Home Shop Flowers Bloomin' Blog Find Florists About FSN Contact FSN Florists Only!
Find Your Local Florist:
Home Shop Flowers Bloomin' Blog Find Florists About FSN Contact FSN Florists Only!

Florists: How To Translate 2013 Trends To Floral Designs

“There’s no point looking at design trends, no one in my area cares.” I never want to hear any of you florists say this! If you care, then there is a point. When your designs capture the imagination and creativity of your audience, they will care and crave your work. How? Just keep reading…

How To Translate Current Trends To Floral Designs

First grab a notebook! Next you need to explore what trends are happening now. This is the fun part! Using the internet, Pinterest, magazines or anything else, you should start by collecting inspirations. These resources don’t have to have anything to do with flowers, they can deal with fashion, homemaking, hairstyles or even fingernail art!

Creating A Trends Inspiration Notebook (or Pinboard?)

Art deco designs by Crossroads Florist, Mahwah NJThese examples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to collecting inspiration. Create your own process. You might choose to paste collages into your notebook, or if you’re more artsy, sketch them out. Take it a step further and use watercolors to remember the exact hues. If you’re more tech-savvy, consider making a Pinboard for your trendspiration.

Here are a few examples:

Fashion: Look for fashion interesting color or texture combinations. Jot down in your notebook what you like and what you don’t like. List any flowers you can think of that are available in the colors used. Take notes of any interesting shapes that may be used, such as a bow placement or collar style. Is the skirt long or short? How can you make this all come together in flowers?

Homemaking: When you look at a beautifully styled room, what inspiration can you draw from it in flowers? What style is being used? Is it modern, eclectic, sophisticated, high style, etc? What colors or patterns can you translate into flowers? For example: a room’s overall color is a blue with an accent wall covered in a chunky patterned wallpaper. Your floral design could be all blue with a blue vase and a contrasting patterned ribbon accent. Be sure to jot down everything that stands out to you in the room. You may even divide the room into sections of inspiration. It’s all about you!

Hairstyles: How on earth could hairstyles inspire floral design? Well, have you seen the crazy up-dos out there? Hah. First of all, designing hair is a lot like designing flowers, just without the color. You have to use angles, texture, and twists and swirls all while keeping the universal principles of design in mind. Is the design symmetrical or a-symmetrical? Are there harsh angles or is it soft and textured? It’s more about getting the ‘gist’ of it than flat out copying.

Nail Art: If you aren’t familiar with the nail art craze, you are missing out! Recently trendsetters have been using their nails as an extent of their fashion repertoire. Fading colors, matte contrasting glossy, gemstones, unique color combos, and so much more are used in nail art. It’s an unusual source of inspiration, but you might be surprised what this muse might inspire.

After a while of trendy note taking, you might be surprised where you will start seeing floral design inspiration pop up. This is a great way to keep the creative juices flowing.

Making Trends Work For Your Flower Shop

How do you make your community aware of these trend-inspired designs? Showcase them! Take some of your most fashion-forward designs to your local boutiques, jewelry stores or anywhere local fashionistas might be shopping. Be sure to leave a stack of business cards so they can get one of their very own.

Pictures, pictures & more pictures, (but also a good description)

The best way to raise awareness of your designs is by sharing photos of the designs online. No, I don’t mean emptying your camera card into a new album on Facebook once a month. Each time you create a new piece, share it right away, and share more than just a photo. Write a description that includes the inspirations you used. Tell your visitors exactly why you chose these particular flowers and colors.

Anyone can stick flowers in a vase, but by using good descriptions, you can show your customers exactly what makes floral designs from your shop so much more desirable. People follow artists and photographers to see new editions of their work; they will also follow you to see just what you come up with next. Floral design is an art form just like any other, are you using it to your full potential?

Art deco design above by Crossroads Florist, Mahwah NJ.

Speak Your Mind

Connect with Facebook

*