Flower power
Azure & Margherita Mocassin Project 2013
places
One place leads to another
CHURCH STREET FLOWERS
URBAN FLOWERS
SF FLOWER MARKET
212 Church St.
4029 18th St.
Brannan St. & 6th St.
Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
church street flowers
Moccasin project 2013
09:30
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
church street flowers since 2002 Non-family business Stephanie, Rachel, Brianna (+ some workers) Professional floral designers, with family experiences. Very busy Mainly delivery for special occasions (birthdays, weddings, anniversaries...) 2 vans, 2 drivers Care about design: - good logo/communication - small space but good organisation - efficiency - modern arrangements Voted Best Flower Shop by SF Bay Guardian and 7x7 Magazine
Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
urban flowers
Moccasin project 2013
10:00
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
urban flowers since 1983 Family business Veronica (+ her father + 2 workers) Dad used to grow from Mexico, so she grew up with flowers. Flower-school (compostitions, colors...) She has a 2 years old daughter. Very well known in the area Work for privates, events, special occasions and businesses/companies. 1 van (her dad drives) Don’t really care about design: - quite messy space, not very clean - problems in taking notes and orders - not much care for the arrangements Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
SF flower market
Moccasin project 2013
05:30
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
SF flower market “The earlier the better” (Veronica) To buy the best flowers it’is better to arrive very early. The market opens at midnight. Big space. Each company/business has his own space, called “nursery”. They used to grow flowers in the Nursery and other Green-spaces in San Francisco, but now is too expensive to heat them up. Now flowers are imported from all over the country (expecially Hawaii, Florida, south California), and the world. Very friendly environment. Wholesaler sells at 1/4 price of the retailers. Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
delano nursery inc. since 1922 Family business John Nicolini (+ 3 workers) Italian origins. His family always worked in the flower business. They used to grow flowers in San Francisco, since the city started to be built up. They still have a nursery in Daly City. Very hard job, no days off, but he enjoys it. Tropical plants, dish garden planters. Sell to retailers and interior designer. Don’t really care about design: - not very well organised space - want to have a website, but not sure Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
the “picker” since 1992 Started as a family business Fiona Her mom grows things in her garden. “I picked with my sister, but she stopped coming at work. She dried out, She’s not drinking anymore, She’s never really liked to work”. 1 truck: 570 000 miles She doesn’t sell flowers. She drives around CA and pick up stuff that grows wild on the roads. She collects and sells them. “Museum” (free except transport and rent)
Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
brannan street inc. since ? Started as a family business Guglielmo/William Neve (Willy) (40 workers) From Italy, Liguria, near Cinque Terre (“I’ve never been there”). His dad used to grow flowers there, in Sanremo. He moved here when he was 18 years old and started working in the flower business. He sells the company but he’s still working for them. He doesn’t want to retire, he loves his job. He still drives here from San Carlos every night at 2. Everybody knows him here. Part of the family still grows flowers in Petaluma, CA. Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
farmgirl flowers since 2010 Christina + group of young people Grews up on a farm in North Indiana. Ten years ago she settled in the Bay Area, worked in event planning. She discovered that 75% of flowers are imported, and started doing her own arrangements to save money. Local business: provide beautiful flowers at a reasonable price, support Bay Area farmers and businesses, minimize environmental impact. Care about design and environment: - good logo/communication - good organisation of spaces/calendar - good website - efficiency - modern/beautiful arrangements Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
working-time
09:30
observation + insights
1. TRANSPORTATION / DELIVERY
Moccasin project 2013
2. RELATIONSHIPS
3. DESIGN
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
insight 1
[transportation] Observation & datas - Veronica told us that it takes a great effort to mantain the flowers safe in the van during the delivery. She showed us a tool that her father “designed” and built for that reason. - Farmgirl flowers uses bikes and a Vespa to tranport flowers, but they don’t have wind sheild for protection. - Trucks and vans are not good for the environment and for the use of space. - Inside the market, flowers are carried by hand or with trolleys
Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
insight 1
[transportation] 09:30 Due to the hilly landform and unpredictable wind of San Francisco, it is difficult to keep the flowers safe during delivery.
Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
insight 2 “The life in general is really nice, you’re dealing with the same people. Everybody is hard working here, everybody is getting up early in the morning, working all day. Everybody is tired. Most of the time people have very nice attitude. Is almost like working with friends. That’s really nice. That’s a really nice part of the business. It is really enjoyable”. John
Moccasin project 2013
[community] Observation & datas - People knows each other in the flower business - Regular customers - Florists are very nice people, willing to help each others, very friendly (someone gave us fruits and presents) - Someone brings kids inside - Nobody says anything about the fact that we enter in without the badge
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
insight 2
[community] People within flower industry have tight connections with each other, therefore they enjoy working together and cooperating.
Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
insight 3
[design] Observation & datas - The new businesses need special strenghts in order to be competitive in the flower industry. - Old family-owned stores already have their regular customers, so they are pretty satisfied. - It is difficult for old companies that used to work in a certain way to change their philosophy. - Younger people grew up closer to the world of design
Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
insight 3
[design] There seems to be a relationship between the longevity of the company and attention to detail. Younger florists care more about design and environment than the old companies.
Moccasin project 2013
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
team-work
Moccasin project 2013
observation and interviews 2 days, 10 hours
Margherita Buzzi, Azure Xiao Yin
team-work
analysis and presentation 2 days, 23 hous
thank you
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