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5 Tips To Decorate Your Shop

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the quickest way to market your shop is from the sidewalk. Customers are drawn in from the first look of your shop’s front window display and will remember your store from the chic interior. With that creative mind, you can make your shop look as beautiful as your designs with some easy tips! Sherwood Florist from Dayton, Ohio has shared with us 5 great tips for florist on how to make your store enticing for customers!

The Basics

Who is the main shop decorator?
Jessie Wright, Co-owner of Sherwood Florist is the main decorator and display designer in our shop. However, the team at Sherwood all tend to follow suit and put their own spin on certain displays.

How do you get inspired?
My inspiration comes from so many different outlets. The building in which our shop is located is inspiration itself. From the exposed brick to the original hardwood floors and the large open space in general. Social media also plays a huge factor for inspiration. Most of all, I like to find fabulous old pieces that are worn or bound for the trash and reinvent them or group them together for an impact display. Most of our display tables, counters and shelves are all from reclaimed wood and salvage warehouses.

Why is it important for a florist to make their flower shop look nice?
Keeping up with trends and reinventing your space is half the battle, but definitely most important for your brand and will absolutely pay off in the long run. Keeping a clean concise shop is appealing for the eye and will draw customers to want to walk through and browse your space.

Do you have a decorating mantra?
Our decorating mantra is keeping it simple. There is no place in a successful shop for clutter. We find it is good to have a few core display areas and keep the rest of your space simple and clean.

Can you tell us about your focal piece chalkboard wall?
Our chalkboard wall came about when we moved into our new space nearly two years ago. It is a wall that we built to hide our walk-in cooler. It is the first thing that your eye is drawn to as you walk into our shop because it is directly 60 feet across from the front door. So we knew we wanted something on there that was bold and a focal, but not too busy. We decided to paint it with chalkboard paint. Our main design table is right in front of the chalk wall so it just made sense to add a few bar stools at the end of the table so that our clients wait on their design to be created at the “Flower Bar.” Not to mention a few tips for them to help decide what type of arrangement they would like to order.

Sherwood Florist’s Top Decorating Tips

Photos courtesy of Sherwood Florist

1. Keep it Clean!

Anything too busy or cluttered is a turn off to customers.

2. Use What You Have

Your shop is probably filled with items that are just waiting to be reinvented.

3. Keep Up with the Trends

I’m not saying completely redecorate your space with each changing season, but certainly add or update a few core “statement” pieces.

4. Identify Who You Are Trying To Appeal To

For instance, it’s the New Year, which means booking season for weddings. We’ve added a soft hint of gold with a bit of eye-catching bling to a portion of our front window for this season.

5. Step Out of Your Box!

Do something that would never normally do. You will end up surprising yourself!

From Left: Jessie Wright, Co-owner and decorator, and Bev Guy, Co-owner.

From Left: Jessie Wright, Co-owner and decorator, and Bev Guy, Co-owner.

Thank you Sherwood Florist for these great tips! Check back with the Bloomin’ Blog for more great ideas!

Preparing for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, which means it is almost time for one of the busiest holidays of the year for flower shops. To help you get ready for the flower-frenzy, we have reached out to a few florists across the country to tell us how they are preparing for the lovey-dovey, weekend holiday!

“Be sure to get the sender and recipient’s home phone, cell phone number and their email. That way, you’re able to get a hold of them at some point in the day since people travel on the weekends.”

-Heather McMinn from Heather’s Way Flowers and Plants in Jonesboro AR

“Get orders early and market early. We make sure to have an in-house special for Friday. There is nothing like a woman getting flowers at the office, so we run a ‘Honey, I couldn’t wait until Valentine’s Day Friday special. What I find works best is spreading our marketing message through many outlets–radio, social and FSN email campaigns.”

-Rodney Canady from Blooms A Million in Pensacola, FL

“We make sure and prepare our vases ahead of time, get our orders in, and come up with a delivery plan.”

-Carolyn Yancey from Your Floral Bouquet Florist in Valdese, NC

“We put out our displays always a month in advanced. That way it reminds the customer, puts it in their face, and tempts them to order now. As the holiday gets closer, we strip the leaves, de-thorn stems, re-stock plush and balloons, and get our extra staff prepared. We make sure to let our customers know it’s never too early to order..”

-Heide Parker from Babe’s Flowers, Inc. in Sheridan, WY

Tell us how you are getting ready for Valentine’s day and check back to the Bloomin’ Blog for more great ideas and tips!

 

 

The 14 Days of Love – Marketing for Valentine’s Day

Florists, Valentines Day is less than a month away. If you haven’t turned your attention to Valentines Day, it’s time to start now! This could be your biggest year yet! Here we’ve composed 14 great ideas for the 14 Days in February. You can do them all, or pick and choose your favorites. If you have even more ideas, let us know in the comments below!

Valentines Day Marketing TipsDay 1. Tell your customers you love them.

Use your promotional outlets, blogging, social media, etc, to tell your customers what they mean to you. Create a special email or graphic; maybe give away coupons. This day is all about showing love to your loyal customers.

Day 2. Day of love contest

Give away an inexpensive, but desirable product in a quick and easy contest. It may be as simple as asking “I love my sweetheart so much because ____” on Twitter and giving away a prize for the best answer.

Day 3. Decorate, and decorate again.

Your front window should scream, “VALENTINE’S DAY,” but don’t stop there! Stick cut out hearts and doilies all over your walls and windows. Use red, white and pink ribbon to decorate your house plants, gift items and anything else. Catch love fever and go crazy!

Day 4. Send Valentines

Collect Valentine’s Day cards to be taken to local hospitals, nursing homes or even sent to soldiers. Advertise to your community via press release in radio, newspaper and even your own online promotional outlets.

[Read more…]

Florists & Superstorm Sandy

Hurricane SandySuperstorm Sandy has pummeled much of the east coast and many businesses, including florists, have been effected. We will do our best to make contact with all of our florists in Sandy’s wake, although with power outages and flooding, it will take time.

If you are in the potentially impacted area, here are the key reminders right now:

  • Follow the direction of local officials – if told to evacuate, do so immediately.
  • Make final preparations – If you’re further inland, now is the time to make final preparations. Be ready for power outages and stock up on emergency supplies of food, water, medications, and other supplies.
  • Know the forecast for your area – Sandy is a large storm with potential impacts from wind, coastal flooding, inland flooding, rain, and snow.  Listen to your NOAA weather radio and local news reports, or visit weather.gov for the conditions in your area.
  • Check on your neighbor – make sure they’re ready too.

Northeastern FloristsIf FSN could be of any assistance with orders, your website, or anything else, please call us at 877-376-7363.

[Read more…]

15 Snapshots Florists Should Keep In Their Phones

Important Pictures to Take on your Cell PhoneLet’s face it, as we age our memories are just not what they used to be. If you’re anything like me, you’d loose your head if it wasn’t attached! However, with new technology, there are lots of things you can do to help yourself remember, the most important of these is your cell phone! Whether you’re carrying and old Razr or an iPhone, make it work for you in more ways than just calling friends.

Most modern cell phones have some sort of camera on them. Sure, it’s great for grandkids, but it can also be used for many other things you might not think about, such as aiding our memory.

15 Photos Florists Should Keep In Their Phones

  • 1. Where you parked – For some deliveries, this will really come in handy!
  • 2. Pictures of any refills – Take pictures of the sizes, brand, or other specific information on refill-type products you might use in the store, such as: printer cartridges, specific flower food, light bulbs you use, gift items used often, etc.
  • 3. Common design recipes – Keep your best-sellers handy.
  • 4. Delivery vehicle license plates – Just in case something happens, or you need to know it when they are gone. You can also take a picture of the mileage when necessary.
  • 5. Hotel room numbers – When going on trips to florist conventions!
  • 6. Delivery drop offs – Keep a record of how the flowers looked when they are delivered.
  • 7. The White Board – If you have a white board or other place you write out shopping lists, take a picture of it right before you leave so you don’t have to copy it all down again! [Read more…]

6 Quick Flower Photography Tips For Florists

Flowers and Photography

It seems like the two just go together. We buy flowers based on photos in a book or online, we photograph them at weddings, and florists brag about their talent with pictures of prior work. Most florists would like to have a portfolio, but don’t feel confident enough to do it themselves. It’s not hard to make professional-looking flower photos, but it does take practice.

Flower Photography Tips

Here are a few hints that will make your photos sparkle.

  • Use natural light. That means sunlight coming into your shop. Many shops have fluorescent lighting, and believe it or not, your camera will see it as ugly, green light. Cameras see incandescent lighting as harsh yellow-red. If you have fluorescent or incandescent lighting, turn it off and just use the light coming through the window. Experiment by placing the arrangement closer or farther away from the light source, and by turning the arrangement until the light produces the most flattering effect. Side-lighting from above produces a nice effect. [Read more…]

Treasures From The Back Room: The Florists New Source of Creativity

Floral Designers in the Back Room

The dreaded back room…. every florist knows exactly what I mean… The old vases, the stale and crumbly floral products, the mounds and mounds of ribbon, buckets, boxes… ya, the back room

I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be scary! The backroom is a great place for florists to GET CREATIVE! Think of it as your artist’s studio. It’s time we see all of our old junk for what it is = $$!

Sell-able – if its sell-able, get it OUT of the backroom!

  • Vases – Those decorative “It’s a Boy!” new baby flower vases won’t sell themselves! Put them on the self for impulse buyers! “Oh this is sooo cute, my friend just had a boy, she’d love this!” Put a variety of vases on your shelves; add a few quick-and-easy hand-tied bouquets for examples.
  • Ribbon – create a Ribbon Station in your shop! This is a great way to show the types of ribbon you carry. Also consider selling your ribbon by the yard. Crafters and scrapbookers LOVE ribbon and you will quickly become a favorite stop!
  • Wedding/Party Supplies – Create unique floral environments with your party and wedding supplies.

Usable/Recyclable – Step out of the box for a second and take a look at your backroom… See anything you might use or ‘reuse’ in some way?

  • Packing Materials – See the picture to the right? Those circles are made of white polycord strapping material. You know, the white cords on your shipped boxes. I’ve also seen top floral designers use cardboard, cellophane, mailing tubes and so much more!
  • Candles – Many people burn candles in their shops and homes… Don’t throw away those lovely jars after the wick is spent! Put the used candle into your freezer! After a few hours, the used wax should shrink just enough to pop it out. You might also start a candle-jar recycling program.
  • Stencils – One way to give new life to an old vase is by stenciling a new design! Your local craft store will have a large variety of stencils for you to use. You can use regular craft acrylic paint on your terracotta vases and enamel paint for your glass vases.

Labeling – after things sit in our backrooms for a while, we forget the true value of what we have.

A great tip for keeping up with our $ and backroom is by labeling everything with the amount we paid for it. You can easily see how much money you have sitting on your shelves. Next time you get a shipment of decorative vases, label them! ([total shipment cost] ÷ [number of vases]=total $ per vase) Now, you can quickly price a small, for-pick-up arrangement at a lower price without worrying about losing $. (Great for sales, promotions and clearance events!)

This post is brought to you by local Cambridge MA florists.
Not in Cambridge? No problem, use Flower Shop Network‘s real local florist directory to find YOUR real local florist!

Sips & Snips – DIY Flower Classes

Flower shops everywhere are coming up with fun and creative events to spark their communities love of flowers. The guys over at Helena Florist in Helena AL are doing a fantastic job with their Sips and Snips DIY floral event.

DIY Floral Design EventSips and Snips pairs two of life’s favorite indulgences – beautiful flowers and cold drinks! Guests are invited to come out, bring their favorite beverage and create their own, gorgeous flower arrangement to take home and enjoy. The florists at Helena Florist will guide you through each step of creating your own bouquet.

Helena Florist has created a website dedicated to the DIY floral event. SipsAndSnips.com helps to coordinate the event by using a colorful calender of arrangements. Each month, photos of the arrangements-to-be are posted along with the date and price of the class. Each class’s price is based on the particular arrangement being created that night. Each class is a different floral design!

By allowing clients to design their own bouquets, Helena Florist is enforcing a deep love of flowers that is sure to last for years to come! Guests know, when their arrangement withers, it’s time to book another class!

Love the idea but not close enough to attend Helena Florist’s event? Use Flower Shop Network to find your local florist and ask if they are doing any fun floral events like these in your area. Many florists are now hosting great DIY events, Girls Night Out Parties, wine tastings, and more!

Florists & Fiscal Fitness – Recommit To A Marketing Plan!

Marketing = Communication = Sales

Effective marketing is all about establishing a relationship with your customers. More so than money, time and planning are the crucial marketing components needed. Engaging your customer is the key. As a result, everything you say or do is a marketing tool and directly related to your sales.

Whether you engage your customers face to face, online or through written communication, it is imperative that you know your customers’ [Read more…]

Networker Spring 2010: Social Media And You!

Flower Shop Network’s Networker Spring 2010 will be hitting your door this week. Florists and Social Media is the theme of this edition of The Networker.

Can’t wait! Here’s a sneak peak of The Networker Spring 2010: Florists and Social Media.

Are there topics you would like to see in The Networker? Email your suggestions to TheNetworker@FlowerShopNetwork.com and we’ll send you a Flower Shop Network bag.