Canadian Florist - May 2016

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Vol. 111 No. 3 • May/June 2016

16

10 COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF UBLOOM.COM Our previous issue erroneously credited Kelly Blank, uBloom’s creative director, as the photographer of the cover image. Canadian Florist regrets this error.

Whether it’s a first time little nosegay for the beach wedding of a sweet country girl, a daring calla and anthurium cascade for a diva, or a “third time’s the charm!” bouquet for a “seasoned” bride’s stroll down the aisle, put your signature on the event, do your best, and love the flowers at all costs!

features 14

Wedding Trends to Have and Hold…

A wedding planner divulges the looks today’s brides and grooms love.

18

Lean On Me: A Wholesaler’s Tips for a More Perfect Union

A wholesaler shares why you really, really, really should place wedding orders early.

22

Make Way for Momzilla

A florist offers a tactful way to put a fussy mother in her place.

-Neville MacKay

online Network with florists online ©2015 Teleflora EF4216M

Visit the Florist 2.0 Community to talk shop with other florists from Canada and around the world. Ask questions, share tips, and find a sympathetic ear!

08 departments 06 Coast to Coast/ Bloomin’ Biz

08 For Your

Consideration

10 Florist Spotlight 12 The Social Florist 16 By Design 20 Tech Tips 24 Rising to the Occasion

26 Care And Handling

28 Ask the SEO 30 On the Level with Neville

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 3

www.canadianfloristmag.com

mag.co

WWW. Whose Day Is It?

When Ryan and I planned out this issue, we settled on a very broad theme: weddings.

As for individual topics, we kept it pretty loose. We simply asked our contributors to share their observations and insight on this category of business.

As articles began pouring in, I couldn’t help but notice a recurring message: The couple’s wishes are what count — period.

The wedding planning process is a noisy one. Parents have opinions. Friends have opinions. Planners have opinions. Vendors have opinions. While a lot of couples welcome some guidance as they navigate the hundreds of little details involved in the planning process, most resent being told, “this is how you should do it,” especially if the advisor’s tastes run contrary to theirs.

FROM THE When my parents wed in 1980, they decided very few elements of their own wedding. Basically, they chose the venues (my mother’s hometown church and country club), the time of day (11 a.m.) and the dress (a long-sleeved lace A-line gown for her, a morning suit for him). The rest was left to my grandmother. That was the norm for their generation, or so my mother tells me. She has no regrets that she didn’t personally select the table linens, cake, or daisies lining the church aisles.

Brides today feel differently. They want to see, touch, and taste before they declare yay or nay.

In “Wedding Trends to Have and Hold,” (p. 14) Meagen Eagles, a wedding planner in Niagara, describes how wedding consultations have changed over the years. No longer does the mother of the bride call the shots; these days, brides and grooms seem more invested in the event. They come to her brimming with ideas to make their wedding as personal an affair as possible. Why might this be? Citing statistics from the Canadian Census that show people are delaying marriage until their late twenties or early thirties, CF contributor Michelle Brisebois hypothesizes that these couples a) have experienced more “life” and want to show it and b) depend less on Mom and Dad to foot the bill, thus they’re not beholden to their parents’ wants.

This loss of authority can sting for parents. In “Watch Out for Momzilla,” (p. 22), Annabel Yarnell, owner of Thistles and Twine in Toronto, shares some of her experience dealing with forceful mothers and strategies to make sure Mommy Dearest doesn’t crush her daughter’s spirits and wedding dreams.

Professionals, too, sometimes have trouble holding their tongues. Columnists J Schwanke and Neville MacKay both address the importance of creating designs that satisfy the client’s request, even if you’d prefer something totally different. “It’s the BRIDE’S day, not the florist’s,” Schwanke says (p. 8). Keep this in mind not only when you meet with clients, but also when you see a snarky article online about tacky wedding trends and feel tempted to hit “share.”

Rounding out the issue, you’ll find tips to minimize your stress as you plan a wedding. Cavelle Martin, a former wholesaler, shares best practices for ordering wedding product (p. 18). Tech Tips author Abby Driver outlines two software programs to streamline your process of developing a quote (p. 20). Care and Handling expert Gay Smith, of Chrysal USA, details how to keep flowers looking fresh during hot outdoor weddings.

We hope the information leads you to many happy and profitable walks down the aisle.

EDITOR

Cheers!

Katie

@CanadianFlorist 4 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

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by Katie Hendrick

Vol. 111 No. 3 Editor Katie Hendrick khendrick@CanadianFloristMag.com 800-314-8895 ext 106

©2016 Smithers-Oasis. All rights reserved. OASIS® and VERTICAL BAR DESIGN® are registered trademarks of Smithers-Oasis.

My designs cascade like the passion of the day.

A wedding is a celebration of love. My cascade design symbolizes this outpouring of emotion, while its unexpected colors express the bride’s unique style. On trend with a clean, modern edge, my creation shows exactly why the bouquet is a major focal point on the big day.

Say “I do” to your own creativity, and get inspired with fresh design ideas at oasisfloralproducts.com/inspire.

Inspire florists worldwide!

Best wishes to Lori Himes from Walkersville, MD, who inspired this design. Her creativity is overflowing. Enter our Inspire Design Showcase on Facebook for the chance to have your design featured!

bloomin’

biz

Fraud Hits One in Five Canadian Small Businesses

F

raudsters have scammed 20 percent of Canadian small businesses in the past year, according to a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which takes more than 27,000 calls each year from small business owners.

“Fraud is a serious threat to unsuspecting small businesses and an ongoing challenge for our economy,” said Plamen Petkov, CFIB vice-president, Ontario and Business Resources. Small businesses impacted by fraud last year lost, on average, $6,200 to scammers. More than half of those business owners say the stress and hassle were worse than the financial losses, citing lost time, stress, and a negative impact on staff morale.

“Knowing what to look for is the key to prevention,” Petkov said.

CFIB identified some of the most common scams, warning signs, and tips to avoid them.

Credit Card Fraud

What to watch for: 1. Larger than normal orders 2. Orders that include more than one of the same item 3. Orders made up of only “big-ticket” items 4. Customers insisting on rush shipping 5. Shipping to international addresses, especially when that is not a normal transaction for the business 6. Customers using multiple credit cards, but shipping to the same address 7. Orders on the same card, shipping to multiple addresses What to do: 1. Use chip and PIN whenever possible.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for ID—remember you are protecting the customer too.

3. Verify card security features (raised numbers and text, hologram, signature).

6 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

Directory Fraud

What to watch for: 1. Addresses that don’t make sense 2. Invoices that don’t include reference numbers

What to do: 1. Do not call the number on the invoice you have received 2. Do a separate search for the actual company’s phone number 3. Call them and reference the invoice number; they will be able to confirm whether or not the invoice is valid 4. Ensure there are no demands for payment in the fine print.

To read the full report, visit cfib.ca/BeFraudFree.

coast to

COAST

COMING

EVENTS MAY 2016 18: FloralStrategies Webinar: Web Photography 3.0 floralstrategies.com

Canadian Florist Business Forum: A Can't Miss Day of Tech, Sales, Marketing, and Design Advice

30: Canadian Florist Business Forum Toronto, Ontario

canadianfloristmag.com

Save the date: The 2016 Canadian Florist Business Forum will be May 30 at the new Universal EventSpace in Woodbridge, Ontario. This one-day event will feature some of the industry’s most sought after speakers who will deliver tech, sales, marketing, and design advice to improve your efficiency and profitability.

The theme for 2016 is Focus: Profits! Each presenter will cover a segment of the marketing and fulfillment cycle: understanding the consumer, marketing to grow sales from new and current customers, making the most of every customer interaction, and delivering a floral design that is both profitable and distinct.

The panel includes: • Adam Jones, Account Executive at Google, will deliver insights into the modern consumer mindset, and how shopping behaviour is changing due to immediate access to information.

• Rick Rivers, owner of A Floral Boutique in Ormond Beach, Florida; author of “Blooming at the Top: 12 Strategies to Double Your Sales” and “No Fishing in My Pond”; and founder of Florist Bootcamp, will present simple ideas to help retail florists jumpstart their sales.

• Tim Huckabee, a Canadian Florist columnist and founder of FloralStrategies, will show how to communicate with customers for better satisfaction and higher sales point.

For the first time, CFBF will be featuring an educational design program. The theme will be delivering profitable and stylish floral arrangements to set you apart from the competition.

To register, visit CanadianFloristMag.com/business-forum/

JUNE 15: FloralStrategies Webinar: Flower Shop Secrets floralstrategies.com 20-22: International Floriculture Expo June 9-11, 2015

floriexpo.com JULY 3-7: AIFD Symposium Orange County, California

Aifd.org 9-12: Cultivate 16 Columbus, Ohio

cultivate16.org 13: FloralStrategies Webinar: Profitable Gift Basket Design floralstrategies.com AUGUST 7-10: Toronto Gift Fair Toronto, Ontario

cangift.org/toronto-gift-fair/ en/home/ 14-17: Alberta Gift Fair Edmonton, Alberta

cangift.org/alberta-gift-fair/en/ home/

A FULL EVENTS LISTING IS UPDATED REGULARLY AT www.canadianfloristmag.com.

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 7

F O R YO U R

CONSIDERATION

By J Schwanke, AAF, AIFD, PFCI Photos courtesy of uBloom.com

W

hen I sat down to write this column, I decided I’d focus on wedding trends. I have my own observations from attending gift shows at places like the Dallas Market, reading magazines, and generally keeping up with what florists around the world are doing.

But I started wondering, “What is the Internet saying about today’s wedding trends?” So I did a Google search for “wedding trends.” One of the first hits was a piece by Brides magazine: “It’s Time to Retire These 5 Wedding Trends.”

This baffled me. How could a wedding trend be bad?

Trends cause excitement! Trends increase creativity. Trends, which stick around long enough to gain momentum, give us an opportunity to consider how flowers fit into a given theme, perfect that look, and showcase it to the eager public. Something becomes a trend because people like it.

So what could possibly due for retirement?

Take a look at wedding photos from 10, 15, or 20 years ago.

They look dated, of course, and today’s incredible events will look dated as well when 2030 rolls around. IT’S OKAY! We’re not hired to create a look that will stand the test of time. Nothing lasts forever and a lot of things will come in and out of style (mums and carnations are making a comeback, by the way). It will happen naturally. There’s no need for some bridal journalist to force it.

So, let’s ignore that article and instead dig into these trends that likely resonate with a lot of your customers.

To my disappointment, four of the five trends Brides dissed involved flowers. Seriously?! The lone exception was fire. I bet that one surprised you as much as it did me. I couldn’t imagine how “fire” could be a trend, but the article referenced drunken people holding sparklers over the bride’s veil as she exited the reception. Maybe the wedding planner should give guests a short lesson in fire safety instead of simply nipping this one. But, I digress…

Let’s talk about the other four, those involving floral décor: burlap, mason jars, ombré, and baby’s breath. It really irritates me that the author would dismiss these styles. Even worse: I saw my industry friends sharing this post on their social media pages. They were embracing this nonsense!

Posting something like this on Facebook is like putting a “CLOSED” sign in your shop window. What if a potential client had her heart set on a shabby chic wedding and now knows you think it’s tacky?

Here’s the thing about weddings that the author of that article and the people who shared it forgot: the wedding is all about the BRIDE. It’s her day, not the florist’s. It’s all about her: her tastes, her fashion, her desires, and her theme. We simply provide a service, albeit a very valuable one! We translate her dreams into the event of a lifetime— no matter what she chooses!

8 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

BURLAP - It’s organic, it’s natural, it goes with just about anything. The biggest complaint I hear from florists is that the price skyrocketed when it became popular!

So what? You charge more for it. There’s no law saying you can’t pass on your costs to the consumer. When something gets more popular, it’s going to cost more money. It’s a simple case of cause and effect. Plus, all our manufacturers have been on the burlap bandwagon for a long time, so florists have plenty of burlap products at their disposal (ribbon, vases, covers, you name it!) to get really creative. Long story short: burlap isn’t going anywhere so go ahead and embrace it.

MASON JARS - These make great vases. They immediately make your floral design look “wholesome and natural,” which oh so many customers crave. They are easy to transport and easy to give away. They are inexpensive.

They are easy to design in—no chicken wire necessary! Just plop and drop.

Mason jar designs are as low labour as they come. Sign me up!

OMBRÉ - Really? The author made fun of a bride who “even had ombré hair and nails.”

Um, hello? The bride clearly loves the look, which is all over the place. I see it in fashion, furnishing, home décor, even automobiles.

It’s here, folks! And it’s so perfect for the floral industry. Most flowers come in a wide variety of tints, tones, and shades. This makes recreating this trend sooo easy. Pick a colour, choose multiple tints and shades, and arrange them in an order that shows off their gradation. It looks really awesome in photographs. And photographs serve as free advertising for your wedding business.

BONUS! One more note on ombré: An easy way to increase your profit margin is to create an ombré rose petal aisle. Anyone on your staff (who isn’t colour blind) can create it. And then you get to charge for the time it took and all the roses you had to tear apart, just as if you took time to design them.

BABY’S BREATH Yeah, let’s pick on a super durable flower that’s easy to get, easy to care for, easy to design, and affordable.

Great idea for the industry!

Now, go to Pinterest and search “baby’s breath wedding” and try to count the results. You can’t; there are literally thousands. If the scent bugs your client, mist it with one part fabric softener and four parts water. My mother’s been doing that with daisies, limonium, and baby’s breath since the 60s.

I find it really negative to tell our customers that we don’t want to do what they have fallen in love with because we are tired of it! Weddings are the epitome of customer service. Never tell a client “this is silly/out of style/ boring.”

Instead, it’s time to put on our happy face, realize “we got this,” and recreate her Pinterest boards (and maybe even make her dream look better). Then, we should get the photographer to capture these popular styles and post them online. We can attract even more customers who want the same look because we did it so well.

Here’s what I’d like to see retired: the complaining and negativity. We need to embrace our passion for flowers (all of them) and turn our customers’ feelings into beautiful designs—designs they find beautiful.

J Schwanke is the host of Fun with Flowers and J, the first web-based TV show about flowers.

He is also the author of “Fun with Flowers” and “Bloom 365.”

Learn more about flowers at uBloom.com and more about J at JSchwanke.com.

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 9

FLORIST SPOTLIGHT

Florist Serves her Industry as Showman, Cheerleader and Social Worker

By Christy O’Farrell

S

ixteen years into her career, Jennifer Harvey loves doing freelance event work one day, and on the next, either helping a shop customer choose just the right sympathy arrangement or demonstrating a technique to a crowd.

That desire to enjoy and share all her job has to offer makes her an enthusiastic champion for the floral and horticultural industries.

Harvey, CFD, CAFA, divides her time between Jennifer Harvey Designs, which she started in 2012, and Gatto Flowers in Mississauga, Ontario, which she joined in 2015 as sales and design manager. Yet she still fits in opportunities to speak and teach floral design to expo audiences, children, women's groups, and people with disabilities. Gatto Flowers, which has been in business for more than 30 years, is like a home base with a solid team that gives her the freedom to represent both herself and its brand, she said.

"I never wanted to be umbilical-corded to a bench," unable to get out and see what others create, said Harvey, who also owns BeLeafs Home and Garden Care.

That wanderlust may stem from when Harvey was in high school, and thought she would go into theatre and dance, having been heavily involved in those worlds. Her dream was sidelined when she ripped a tendon at a dance competition. While recovering from reconstructive ankle surgery, she started studying in the floral design program at Algonquin College in Ottawa.

"I had to figure out another art path," Harvey said. Though she expected, at the time, to return to performing arts and perhaps, one day, teach dance, she fell in love with floral design. "It changed my life and I never went back,� she said. Seeing her theatre friends struggle in their chosen profession also contributed to her decision.

10 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

Her floral design class attended Canada Blooms in 2001, where she discovered the "craziest designs" featuring motorcycles cascading with orchids, and others towering 20 feet.

"I didn't think anything like that was possible," she said, because they were so unlike the majority of traditional vase arrangements found online.

Canada Blooms, an annual festival in Toronto that ran March 11-20 this year, promotes horticulture awareness, and includes the Toronto Flower Show, acres of fantasy garden displays, educational speakers and demonstrations, a plant and product showcase, and flower market. More than 200,000 visitors attest to the "huge number of Canadians with green thumbs," the festival's website says.

Over the next decade, Harvey learned the trade working in various flower shops in Brockville and Ottawa, Ontario, and Strathmore, Alberta; got married; and had a daughter, now 11, and a son, who is 9. When she returned to Canada Blooms on her own in 2011, she told Artistic Director Colomba Fuller: "I've got to be part of this." She got her wish the following year, and took four months, working with a team, to create a well-received hot pink gown.

"I just wanted to blow them out of the water." It was a great feeling taking her place among high-calibre professionals, she said, and it also become her entrĂŠe to begin freelancing with internationally renowned designers such as Preston Bailey. She has also helped design for the prime minister of Canada, the prince and princess of the Netherlands, Elton John, Hillary Clinton and others she can't name because of confidentiality agreements.

Harvey was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Floral Art in 2014. Canadian Florist magazine chose her as one of our "Top 10 under 40" after the inaugural contest that same year. For this year's Canada Blooms, Harvey designed a 30-foot by 15-foot arch

covered in blooms, a booth, a mini garden, and funeral-themed floral display. She also participated in pick Ontario's Floral Superstars' bouquet battle, during which panelists design bouquets in 45 minutes and give them away to audience members.

Such stage shows give Harvey ways to integrate dance and theatre into her career, such as performing a few steps on stage to get the crowd moving. She believes all arts are interconnected. "If you have it in your blood, you just can't get rid of it,” she said. “I don't think I could go a day without dance. It's part of my soul.”

"The theatre thing comes out when you're doing event design," she said. "You're creating space and a whole different atmosphere for people." Her actor's intuition about how

to portray emotions translates into helping customers choose appropriate sympathy arrangements, for example. "I love to see people express their emotions through my art."

As much as Harvey loves the artistic side of the business, she also likes the scientific and mathematical aspects.

She enjoys learning and applying botany and chemistry so that plants and flowers live longer, or studying the optimal margins for successful sales, or memorizing Latin to order flowers from growers in other countries. It's much more than just knowing your colours, she said. "You have to learn how to take care of them, conditioning and light levels, water pH balances."

Harvey thrives whether working on weddings that cost anywhere from $150 to $7 million, or showing her daughter's class a Valentine's Day or Mother's Day project.

She recently recorded an episode to air in June for the second season of "Blind Sighted," a television show hosted

by Kelly MacDonald, a blind reporter with Accessible Media Inc. While previous episodes have found him learning to surf, trying indoor skydiving or interviewing actors, he took a stab at floral design with Harvey.

"It's all about texture and scent" and communication when you can't see, said Harvey, who has worked before with blind and deaf people and also with autistic students. It helps to show you have a sense of humour because people with disabilities too often encounter those who are uncomfortable with their differences, she said. "It's not about perfection. It's about the therapy that goes with it."

For example, when Harvey worked with battered women, handling flowers was mostly about creating something beautiful at an ugly time in their lives. "I like to use this medium to do that for people,” she said. “I think everybody should do floral design."

Christy O’Farrell is a freelance writer in Alexandria, Va. May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 11

Gaining New Bridal Clients through Social Media

by Rachel Levy Sarfin

Social media isn’t just a place to post cat photos, photos of your meals or inflammatory political viewpoints. Brides and grooms are increasingly turning to platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to help plan their weddings. It’s important that florists know how to connect with engaged couples to gain new business. Here are a few ways to cross their paths.

Facebook Ads

Facebook boasts more than 1.4 billion people users, with more than 900 million of them visiting the site every day. Of course, you’re not going to reach all of those people, nor should you – many Facebook users aren’t your target audience.

There is a straightforward way to connect with brides and grooms searching for florists on Facebook, though. Facebook offers businesses the option of purchasing ads.

Facebook ads are a targeted form of advertising. You can select your audience

Enticing Posts

You can also reach customers through organic posts on social media.

Heather Waits, owner of Bloomtastic in Columbus, Ohio, who did more than 180 weddings in 2015, aims for variety in her blog posts, which she shares on Facebook and Twitter. One day, she’ll focus on helpful, logistical posts, such as sharing a wedding planning timeline or giving a rundown of her favourite venues. Other days, she might alternate between content that’s funny and commentary on wedding trends. Whenever possible, share photos from of your own

12 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

based on location, demographics, interests, behaviours and their friends. Facebook has an ad creation tool that allows companies to choose the goal of the ad (which, in the case of florists trying to attract engaged couples, would be to connect with your florist shop on Facebook), add photos, decide whether the ad should run in the newsfeed or in the right-hand column of the screen, and then launch the ad.

“This sounds interesting,” you might be saying, “but isn’t Facebook advertising expensive?” To attract advertisers, the social network enables businesses to set an advertising budget, which can be as low as $5 per day. Facebook

work, but you can also find plenty of photos and images from other weddings that are in the public domain. Many couples put up humorous signs at their wedding to guide guests to the ceremony or the reception, and there are plenty of vendors who sell such merchandise. For example, one shop on Etsy sells a framed version of an F. Scott Fitzgerald quote: “Too much of anything is bad, but too much champagne is just right.”

If humor isn’t your style, you could always post motivational quotes. Brides and grooms in the midst of wedding planning frequently get stressed thinking about seating arrangements

advertising customers also determine the duration of the ad campaign.

While the idea of setting your own advertising budget sounds quite enticing, how do you know you’re getting the results you want?

Facebook offers the ability to track your ad’s performance. If your ad isn’t performing as well as you’d like, you can pause the ad and change it to make it more effective.

and family rifts and could always use a little bit of encouragement to stay calm and maintain a sense of perspective.

Whatever approach you choose, remember to urge your followers on social media to tag people they think would appreciate the post.

Maybe the bride or groom doesn’t follow your florist shop on Facebook, but if he or she sees the post, there’s a greater chance the couple will become customers.

Tag, You’re It!

On that note…tagging can be a very effective way to increase your post’s visibility and reach. A tag on social media is a keyword that helps users find relevant content.

Various social media sites use tags in different ways, and you’ll find that sometimes they’re referred to by other terms. For example, Twitter and Instagram users rely upon hashtags.

On Facebook, tagging creates a link to someone’s profile.

How can tagging attract more brides and grooms? Let’s say you’re delivering flowers to a wedding venue. Ask the couple if you can photograph the delivery and setup, and then encourage them to post the photo to their social networks and tag your business. Their friends (some of whom might be getting married in the future and will need a florist) will see the post and then visit your page.

You could also post photos of floral arrangements as you’re putting them together and tag the bride and groom.

These photos build excitement for the

happy couple. There’s another purpose to this exercise, though. When you tag photos of floral arrangements on Instagram or Facebook, your clients’ connections can see the post, too. Again, some of those connections might also be getting married (or thinking about getting married). When they see examples of your work, they’ll be impressed and want to know more about you. Moreover, the couples can tag their engaged friends in these photos (or share them privately, if they so desire), which helps spread the word about your florist shop.

Heather Waits, owner of Bloomtastic Florist in Columbus, Ohio, blogs regularly about weddings. To keep prospective clients intrigued, she varies her topics. Sometimes, she’ll post a behind the scenes recap of a real wedding. Other times, she will provide a super practical post that offers logistical advice for someone planning a wedding. She shares her blog posts on Facebook and Twitter. Here are two examples of her social media marketing.

Rachel Levy Sarfin

is a Toronto-based freelancer who has written about technology for a variety of publications and blogs.

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 13

By Michelle Brisebois

Wedding Trends to Have and Hold… … At Least For the Next Year — Or Two

It may seem surprising that one of the most established human rituals (the wedding) is also one that ebbs and flows with trends. But, when you think about it, weddings possess all the ingredients tied into trends. Weddings have equal parts emotion, fashion, and creativity. It’s natural that a couple’s expression of love would also depict the mood of society at the time.

For this issue, we spoke with Meagen Eagles, owner of Weddings Tied With Lace, a Niagara-based wedding planning service, for a roundup of the latest wedding trends.

A NEW BOSS IN TOWN

If there’s one North Star trend guiding all of the rest, it’s the desire of many couples to have a wedding heavy on personalization.

Fewer couples are choosing traditional venues, meals, and customs. More are starting with a blank slate to mount a unique experience that culminates with them being lawfully wed.

The dynamics propelling this trend are rooted in demographics. The average age for a first marriage has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. More women than ever are pursuing higher education and building careers, delaying marriage until their late twenties or early thirties, rather than their early twenties. According to the Canadian Census, the average age for a first marriage is 28 for women and 31 for men. Brides and grooms who’ve spent more years getting to know themselves and embracing a myriad of adult responsibilities tend to arrive at wedding consultations without Mom in tow—or at least they arrive prepared to stand their ground about what THEY want, as opposed to simply following their parents’ script for their weddings. They know who they are and they want their personal experiences reflected in the big day.

“When brides come to the planning sessions with their mothers, the moms often comment ‘I didn’t get a say in anything when I planned my wedding’,” said Eagles. She anticipates the shift in planning leadership will stick around.

A CRAFY DESIRE

There’s also a phenomenon sociologists refer to as “the maker movement.” This phrase describes people’s interest in activities that require creative skills to make something on their own. The resurgence of hand knitting, jewelry making, craft beer, and even 3-D printing and open source software, reflects this trend. Something similar occurred at the turn of the 20th century. People turned to arts and crafts in response to the industrial revolution. Society feared too many things would be mass-produced and craft skills would be lost. Today’s maker movement echoes that fear in response to technological innovation and expansion.

On another level, a lot of people feel it’s cool to do things differently from their parents. The current generation of brides was raised by the feminists who rejected anything “crafty” in favour of building careers and independence. Said one bride-to-be on Brit + Co, a new media and commerce company that enables creativity through inspirational content, online classes, and do-it-yourself kits: “My mom was named Miss Betty Crocker of Springfield, New Jersey in 1967. Thirty-five years later, I graduated from an all-girls high school that scorned home-ec class as ‘sexist.’

Though I could speak Spanish, recite from the Canterbury Tales, and figure out the volume of a cone, I couldn’t do laundry, change a tire, or sew on a button. I was educated, but fairly dumb.

Since then I’ve taken it upon myself to learn the DIY skills I’d missed out on.”

Through the twin lenses of personalization

and the maker movement, here are the top trends driving the creative expression of weddings today.

GOING AU NATUREL—WITH THE VENUE

The days of the church service followed by pasta and meatballs in the gymnasium of the local community centre are waning.

Couples want something unique. In particular, Eagles has seen an uptick in requests for rustic venues like barns, orchards, and wineries.

Flowers used to be a way to make guests forget they were in a gym, but in an outdoor setting, they help dial up the wow. One bride, who wed in an orchard, gave Eagles carte blanch to do whatever she wanted for décor.

She wound floral garlands around tree trunks and branches.

EMPLOYING A SOFT SHEEN

Couples are really digging metallic containers, Eagles said. Rather than bright, shiny, “in your face” golds and silvers, they’re picking metals with a more vintage feel, such as old gold, pewter, and rose gold. “Rose gold is HUGE,” said Eagles, who finds it no coincidence that Apple’s latest iPhones and iPads sport this warm colour.

STRIKING A NEUTRAL TONE

Cream, slate, taupe, rose, and copper all fit in the rustic wedding themes beautifully, said Eagles, adding, “there’s a bespoke quality to the palette that harks back to a ‘kinder, gentler’ time.” Expect to see these shades in bridesmaids’ dresses, cakes, and tableware. A more adventurous bride might opt for pastels, such as mint, aqua, and powder blue, all of which look fabulous paired with copper. These colours are also showing up on the dessert table, specifically in macarons. “Cupcakes are waning in popularity,” Eagles said.

Brides are forgoing the traditional tiered wedding cake in favour of more whimsical and casual desserts, such as macarons. Photo courtesy of Jesse James Photography.

14 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

SHARING THEIR STORY

It’s not unusual to see Fluffy or Fido at weddings nowadays, as couples like the event to incorporate important details of their life together, which often includes a pet. Photo courtesy of Young Glass Photography.

Couples want the ceremony and reception to reflect their personal passions. “I had one couple indicate that they wanted a Lord of the Rings theme,” said Eagles. “So I guided them towards ‘an enchanted forest’ theme that honoured the spirit of what they wanted to express but would still be elegant and timeless.” Another couple Eagles worked with loved hiking and nature, but they were having an indoor reception. She arranged for lots of botanical elements ‘to bring the outdoors in’ for the event. “I ask lots of questions to get to know couples,” she said. “I ask how their house is decorated, where they like to shop, what kind of clothes they wear.” On her survey of prospective clients, she leaves the last question open-ended to catch any preferences she didn’t think to ask. One response she’s received: “Why do you ask so many questions?” The more information you can gather, the more you can hone in on their tastes to create something truly personal, increasing the odds of customer satisfaction. If the couple can bring pictures of their parents’ and grandparents’ weddings, you can incorporate a nod to the past, which can be very sentimental. “One bride had lily of the valley in her bouquet in honour of her grandmother who also had them in hers,” Eagles said.

What’s out:

Fading into the history books along with my brother-in-law’s 1977 ruffled tuxedo shirt: • wedding parties dancing down the aisle • fancy—but fake—wedding cakes displayed just for show • Pinterest weddings (couples are over the mimicry) • Modeling the ostentation of celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West • Tossing rice or confetti on the bride and groom as they exit the reception

What’s In: •

• •

•

In lieu of a veil, many brides today prefer the look of a floral crown.

Photo courtesy of Jesse James Photography.

FAVOURING AN ETHEREAL LOOK

There’s a bias for accessories that appear natural and hand-made. Many brides are forgoing the big taffeta veil in favour of a floral crown or a fascinator with floral elements. It’s especially lovely in a rustic setting, Eagles said. Party favours are often small candies in vintage jars with paper labels that look like they came out of an Apothecary Shop. Branches become part of the table design with Edison-like lighting woven through them. Flowers still make a statement, but instead of sitting front and centre in an enormous arrangement, they float either below or above the sight lines at the table to ensure guests can see each other to visit during the reception, Eagles said. Meanwhile, bouquets look as though the bride just picked the blooms from her own garden. (Small, hand-tied bouquets are still popular too, she said.) Horizontal lines are emerging, along with asymmetry. As for flower choices, brides seem to either go for big papery blooms in faded shades of blush, cream, and lavender or vibrant shades of orange, fuchsia and purple on the other end of the spectrum. Place cards and invitations are often on Kraft paper and have a hand-stamped look.

“Naked cakes,” in which a simple filling holds the layers together and there’s no frosting concealing what lies beneath Adorning cakes with flowers instead of elaborate fondant designs “Geek chic” (think: boutonnieres for groomsmen that incorporate Legos, super heroes, and sci-fi characters) Donating wedding flowers to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or facilities offering occupational therapy classes

Michelle Brisebois specializes in retail strategies with experience in luxury goods, restaurants, financial services, and ecommerce.

She currently manages Trius Winery and Direct to Consumer for Andrew Peller Limited in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario.

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 15

design

Bridal Botanicals By: Aniko Kovacs

This issue’s wedding designs come from Aniko Kovacs, owner of Garlands Florist in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Kovacs trained as a horticulturist in Budapest, Hungary. She moved to Canada in 1998 and, one year later, opened her shop. She completed her European Master Certification program with Tomas De Bruyne and Hitomi Gilliam, AIFD, and is an accredited member of the American Institute of Floral Designers. She has been featured in many magazine, TV, and radio interviews. She travels to take part in industry events or presentations whenever she can.

This was a display piece to welcome wedding guests upon arrival. I used gorgeous peonies, garden roses and hydrangeas accented with Eremurus and Spireas to create a lush, romantic design with texture and volume.

Strong, velvety pinks with lots of textures drove this design. Large king proteas paired with softer dahlias and orchids makes an impressive statement for brides who favour modern, bold arrangements.

16 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

Loops of green Pandanus and white coil lend a light, playful, and contemporary feel to this design.

The citrus colours of the roses, viburnums, tulips, and phalaenopsis orchids deliver a fresh, crisp look for any spring reception.

I designed this for a bride who wanted an especially romantic look for her early summer wedding. Peonies and beautiful David Austin roses provide a classy, elegant base for the bouquet. White sweet peas and Ivy stems complete the soft, wispy look.

A hanging flower chandelier could transform any space for a ceremony or reception site. I chose cymbidium orchids, roses and hydrangeas for their size and hyacinths for their fragrance and colours.

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 17

Lean On Me:

A Wholesaler’s Tips for a More Perfect Union

By Cavelle Martin

Wedding season, the bread and butter of the floral industry, is once again upon us. Are you, like so many retail florists I know, running around frantically, up to your eyeballs in orders, with last minute demands heaped on your already precious time?

That’s no fun! I want to help you with that. During my time in the wholesale floral industry, I got to see what florists can’t, and now I’d like to give you an inside look at how wholesalers operate, to offer you best practices that will keep you (and your wholesaler!) sane until the very last bride of 2016 walks the aisle.

Order Early

I know: this sounds obvious and you’re probably thinking, “easier said than done.” But here’s why it’s so critical. From a wholesale perspective, the farms have strict cut off times for buyers; therefore, so does the wholesaler. If you truly want specific product, you absolutely have to plan ahead.

18 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

Additionally, ordering early will save you a lot of headaches while you’re in the thick of the season. You know as well as I do to expect the unexpected in this industry. You know you will have a bride who changes her mind half way through your last boutonniere, so prepare for that indecisiveness. Stress to her that you must place your wedding orders at least one month in advance to ensure she gets her flowers.

On that note, Don’t Be Afraid To Turn Down What You Can’t Promise I have seen too many florists get caught in the trap of going above and beyond for an unreasonable bride. This will cost you! Think about it. Is it worth it if you have to spend more than $20 on a bunch of ranunculus when the bride only wants two stems? You might as well start giving away your bouquets for free! Drawing a line in the sand does not necessarily make you the “bad florist.” If anything, being upfront about what you can and cannot do will eliminate wasting time, spending your retirement money, and potentially disappointing the customer who will tell anyone and everyone how you let her down.

Do Not Promise Variety Please, for the love of all that is good, do not promise your customer a specific variety! It’s a risky and a potentially reputation-damaging move depending on the type of bride you have.

Promise colour. Promise shades. Promise a “look.” Encourage your bride to envision the big picture when discussing options.

I can promise you, if you promise variety, and you end up getting subbed (trust me, it will happen at some point in your career) you are going to have a lot of fun explaining to your bride why she couldn’t have ‘Juliet’ or ‘Baroness’ garden roses. I wish you all the best.

Respect the Busyness of Wedding Season I need to let you in on a little secret. Your wholesaler has been cheating on you.

Yes, you heard me. They talk to other flower shops, freelancers, grocery stores, production companies, walk-in customers and even other wholesalers. Remember that “order early” point I mentioned earlier?

I really mean it. Please know that the farms

are aware of the demand for wedding season and really want to meet it. But to do so, last minute flowers are going to come at a premium price, and your bride needs to understand that too. It is, after all “Wedding Season.”

You Can’t Beat Mother Nature So please, stop trying already. Mother Nature can rear her ugly head whenever she sees fit and there is simply nothing that can be done about that. All the more reason to order early and not promise specific varieties. Bad weather can strike at any time, wiping out an entire crop. Disease can spread, rendering your promised variety unavailable. Always discuss possible subs with your bride before you place an order. That way, if something happens, you have a plan B and your bride isn’t completely devastated.

Limit Changes Sometimes, you get lucky and you have the bride that walks in and says: “This is my budget and a general colour palette. Work your magic!”

More often than not, this is reality: “I would like to have some very specific, out of season flowers that, even when in season, are practically impossible to obtain.”

Being the wonderful florist you are, you bust your butt and actually manage to make the impossible happen and then… …The bride walks in the Monday before her wedding. After having a dream the night before, she decides the very expensive, out-of-season tulips she just “had to have” are no longer in tune with her chakras and now she will be requiring some simple daisies instead. Oh, and did I mention the tulips just showed up at your shop that morning?

Don’t allow for too many changes or you will literally pay the price.

Hello…It’s Me I will admit, as a former wholesale rep (and huge Adele fan), I would try my best to make a point to follow up with my clients regarding wedding orders. But communication is a two-way street. Don’t be afraid to check on the progress of your order, especially one for a wedding. Work out the best way to communicate with your wholesaler. Some florists I worked with preferred email, others, the phone and some liked a fax. Whatever works best for you, express that to your wholesaler. He or she will make a point to accommodate you and this can avoid some serious miscommunication. On the other hand, don’t limit your means of communication.

If you haven’t received your usual email, pick up the phone if your wholesaler hasn’t already. Chances are there is an IT issue happening.

Send Your Pictures Pictures are a great way to communicate your vision but one thing I have learned is not everyone sees the same thing. I know this is going to sound trivial but one thing I have noticed is that not all computer monitors are set the same. This can skew colour. If you email your pictures, be sure you have a discussion with your wholesale rep about the colours you see so you can make adjustments if need be.

Remember, your wholesaler truly wants things to go smoothly for you. They understand the wedding season more than you may think. You’re in this business together. You’re both counting down the days to the end of the season so you can have that much deserved bottle(s) of wine. Nurture the relationship with your wholesale rep and you’ll both live happily ever after.

Cavelle Martin is a former CSR in the wholesale floral industry who once helped renowned designer Kristine Kratt, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, during a design show. Cavelle is the creator of “Mental Break - In Progress,” a blog she started in 2014, after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, to help fight the stigma against mental illness.

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 19

TECH

Wedding Quotes Slowing You Down?

TIPS

Embrace Tech!

By: Abby Driver

Putting together accurate quotes for large-scale events such as weddings can be a time-consuming, frustrating process.

How many times has your Excel formula messed up? How many brides have suddenly shrunk the budget, meaning you have to start over?

We have good news – there is a solution! Software can turn

Background

O’Neil and his wife, Rachael, launched a wedding and event floral company a few years ago and found that one of the most time intensive aspects of the business was putting together accurate proposals. He told us: “One typical night, Rachael was at the kitchen table working on her normal hour-long proposal creation and it hit me that everything she was doing on the proposal could be automated. That kitchen table— covered in consult papers, wholesalers’ shopping lists, and Excel glowing on her laptop —was where StemCounter. com was born.”

Dudley also had first-hand experience of these problems from working on hundreds of weddings each year. “We knew there had to be a better way to utilize technology to be more efficient, accurate and consistent in our contract creation and management process,” she said.

20 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

this tedious manual job into a quick automated process that allows you to create beautiful proposals in no time at all.

To find out more we caught up with two experts on the matter. Ryan O’Neil from StemCounter.com and Kathy Dudley from FloraQuote.com very kindly shared the benefit of using such software.

How technology helps

Sounds good so far? Let’s find out how these programs actually work in practice.

“StemCounter uses your wholesale prices, inventory, and mark-ups to generate an accurate proposal in a flash,” O’Neil said. “It even allows florists who don’t count stems up front to create a proposal quickly by defining prices. They can come back later to add all of the specifics of the flowers and compare their costs with what they budgeted.” If presentation is important to you (and we’re guessing, as a florist, it probably is!), StemCounter also produces an aesthetically pleasing printout.

FloraQuote features a 52-week flower cost grid, which allows florists to accurately base pricing on flower costs through the year, Dudley explained.

This is a great function as many flowers’ availability and costs fluctuate seasonally.

Save Time

FloraQuote lets florists generate quotes with a few clicks. “By using the 52-week database of flowers, along with the auto-calculation of pricing, electronic sending of contracts and so on, all a florist really needs to do is tell the program how many stems of each type of flower to put into each arrangement,” Dudley said. “A few clicks of a button and the rest is done for you.” Isn’t that music to your ears?

O’Neil’s customers report that StemCounter has sped up their proposal process between 50 to 75 percent. With its flower library, StemCounter lets users quickly create a shopping list to present to your wholesaler.

Abby Driver is a freelance journalist in Truro, England, who has written on topics such as millennial culture and feminist weddings.

Ryan O’Neil Kathy Dudley

Save Money

Dudley shared a few ways in which an automated process saves money. First, there’s a reduction in labour with paperwork, calculations, preparing quotes and contracts.

Secondly, “with accurate wholesale costs and consistent mark-ups and labour rates,” FloraQuote earns the florist more money than when they calculated these prices manually. “It’s too easy for florists to think they remember what a particular bloom will cost eight months from now, and too easy to charge a little less labour because they feel an item is easy to make and so on,” she said.

Book More Brides

Using automated software allows you to create accurate proposals and quotes whilst in a consultation with brides. The O’Neils found as soon as they started doing that, their bookings skyrocketed. This is probably because the bride can see where the costs are coming from and adjust accordingly, O’Neil said. “When she realizes her Pinterest wedding is going to cost a ton of money, she may want to scale back on the peonies,” he explained. He also mentioned that this stopped him and Rachael from feeling pressure to compromise on their prices.

Dudley finds FloraQuote frees up a significant amount of time for the florist, as she has so much less paperwork to contend with. “This gives florists more time to meet with additional clients, as well as do actual floral design,” she said. “Plus, it helps get the pricing information to the client quicker so they are likely to ‘strike when the iron is hot’ shortly after they have met with the client.”

Neill also found the speed aspect beneficial.

“It lets you process brides quicker. During booking season, an influx of brides will be waiting to meet with you, which means some will book with another florist before you get the chance to meet,” he said. “By processing these proposals quicker without compromising your profit margin, you open the door meet with more brides.”

Embrace Tech

Tech shy? “If you can use the Internet, you can use FloraQuote,” Dudley said. “We want FloraQuote to be accessible and valuable for all users, so it is designed to scale as simply or as detailed as each specific user wants it to be.”

And if you get stuck? Don’t be afraid to ask for help. “We have incredible customer service on StemCounter,” O’Neil said. “If you ever have questions, we have a chat box on every page. If we aren’t able to chat, you can send a message and get an answer back in 24 hours.

We’ll even help you get your account set up and give you a personalized walk-through.”

Find out more and trial the software for free by visiting www.stemcounter.com and www.floraquote.com.

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 21

Make Way for

Momzilla We’re all familiar with the term “Bridezilla,” the pushy bride who often has champagne tastes but a cheeseburger budget. She doesn’t just “want” things — she demands them. She’s quick to

criticize and never says “thank you” or utters a compliment. Fortunately, the number of Bridezillas out in the world (or in Canada, at least!) seems to be exaggerated. I have been very blessed with some beautiful souls who seek advice and view our relationship as teamwork when planning the most memorable day of their lives. The problem is, most have some baggage they simply cannot shed. Baggage intent on calling the shots and making sure its opinion is heard above all others. Yup. You guessed it, that baggage would be her mother.

Bridal work is not for the faint of heart. Not only must you try to see the vision of the bride (whose day it is after all), but you also need to jump through proverbial hoops to keep her mother engaged, interested and on your side!

Now, I did acknowledge that I have been very lucky in terms of the weddings we have done, but there have been a couple of doozies that gave me life lessons I’m not entirely sure I really needed. Obviously, my “good judgment radar switch” was on the fritz as I completely ignored the warning signs.

Read on and re-live the wedding from hell!

About six years ago, we had been recommended to do all the floral work for a wedding with 400 guests: 40 tables, over-the-top wedding décor, etc. The first hint of trouble was when I met with the bride and her dear Mama. Bridey was very sweet and came with magazine clippings and colour ideas. Meanwhile, Mom came with a plan: namely to spend as little money as possible. It was difficult to suppress laughter when she told me the size of the wedding and number of floral designs involved, and then told me her budget. Of course, her demeanour made it perfectly clear: this was no laughing matter. The bride seemed quite frightened by her mother and wouldn’t say anything to dispute her. I think we invested more than 20 hours in consultations and “budget pruning” (Momzilla’s words). As I watched my valuable time dwindle away, I started to really regret taking this job.

I especially resented the mother’s “crying poor” routine when, on the wedding day, I saw a Ferrari in the driveway of the bride and groom. Adding insult to injury, Momzilla refused to fully honour her agreement because she wasn’t happy with the colour of iris we used, even though she had approved a prototype.

Then there was another Momzilla so determined to be on a wedding television show that she insisted we submit the budget proposal to the production company so they might help cover the costs. This was a client from one of our city’s most affluent areas. In

her driveway were his and hers BMWs. After my aforementioned experience, I decided to decline this generous invitation.

So how do you avoid these soul-sucking experiences? The logistics of the initial consultation need to be handled very carefully. To prevent giving away your time and money for a bride and her mother just shopping around, I recommend charging a consultation fee, which you refund if they book you for the big event. Regard hesitation as a red flag. Gently inquire why this seems to be a problem and listen very carefully to the response. Perhaps there is a legitimate reason, but chances are, bride and Mama wanted to assemble ideas and prices while they shop around for the cheapest florist. There’s a place for that (wedding expos)—not during a small business owner’s work hours.

This leads me to the contract, which you MUST make as watertight as possible. To protect you from disaster (such as getting stiffed for a wedding called off at the last minute), it is perfectly prudent to ask for a 40 percent deposit upon booking and to insist that the remaining balance be paid three weeks before the actual event. (See sidebar for contract details.)

My two cents: Walk away if you sense Mom is a control freak and/or unreasonable. Seriously, you won’t make enough money to justify the headaches. No good can come from hours spent hunching over the calculator trying to figure out how to pull things out of thin air.

CONTRACT MUST HAVES: Wedding Venue (and contact person and #): Reception Venue (and contact person and contact #): Time of Ceremony: Time of Reception: FULL names of: Bride (and contact #): Groom (and contact #): Bridesmaids: Groomsmen: Maid of Honour: Best Man: Emcee: Mother of the Bride: Father of the Bride: Mother of the Groom: Father of the Groom: Maternal Grandparents: Paternal Grandparents: Always label the bouts and corsages with full names to ensure they get to the right person.

Remember: this is the bride and groom’s day, so beware of the overbearing and insistent mother. I always include the information in the initial consult that we happily provide a complimentary arrangement for the mother of the bride as she has done so much for the bride leading up to the wedding. (Brownnosing? You bet. Effective? You better believe it!)

You will have extra flowers anyway and if the MOB feels important and appreciated, you just might pre-emptively diffuse any potential difficulties. Always be genuine: listen, but stand your ground so you safeguard your meagre profits. Don’t let yourself be bullied. Be prepared to politely decline if those alarm bells go off in your head.

SAMPLE CONTRACT WORDING:

This agreement between and , dated:

agree to provide the following for the wedding of

on

.

Delivery Venue: Delivery Times: I, agree to remunerate

40% of the agreed quote of $ on the day of this signing and also agree to pay the balance of

3 weeks prior to the wedding date of .

Upon completion of the agreed deliveries to the specified locations

will no longer be held accountable for the agreed upon product that may malfunction due to mishandling by others and is absolved of any further responsibility.

I am satisfied with the chosen floral arrangements that will provide on

and have seen examples of the flowers to be included. If an unforeseeable situation arises (the flowers ordered are damaged or substandard) reserves the right to substitute where needed with flowers of equal or greater value.

All rented vases and materials remain the sole property of

and must be returned the next day cleaned and damage free. Any damage or breakage will incur additional charges.

Signed of and signed by (wedding client.)

Annabel Yarnell is owner of Thistle & Twine Floral Designs in Toronto, Ontario.

Her work has won gold and silver medals at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show in London, England.

May/June 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 23

How to Hire Super Stars To to the

RISING

Take Your Shop to the Next Level

OCCASION

W

here can I find good employees? I hear that same question whether I am working at a shop in downtown Toronto or on the edge of Nova Scotia! It seems that reliable, dedicated, talented workers are becoming an increasingly scarce breed. But are you looking in the wrong places? Do you have unrealistic expectations? Or is it a combination of both scenarios?

The first step in looking for new staff is coming to grips with the reality that you may have a hard time finding people with flower shop experience.

And that’s not a bad thing. Far too many shops are “managed” very loosely (as mentioned in my last column), so you often get a new staff member with bad habits.

You might have to teach someone from scratch how to make sales or design flowers. That may sound daunting, but think of it this way: you’re “imprinting” on them like a mother duck does with her ducklings. Consequently, your methods will be the only way your new hires will know how to operate. No more, “But at the last shop where I used to work we used to…”

The next step is to write a better ad, one that reflects real expectations and doesn’t romanticize the idea of working with pretty flowers. Here is a basic framework to consider as you prepare to post your help wanted ad for a customer service or sales person: Busy retail business seeks articulate, detail-oriented, computer-friendly service clerk with at least 3 years’ experience to take phone orders and wait on walk-in customers. This is a fast-paced environment and we work through every holiday. Hours are X and the earnings potential is up to $YY per hour. Interested, QUALIFIED candidates should email their CV and references to X. (Set up a new email address like retailjob1016@gmail.com.)

The advantages to this approach are many: you won’t get phone calls or unsolicited “drop-bys.” You can decide whom you want to speak with and when. You will get someone pre-trained with sales and service skills (maybe someone who has spent the last few years at a Telus call centre, for example). Remember, it’s far easier to teach employees the flower basics than how to sell!

Finally, this approach means your staff won’t see your ad (if you are looking to clean house)!

Place the ad online in national job search sites, such as LinkedIn. Don’t rely on an old-fashioned newspaper listing.

Start by calling applicants for a quick introduction. Listen to them on the phone and ask yourself if you would want them representing your shop. If so, set up the interview.

During the interview, look for the little things and the big ones: Did she show up on time? Was he appropriately dressed? What kinds of questions did he ask? Why is she leaving her current job? Make sure that YOU have a list of questions to ask about their work experience and goals.

When interviewing for a customer service/sales position, I also like to test their critical skills.

Have them sit at a terminal and copy an order from paper into a Word document to test their ease with the keyboard and ability to use tools like spell check. Test their reasoning and service skills too. Come up with a few sticky scenarios and have them type their answers, giving their solution and the reason for their actions. For example, explain that a customer called to complain that his wife got the wrong colour roses delivered for her birthday. Look for an answer that rectifies the situation and demonstrates intuition and willingness go the extra step (such as sending a replacement in the right colour with an apology note from the shop). I would be worried if the applicant typed that he or she would have to check with the manager and call the customer back. You want to hire someone who can think independently and make decisions!

Finally, when you do hire that person, PLEASE make sure to have a written job description and employee handbook ready for him or her on day one!

In the next installment we’ll discuss finding, interviewing and hiring design staff.

Come hear Tim’s customer service advice in person at the Canadian Florist Business Forum May 30.

Tim Huckabee AIFSE was born, raised and educated in Connecticut and moved to New York City in 1993 to start working at a high-end flower shop called Surroundings, where he learned every aspect of the flower business such as handling telephone sales and customer service issues and dealing with walk-in customers. In his frequent conversations with florists, he realized there was a dire lack of sales and service education in the industry. That motivated him, in 1997, to launch FloralStrategies, a company that trains florists in sales, customer service, and how to get the most out of their POS system. He visits 250 shops annually, hosts a monthly webinar series, speaks at floral conventions, and writes a monthly column for the Society of American Florists.

24 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

What Do These Two Shops Have In Common?

Lilium

Butera The Florist

2015 Retail Florist Of The Year

2015 Marketer of the Year

Florists’ Review Magazine and WF&FSA

Floral Management Magazine and SAF

• Both were recognized by leading industry publications as the best at what they do.

• Both are thriving, profitably doing the kind of work they enjoy and loving the flower business.

• Both use FloristWare to manage their operations, generate more sales and larger order values, increase profitability, simplify accounting and reporting, improve customer service and much, much more.

For almost ten years FloristWare has been the choice of florists that want to be succesful and enjoy the flower business on their own terms. Florists that don’t want the high costs and complications that come with wire service systems. Florists that won’t settle for the limitations that come with other independent POS systems.

Please call us at 888.531.3012 today.

January/February 2015 | CANADIANFlorist 25

cARE & HANDLING

WEATHER-PROOF WEDDING BLOOMS FOR SUMMER SOIRÉES By: Gay Smith

Summertime is wedding season, but don’t let hot weather be a deal breaker for luscious blooms. A few precautions will ensure flowers stay stunning through the last dance and even days later, in the homes of the guests. First and foremost, you need correct processing steps with ample time allowed for capacity uptake before the artistry begins.

Sanitation is also critical for blooms to stand tall in hot weather. Buckets, choppers, knives and work tables must be clean and sanitized prior to cutting the first stem. Use a flower-friendly cleaner and follow instructions on solution labels.

To Clean or Disinfect?

Respect the difference between cleaning and disinfecting. A water swish doesn’t do either.

Cleaning removes organic material, grease, scum and lime deposits. That’s why cleaners include soap in the formula. Disinfecting kills bacteria and fungi spores after the tools have been cleaned.

Chrysal Cleaner and DCD accomplish both actions and are most effective used in a two-step process — scrub first, dump old solution, spray again and allow cleaner to sit on plastic surfaces and tools for +/-5 minutes before a final rinse of clear water. Sun drying is most effective, but if not possible, turn buckets upside down on pallets so they are not in direct contact with the ground.

Growers prevent cross-contamination during harvest by placing dip jars full of disinfectant and buckets filled with clean treatment solutions at the end of each row. Harvesters can avoid crosscontamination by dipping tools and placing the cut load in solution before moving to the next row.

Avoid consolidating old solutions when consolidating displays. The clarifiers in flower

26 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

solutions are overwhelmed when blooms are placed in dirty buckets or when old solutions are poured together. Now that you’re ready to prepare the flower solutions, turn on the cold water. Cold water (2 to 4 C) flows faster through stems than does tepid water. If possible, pre-chill solutions a day ahead of processing.

Pick the Perfect Solution

Solutions fall into two major categories: they kickstart flow (hydration) or provide glucose as part of the flower food formula (a.k.a. holding solution).

No need to set up a science lab to determine which is best. Instead group the flowers according to the “issues” that cause failure. Start by grouping blooms in these general categories: • •

•

•

“Wilt-sensitive” flowers like roses, lysimachia and callas need a big boost to kick start flow.

“Dirty flowers” like dahlias, stock and gerberas need super-clean water, free of bacteria.

“Bulbous flowers” like lilies, alstroe, tulips, freesia and anemones benefit from rebalancing cell chemistry that gets out of sync at harvest.

“Sugar lovers” like lisianthus, gladiolas and proteas need a rich blend of flower food/ full-load food.

It’s Not Magic

No solution will make a bad flower better or give it supernatural power to perform beyond its inherent genetic potential. The (vase life) clock starts ticking with cultivar selection. Postharvest solutions simply maximize vase performance, so blooms reach their full potential. Solutions don’t fix disease

problems or cut-stage issues nor are they magic elixirs for temperature or ethylene stress.

When it comes to dosing, no guessing allowed!

Follow the manufacturer’s recommendation because correctly-dosed solutions give results.

Too rich a mixture wastes money. Too weak a solution is even worse because bacteria colonies bloom unchecked in the presence of glucose.

There is only one solution offered by flower care companies that has a variable dose—Professional Gerbera pills. The pills are a must for fast hydration of dahlias, zinnias, gerberas and deco foliage, flowers that are especially sensitive to foul water. But gerberas require a more intense rate than dahlias. Gerberas’ hairy stems act as magnets for stem-clogging bacteria. Use one pill per two litres of water. For other “dirty flowers and foliage,” a more diluted ratio (one pill per three to four litres of water) suffices.

When treating dry-packed blooms, allow four to eight hours (overnight is even better) for stems to fill and harden up properly. Roses and hydrangeas (wiltsensitive flowers) benefit greatly from a two-step process: first drink (four to eight hours) in a hydration solution (Chrysal Professional 1 or HydraFlor by Floralife) and then transfer blooms into a holding solution (Chrysal Professional 2 or Floralife 200) to introduce glucose for bud opening. Avoid soaking hydrangea heads in water because it introduces too much water in the flower ball. Water leads to botrytis problems, so use the method mentioned above instead.

Take time to hydrate stephanotis and gardenias, even though the florets arrive in sealed boxes with a tiny nub of stem. Give stems a clean cut and float flowers in cool, bottled water for 30 minutes. Work with wet hands and bottled water (not tap) when handling stephanotis and gardenia to avoid problems with pepper spots. Pepper spots occur when tap water contains high levels of salt and/or minerals. Filtered, bottled water is pH and mineral neutral. Once designs are complete, spray front and backside of petals and foliage with Hawaiian Floral Mist to slow dehydration. Allow time for petal surfaces to dry completely before moving products into the cooler. A good storage container after gardenias and stephanotis have been hydrated is a covered plastic bin with a slightly moistened paper towel in the bottom. Wrap finished bouquets in Arrive Alive foam soaked

in flower food for 10 seconds to ensure flowers stay turgid two to three days out of water. Store flowers at 1 to 4 C (90 to 95% humidity).

Why treat high-end wedding products in inferior solutions or—worse yet— the 7Up, lemonade, bleach home brew? Brides and maidens love to tweet, Facebook, Instagram, and blog, gushing over the glorious wedding event after the party is over. Nothing makes a more powerful review than photos, word of mouth advertising, and social media posts. To earn the reputation as a wedding expert who delivers flowers that not only WOW during the ceremony, but also please guests with floral souvenirs to take home, don’t skimp on care and handling!

Gay Smith is the technical consulting manager for Chrysal USA.

January/February May/June 2015 2016 | CANADIANFlorist 27

Ask The SEO

What can I do to stop Order Gatherers from stealing my orders on Google?

F

BY: Ryan Freeman

or as long as I have been actively involved in the floral industry, this has been the most common question, one that inevitably leads to a heated discussion. The current generation of Order Gatherers have grown by leveraging the Internet to insert themselves between retailers and customers and using the economies of the wire service model, plus their expertise in marketing, to extract a high margin.

The rise of Order Gatherers online has contributed to a substantial decline in revenue for many florists. But there is good news—the solution can be surprisingly simple.

Most Order Gatherers share a very simple marketing strategy: they use Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising to ensure that their ads are displayed at the top of search results on Google. Customers see their ads before they see organic search results, where the real florists are listed.

“But no one really clicks on those ads, do they?”

Contrary to popular belief, many people do click on AdWords ads. For commercial search terms, paid AdWords ads are clicked 64.6% of the time, while organic ads are clicked just 35.4% of the time.

Moreover, a full 36% of shoppers don't even realize that the Google ads placed above and below organic search results are paid advertising.

Having your ads at or near the top of search results is extremely important, because online shoppers are often in a hurry. This is particularly true of shoppers seeking flowers, who may be keen to make a purchase right away. Many Order Gatherers take pains to pretend they are located in the same region as the customer. Thus, where branded searches are concerned, many consumers tend to assume that, if an advertisement shows up on a brand search, that ad belongs to the brand they are searching for, rather than to a competitor.

In this context, the appeal of Google AdWords for Order Gatherers is very clear. However, local florists could easily regain much of their lost revenue by leveraging some of their inherent advantages.

One important advantage that florists have over Order Gatherers is their margins. Although Order Gatherers may benefit from having no material costs, they still have to pay wire services 80% of what they transmit, and they have to fund their aggressive marketing.

Florists, on the other hand, have a higher average profit per unit sold. In terms of AdWords, this means that florists can theoretically afford to pay more for each sale than Order Gatherers.

Secondly, if your business is located close to your target customers, your advertising costs on Google should be much cheaper than they are for remote Order Gatherers. Google’s AdWords pricing system includes a factor known as Quality Score to determine the position and click cost for each ad. Some of the determinants of Quality Score include “relevance” and location. If your business is in the same area that you advertise to, Google will recognize that your company is 28 CANADIANFlorist | January/February 2015

highly relevant to local searches for flowers and searches specific to your brand. This means that it will be much cheaper for you to obtain high ad positions on Google AdWords. In general, the higher your ad is displayed, the more likely consumers are to click through. Thus, your cost per conversion will be much lower.

Advertiser Max Bid QS COST POSITION $1.60 1 Bob’s Flowers 4 10 4 4 Fake Local #1 $3.00 2 4 3 Fake Local #2 $3.33 3 Complicated math aside, having a better quality score means you pay less, while gaining better position.

In light of these advantages, participating in Google AdWords can be very affordable for florists. In fact, Order Gatherers are in business because most florists have yet to devote a significant investment in Google AdWords. If every local florist ran a small AdWords campaign for their brand and locale, the Order Gatherers' cost per conversion would increase a great deal and their business model would become much less profitable.

A well-run campaign should include many so-called negative keywords. These are keywords for which your ad will not be shown. For example, a florist in Victoria may wish to rule out people who search for “cheapest price flowers Victoria” or “clearance flowers Victoria.” This can make your ads much more cost-effective.

A flower company should be sure to rigorously test every aspect of their Google ad campaigns. Try different ads, different areas within your service area and different sets of negative keywords to see what works best. Although experiments can be somewhat time consuming in the short term, their benefits can hardly be overstated in the long term.

If you test every aspect of your campaign, your cost per conversion is likely to decrease enormously over time.

The case for investing in Google AdWords is compelling for local florists. However, Order Gatherers' core competency is their marketing. While local florists have several advantages in this space, successful AdWords campaigns require a substantial time investment.

Most people who throw together a few ads with limited targeting end up losing money. AdWords can be an incredibly powerful tool for local florists, but you need to be prepared to invest the time to develop a mature, high quality campaign. If you would like to reclaim revenue from Order Gatherers, the best way is to beat them at their own game!

Ryan Freeman is President of Strider Inc., Founder of Florist 2.0, and Publisher of Canadian Florist.

Ask your website questions at http://cfmag.pub/ask-ryan/.

Thank you.

We wouldn’t be FTD without you.

We know how hard you work. You go the extra mile to delight and inspire customers. You care deeply about their lives and their stories — and we want you to know that FTD cares deeply about you.

There are few other careers that exist solely to bring joy into people’s lives, and we think that’s pretty cool. So we dedicate ourselves to providing you with the products, tools and education you need to better connect with your customers.

We know some days can seem like “another day, another dahlia.” But that dahlia you’re perfectly placing is about to bring someone joy and because of that, words cannot express our appreciation for your partnership.

TAKE YOUR BUSINESS FURTHER™ Visit FTDi.com/ftdadvantage to keep up with all of the comprehensive ways our partnership takes your business further. If you need anything call us at 800.788.9000. ©2016

“WEDDED BLISS…AGAIN!?!”

I

I remember the good—no, wonderful— old days when brides (no groom would DARE get involved!) trusted a florist to create a look and design that would best suit their wedding. We mostly opted for whites or creams with a pink or yellow accent, or a classic red rose bouquet with baby’s breath (there was always baby’s breath). Flower choices generally included roses, carnations, and lilies; sometimes, the way out there gals opted for seasonal flowers like tulips or peonies. Back then, people actually looked to us floral artists for our guidance and suggestions.

Nowadays, it’s all “Pinterest” and “Instagram.” Brides arrive at consultations ready to tell us exactly what they are going to on THE LEVEL with carry, how much of it, and what they are willing to pay for it all.

I especially love the friend of the bride who is “organizing” everything to report back to the queen. Please, Your Royal Highness of a Certain Island, is it really that much of a bother to take an interest in your own wedding? What’s with the trend of sending delegates to pre-discuss a wedding whilst the bride is having a “tasting”? Or, conversely, the “I NEED to see exactly what this will look like!”(months before the wedding) attitude? Many of us have nearly gone postal, I know..

I have been involved in many different weddings, from the very simple “Here are some wild flowers: please arrange them” clients to those super hyper and

NEVILLE

the finishing touch on the bigbyday Neville MacKay

demanding“I’ll fly you back and forth for countless silly meetings to hold sample flowers up to the light and see what colours are beneath all these WHITE blossoms” brides.

I did a wedding for a nudist (sorry, “naturalist”) group a few years back.

Of course, I was not yet familiar with their terminology and wrongly assumed “naturalist wedding” meant “a lot of mosses and branches.” (There were, however, some twigs and berries involved.) I’ve had some big challenges, like an underwater wedding, a bridal party that went down the aisle on bicycles, and a lady who wanted her own special “herbs” in the bouquet. Alas, we couldn’t satisfy that last request, just in case any police officers were amongst the guests.

Don’t you love a themed wedding? A few of my favourites: “Winter Wonderland” (Yeah, slush and salt stains are wonderful alright), “Country Sophistication” (HAHA!) and “Elegant Romance” (darn, I was looking forward to “Tawdry Romance”). Now, don’t get me wrong: I LIVE for themes like “Superman versus Batman” or “Country Barn Dance” or “Get Drunk and Party.”

Do I dare even type, “DIY”? If I get one more do-it-yourself-er telling me they are getting their flowers at Costco and want ME to show them how to arrange them FOR FREE, my gay nerves just might explode. There is, however, a solution to this annoyance. Charge them for a class.

Charge them a lot. This way, they can say they did their own flowers, you’ll get $$$, and they probably will have a new appreciation for your professional skills.

I haven’t talked yet about same sex

weddings, which is wonderful because they are not really a big hot topic anymore.

These weddings tend to be easy. I find the women really trust you and love lots of pretties, and the men often have all sorts of innovative ideas that make for a special and beautiful event! I think the world is, in this regard at least, going in the right direction, allowing more people to marry. When I started doing wedding consultations ages ago, we had to be told ahead of time if a bride was pregnant, had a child, had been wed before, or was marrying someone outside their own race or religion. Imagine that? This was so there would be no awkward moments at the appointment (which, by the way, have always been my favourite parts of the consultation). Now, you don’t know if a couple of people who show up at a consultation are a couple or just friends. I slipped terribly once when a gal and the guy I assumed was her tresgay B.F.F. sat for an appointment. After I had stuck my foot firmly in my mouth, she bluntly told that me he was in fact her fiancé! Seriously, he was like pink lace in a windstorm, so when I told the ladies I worked with what had happened, they asked what was wrong with the bride!

Whether it’s a first time little nosegay for the beach wedding of a sweet country girl, a daring calla and anthurium cascade for a diva, or a “third time’s the charm!” bouquet for a “seasoned” bride’s stroll down the aisle, put your signature on the event, do your best, and love the flowers at all costs!

Neville MacKay, CAFA, PFCI, WFC, is owner of My Mother’s Bloomers in Halifax, Novia Scotia and a design director with Smithers-Oasis North America. He designed flowers for the 1988 Winter Olympics, as well as a long list of celebrities including Glen Close, Sir Elton John, and members of the British Royal Family. MacKay appears regularly on Canadian TV and travels internationally, giving presentations about the impact of flowers. For more info on Neville or to book him for a show or talk, check out www.mymothersbloomers.com.

30 CANADIANFlorist | May/June 2016

THE FINISHING TOUCH ON THE

y a D g i B

565: Wire Easel (available in 9 sizes) 692: AquaformÂŽ Open Heart (available in 3 sizes) pg. 158 in the 2016 Product Catalog

syndicatesales.com

B U S I N E S S

F O R U M

MONDAY MAY.30.16

Rick Rivers

Tim Huckabee

Adam Jones

Our expert educators will deliver a full day of insightful education and practical advice designed to make your flower shop more profitable today.

Adam is an Account Executive with Google, and brings a rich background in retail and business management. He will share some of Google’s insights into the evolving mindset and behaviour of today’s customer.

Adam Jones, Google

FloralStrategies is the only company in the world providing sales, service and POS training to the floral industry. The team, including a representative based in Toronto, has empowered over 5000 florists to increase sales, reduce costs and strengthen their business.

Tim Huckabee, AIFSE, FloralStrategies “Better Service, Bigger Sales!”

Rick takes great marketing ideas and applies them to the florist industry through his multiple books, training CDs, and Florist Bootcamp sessions.

Rick Rivers, Florist Bootcamp

VISIT US AT https://canadianfloristmag.com/business-forum/ FOR DETAILS AND TO BUY TICKETS

LOCATION: Universal EventSpace 6250 Highway 7 Vaughan, ON L4H 4G3 8AM