questioned the note as it had a waxy feel (so if you used a note detector pen it would not leave a mark making the note seem genuine) but it had a water mark, the strip through the note which I tore and as I have never seen a Scottish £50 note believed it to be genuine and with his relaxed, chatty manner with a Scottish accent it made the whole situation credible. I also believed that legally I had to accept the note but when I went to the bank, which was how I found out it was a forged note, they told me that you are entitled to refuse to accept either Scottish or Irish bank notes, so now we have a discreet notice for the customers so I don’t get caught again.
We had a customer this week who was looking for a really special, unusual funeral tribute and I felt it was so beautiful I had to show you the picture. Earlier in the year Neill attended a workshop with Moniek Vanden Berghe, which was were he got his inspiration for the design. The customer was absolutely delighted.
Click for a larger image.
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08-08-07
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I had to start this week by placing an advert for two part time florists, as sadly Neill has decided to leave us to set up his own venture. We are trying to fill the position with two part time members of staff instead of one full time, as sometimes we find it a bit restrictive to cover holidays and busy periods etc. I am sure you would agree finding good, reliable, qualified staff really is a difficulty. I know from past experience during this time of year it seems even harder to fill vacancies as people are away, but hopefully we will have some star applicants apply! I will let you know how I get on in the coming weeks.
We ordered some ‘Platicodon Astra’ Plants in this week, which were absolutely stunning. The shape of the beautiful powder pink flower is exquisite, accented with the lush velvety purple centre. We potted them into glazed lime green ceramic cubes and decorated them with pink sand and river cane. They’ve been a real talking point in the shop. You will find them listed under “Bedding” in the Pot Plant section. You only have to order them in fours so highly recommended.
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31-07-07
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I thought I would let you know this week about our flower of the month promotion. On the shop counter we place either a vase of flower of the month or a design with a short written piece telling the customer about the history or interesting facts about that particular flower.
Our August flower is Dahlia, so if you would like to try it and I think you will find a positive reaction from your customers, here are some interesting facts for you. The Dahlia suggests the instability of perfect beauty. In the gardens of the Aztecs, the conquistadors found the dahlia, a jewel of the Americas. When it was sent back to Spain, they made a holiday in its honour called the Day of the Dahlia. Some dahlias bear flowers more than a foot across. For all its glory, the dahlia was not easy to grow in the northern gardens and often would not survive so the English flower books called the dahlia fickle. In Europe the dahlia became nonetheless, an expensive and fashionable flower.
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25-07-07
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I really must start this week by telling you about how many credit card payments that I have had declined, is it me or has everyone else had this trouble. Maybe it is just my customers that have spent up on their holidays, which seem to have really started already. Our passing trade really seems to have quietened down, so we decided to put some positive messages on our plants, promoting their health and well being benefits, just another thing to catch the customer’s attention, which seems to have gone down well. Our Bride this week chose a real traditional summer theme, Larkspur, Lisianthus, Mentha, Alchemilla Mollis, etc, which looked beautiful despite the weather. Later in the week Rosie and I spent the morning with our wellies on, using the brooms trying to sweep water out of the shop, yes we were flooded again, the second time this month, but I am sure we were not the only ones!
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18-07-07
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This week started off a little quiet in the shop, but we made the most of the time to make sure our shop front looked enticing with plenty of reasonably priced impulse buys which were easy for busy Mums to dash in and pick up as the schools were finishing for the summer. We tried the White Curcuma Plants which were really good value.
Wednesday saw us making party flowers using Wow Rose heads massed into a Glass Cube with Flexi grass and petals stitched on. A simple idea which has a big impact helped by the striking colour of the Roses.
The weekend saw more function flowers being delivered, we hired our Martini Glasses filled with contemporary arrangements using Alliums, which is not always an easy flower to use, but as we were working to a tight budget, we felt they gave the arrangements perceived value, always a skill!
Lastly a picture of our new colleague Rosie, so you can put a face to a name.
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11-07-07
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This week we had a new colleague Rosie start with us which was very useful as Neill has started his summer holidays. Rosie has a wealth of experience and plenty of ideas which is always useful for any business.
The British summer was very kind to us on Wednesday and we had a freak storm, the hailstones were huge with lashings of rain, thunder and lightening which came into the shop and flooded our work area, so Wednesday evening was spent with a mop and squeegee, luckily no major damage was caused we were just a bit soggy!!
This week we finished our quarterly stock take which I’m sure you will agree is one of the downsides of retail floristry, it is boring but we all know how important it is to keep on top of our spending.
The Sunflowers are beautiful at the moment, we have been making small bouquets of them with Steel Grass and they have been selling like hot cakes! Well worth a try.
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