Mornings with Mayesh: Retail Florist, Angelina Prikhodko

Retail florists play a crucial role in the floral industry, providing beautiful arrangements and bouquets to customers for various occasions. During this week's Mornings with Mayesh, we explore the insights and experiences of Angelina Prikhodko, a Seattle based retail florist and the owner of Fleur Studio. Angelina shares her tips and strategies for running a successful flower shop, as well as her plans for the future.

Below are the podcast, video replay, and the show recap:

SUMMARY

The Art of Wrapping Bouquets

One of the aspects that Angelina loves the most about working at Fleur Studio is the art of wrapping bouquets. She enjoys arranging designer's choice bouquets using seasonal flowers and creating beautiful wrapped bouquets that can be displayed or gifted to someone. The process of selecting the perfect flowers and creating a visually appealing arrangement brings her joy and satisfaction.

Building a Strong Relationship with a Sales Rep

Angelina emphasizes the importance of having a strong relationship with her sales representative at Mayesh, a wholesale floral supplier. She praises her sales rep, Sam, for her knowledge of Angelina's brand and her ability to select flowers that align with Fleur Studio's style. Sam's understanding of Angelina's preferences and the unique pieces she looks for allows Angelina to trust that the flowers she receives will be a perfect fit for her store. This relationship not only saves Angelina time and effort in searching for flowers but also ensures that she consistently has the right flowers in stock for her customers.

Efficiency and Consistency in the Ordering Process

Angelina's attention to detail and organizational skills contribute to the efficiency and consistency of Fleur Studio's ordering process. She has created a standing order for each season, outlining the specific flowers she wants in her store during that time. This standing order serves as a guide for both Angelina and Sam, ensuring that they are on the same page when it comes to the flower selection. Angelina also appreciates the convenience of knowing what flowers she has in stock, which allows her to confidently fulfill customer orders without hesitation.

Advice for Starting a Flower Shop

Reflecting on her own experience, Angelina shares some valuable advice for those looking to start their own flower shop. She emphasizes the importance of discovering your niche and style before opening the shop. By having a clear vision of your brand and the type of flowers and arrangements you want to offer, you can avoid wasting time and money on materials and supplies that don't align with your brand. Angelina regrets not having a more defined brand early on, as she ended up with excess craft paper and supplies that no longer fit her brand.

In addition to branding, Angelina highlights the significance of understanding pricing, working with sales reps, knowing which flowers are in season, and establishing a strong social media presence. However, she believes that niche, style, and branding should be the top priority when starting a flower shop.

Future Plans for Fleur Studio

Angelina is currently working on opening a second Fleur Studio location in Bellevue. She envisions the second store to have a more luxurious and high-end feel, similar to a Chanel store but with flowers. She wants to create a line of luxury floristry and offer a monochromatic look with different price points and sizes for customers to choose from. The second location will focus solely on flowers, unlike the current Fleur Studio in Kirkland, which also includes a studio and coffee shop. Angelina's goal is to expand the Fleur brand and potentially open different types of stores or businesses in the future, such as a Fleur coffee shop or a Fleur venue.

In addition to expanding her business, Angelina also has plans to share her knowledge and expertise through teaching and training. She has discovered her talent for teaching and would love to offer master classes or business consulting services in the future. While she is still figuring out the details, she is excited about the possibility of helping others in the floral industry.

Angelina's Passion for Retail Floristry

Throughout the interview, Angelina's passion for retail floristry shines through. She expresses her gratitude for the opportunity to share her experiences and insights with the floral community. She acknowledges the lack of information available on retail floristry and the challenges she faced when starting her own business. Angelina wants to help other retail florists by providing guidance and support, encouraging them to reach out to her with any questions or concerns.

Conclusion

Angelina Prikhodko, the owner of Fleur Studio, offers valuable advice and insights for running a successful retail flower shop. From the importance of building a strong relationship with a sales rep to the significance of branding and niche, Angelina shares her experiences and lessons learned. She also discusses her plans for the future, including opening a second Fleur Studio location and potentially offering teaching and training services. Angelina's passion for retail floristry and her desire to help others in the industry make her a valuable resource for aspiring and current retail florists.

SHOW NOTES

• Can you tell us more about your background and how your Eastern European roots influence your distinctive European style of floral design?
  
  
• How has FLEUR evolved from the day you opened to now?
  • You mentioned that you started doing weddings and transitioned to retail only. Can you talk a bit about your tips on how to let things go that may no longer align with your business style, structure, or service?

• Let’s talk about building your brand, something you are very passionate about. You went pretty in-depth on brand identity & aesthetics in your first video, but for those who may not have watched it yet, can you talk a little bit about that, and how you approached branding when setting out to create FLEUR?
  • How do you make sure that FLEUR stands out from other retail floral shops in the Seattle area?
    
    
• In the era of social media, it can become so easy to start emulating other designers you follow, sometimes even subconsciously. How would you encourage florists to really carve out their own niche & style, and find a balance between drawing inspiration verses copying other florists?
  • Where do you look for inspiration and business ideas?
    
    
• The video that just went live yesterday was all about paper wraps - something we’ve never covered in our Design Star series and is so fascinating! Tell us a bit more about the role these bouquet wraps play in your business?
  • Questions that have come in so far:
    • Where do you source your paper from?
      • Camilia Supply
    • Can you add some info on wet packing your bouquets?
      • watch the bonus video
        
        
• You work pretty closely with your Sales Rep at Mayesh - can you talk about your relationship with her, and the different strategies you two have come up with to keep your ordering process efficient and consistent?
  
  
• If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice when you started all of this, what would that be?
  
  
• So what’s next for FLEUR? Any exciting plans?