Yvonne and Atlanta Florist Shean Strong Design, answer your questions in our latest Mornings with Mayesh. Some of the topics that were covered include working with hydrangea & roses, installations, Pinterest, Instagram and so much more. Join the conversation!
Mark your calendars for September 17th for our next show featuring Alison Ellis from Real Flower Business. I hope you can join us and keep on sending in your floral questions!
Here are the video, podcast replay, and show notes:
SHOW NOTES
FLOWER QUESTIONS
- Catherine: I am wondering how to source kumquat branches. I keep seeing them in arrangements and bouquets and would love to use them but cannot find them!
- Dave/Yvonne: Kumquats grown in California and other southern states where there is a low threat of freeze. California availability is generally from February through May with a second small harvest in the fall around November. Some states agricultural laws prohibit these being shipped or require documentation to do so because of the threat of transporting unwanted crop pests. If you you are not in a state where they grow, it is important to talk to a shipping rep to determine if they are OK to ship to your state.
FLOWER CARE QUESTIONS
- Carol: Question is about processing roses when I receive them. I need to hydrate, so do i just give a fresh cut and put in water with hydrating solution or
- Can i add flower food too? Or do I need to later put them in different water with flower food?
- Do I leave in packaging for support and how long?
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- Yes, overnight in their original package is recommended until they harden up.
- I receive flowers on the 3rd day prior to my event but they don’t open as large as i want them too. PS i do not have a cooler so i keep them outside on my protected, covered patio or in my garage if cooler. Maybe it would help to bring them inside my house.
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- Some rose varieties open quickly while others may take up to 5 or 6 days to completely open. Having a cooler or a cold room is crucial for slowing the development as they become open so that you can stage them for use. Timing is everything!
- Brigitta: HYDRANGEA - What’s the best way to keep this bloom at its freshest for at least a week once in water. I was told once to soak it from the leaves. Is this true? And for how long? Is spraying it better?
- Yvonne: We get questions about hydrangea for almost every show that we do. So I took a clip from a past show and created a blog post so that it is easy to find.
- We also have a great flower care & handling guide that can be found on that blog post or you can go here to download it: https://info.mayesh.com/flower-care-guide
FLOWER DESIGN QUESTIONS
- Nasim: I am very new to Mayesh family, and changing to Mayesh probably has been the best decision I have yet to make. The entire process of ordering, confirmation, receiving them on time, and the quality of flowers has been amazing. In addition to all these free pointers on your blog, podcast, and Youtube clips…
- I used to work with another local wholesaler, and now that I have switched to Mayesh realize this job can be done with a whole lot less stress, and actually enjoy it.
- Anyway.. I have a question about installing greenery on a concrete wall. I have a wedding in November at Chatham Station in Cary, NC. My bride likes to have a huge greenery installation on a concrete/ brick wall. I have reached out to the venue coordinator to ask about our limitation, and they said we can only use flora tape. I am not 100% sure if the floor tape will stick properly to the concert wall and hold the arrangement (I have attach the photo of what she has in mind). I need some advise as how I can go about this project. I always like to come up with some options in case one doesn’t work out I have another plan to go by, but so far I have just thought about having it install on a freestanding track. Are there any other options?
- I really appreciate your help. I am not even sure if I can just randomly email you with any questions, but since I have heard on your podcasts that you take questions I thought to email you about this dilemma!
- Thank you for all you do and your great fun podcasts! I hope I get to meet you in Ohio workshop.
- Shean: I'll go into detail about using chicken wire, Command strips, and zip ties.
- 7/25, Cheryl: Making corsages and boutonnieres for weddings - what’s the fastest way and long lasting way to do those? Not my favorite thing to do.
- Shean: The fastest way will be to use the scraps from a bouquet or centerpiece and whip up a small little bouquet and call it a bout. I'm will show an example. Put them in a medicine jar or black of Oasis for a water source.
- Penny: Example shot from Pinterest. My question. In a similar ,more abundant style, do you like to make a continuous piece, or multiple pieces to make a look of grandeur??
- I like to make two separate pieces- to me it looks better - it really is a personal choice. ill go into detail on the options you have.
- Circle two sides to create a focal point
- sometimes green needs to fall a particular way
- could potentially look messy if not done correctly.
FLOWER BUSINESS QUESTIONS
- Connie: Pricing for larger installations?
- If you're working with a mark up you need to make sure your factoring in price for set up, tear down, and pricing your materials accordingly. Often times, people do not charge enough to cover materials, so be sure to factor that in.
- Rachael: How do you get your very first client? You friends are a great start.
- Offering your services at a discounted rate to build a portfolio- reach out to planners or other florist- those who have mins might send clients your way of the client does not meet their min. connect with photographers
- Karen:
- Sean, How did market yourself when you were starting up (specifically with floral installations). Did you use flowers that others in your market were not, did you focus on networking and building relationships, or maybe spearheading a new technique for the arrangements? Would love any tips as I am newer to the flower community and would love to pursue installing larger floral designs!
- You can forages a lot of greens and build an install for really cheap and get a great photo of that- then share the photo everywhere. I think engaging with people on IG or Facebook is a great way to market- also go and meet the venues you want to work at- will go into more detail.
- I used what i wanted to use- if Pantone was telling me to use yellow - I'm using purple.
- I think creating a brand that is you is very important - that consists of your own tone and experiences- people are afraid to say they don't know how to answer- because it may be perceived as being less credible- in my mind- giving a wrong answer loses credibility., this is all marketing. you know yourself better than anyone- your strengths and your weaknesses…
- Justine: I’m an event planner and designer based in Scottsdale , Arizona. I recently have been acting as the florist as well as the designer and month of manager for some of my clients. I’m getting a lot of floral “only” inquiries these days and I have mixed feelings about this since I want to remain primarily a wedding planner/ designer. I’m also not in a position to be turning down work! Is there a professional way to collaborate with established florists ,under my name, especially for very large events? I still want to create the flowers but the workload is too large for one person and I want to avoid hiring staff. I also feel I need the expertise of another lead florist as this is the newest addition to my repertoire ,so to speak, and I am not feeling 100% confident in my abilities!
- there is nothing wrong with having to take a step back and build yourself up- you can't do everything right now… and that's ok…
- hire them under your name and talk to them about that charge them a percentage? could make sure you're giving credit xxxxx for Scotsdale design.
- Hiring great freelancers to take over the design of floral.
- have designers and freelancers and interns on call.
- have a head floral designer
MARKETING NEWS (Yvonne)
- Yen: I have an IG account @ezaifloraldesign linked by my FB business page. My wedding works get lost in the daily ezaifloraldeisgn IG so I decided to create a new IG for wedding and events @ezaiweddings. Do I have to add another FB Business page for Ezai Wedding/Events in order to link the new IG: ezaiweddings? Thank you so much for your time and looking forward to hearing from you.
- According to Instagram’s Business help:
- My other advice, it that when I looked at your main business IG, I see that you do not have any Highlights. I think if you wanted to give your wedding posts a more prominent view, you should start posting stories of your wedding designs and then also creating a Wedding highlight. Stories are so engaging and a great tool to showcase your work and bring in more clients.
- Good luck!
If you think of new questions, you can post them to the next show or email them over to marketing@mayesh.com. What do you need help with? What are your pain points? We want to know!