Floral Industry Changing

I have been in the floral industry for over 25 years and I have seen many changes in the past few years. Not many for the good of my industry. With the addition of fresh flowers in all of your "super stores" the "flower shop" as we knew it is starting to fade away.

In this fast - paced, throw - away society, people want to one - stop shop with little care for quality, service & knowledge of a great product. This has affected me & my business. Consumers do not think twice about picking up roses at their favorite "super store" even though they are of inferior quality & will only last a very short time. I have looked at these flowers they are old and have not been cared for in a proper manor. I can pretty much guarantee you that once you get them out of the cool environment that they are being stored at they will only last a short time.

As a florist, I offer a much better product that I guarantee the quality of and will always back it with excellent customer service & years of floral knowledge.

If I were to sell that same quality of product, you can bet that my customer would have me on the phone or be in my shop complaining that their roses did not last as long as they thought that they should. They would also want to know what I was going to do to make it right for them. Money back or replacement of the flowers. Do you think that the same consumer would take roses back to Target if they did not live up to their expectations? ...........NO WAY!

Why are consumers willing to accept poor goods from "super stores" without complaint, but do not hesitate to complain that my prices are too high?
Consumers want Saks 5th Ave. products but they want them at a WalMart price. That is not possible. Years of knowledge, quality products & great customer service is priceless!!

Do any of you find that this happens with the products & services that you sell? I am looking for ways to reinvent the floral industry, anyone have any ideas?

You are your best advertisement!

I have been making my own jewelry for a couple of years now and I find that everywhere I go people comment on the jewelry that I am wearing. Wanting to know where I got it. When I tell them that I make it, they ask if I sell it anywhere. After a few months of this I thought that maybe I should start selling some in my flower shop. Last Mother's Day I made some pieces and put them for sale in the shop. Wow, was I surprised at how much sold. Not only for Mother's Day but Graduation too! It was then that I started thinking maybe I am on to something. We have continually sold jewelry pieces at a steady pace every since.

Last week I finished a lot of pieces to put in the shop for the holidays and to post on my website that is ready to launch. While I had it all spread out on the counter pricing it, a friend of mine who owns a salon in town, came in and started picking out pieces to buy. She wanted to buy it from me and resell it in her salon. By the time she had finished, she had bought ALL of it!! Yes, that's right I said ALL of it. Over $1000 worth. WOW!!! Great that it was such an awesome sale, but for now the website will have to wait. Not enough jewelry to launch the site and I am too busy with the flower shop to have the time to make more.

I have since had a tanning salon & an art gallery ask for some pieces to sell!! I guess it is true , be careful what you wish for.

By the way, the most expensive piece that I sold her was a necklace & bracelet set of Tanzanite & Amethyst Chips, Swarovski Crystals, Sterling Silver with a custom made Lampwork Pendant (by Amber Van Meter of Naos Glass), you can see it here. She has sold it already and the man who bought it came in to my shop and asked me to make matching earrings. He bought it for his wife for Christmas!
Merry Christmas to her and to Me!!

What is Family? Saying goodbye to Don

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Saying good bye to Don, we love you! Current mood: sad Category: Life What is a family? I have found that it is not just the common last names or the genetic make-up a person has or even the blood we share. Family has many faces. When I was 14 my parents divorced. Terrible thing divorce....right? Well sometimes when we look beyond the pain we can find silver linings. Such as: My father married a lady after my parents divorced who was the mother of one son & in her late 20's. I was 14 & my 2 brothers were 11 & 7. She not only married him, but she gained a whole family. She was great! Still is. We still go to her house for all holidays just as though everything was still the same even though 9 years ago, after 23 years of marriage she & my Dad divorced too. In the late summer of 2000, this "Step mother" of mine remarried a man who not only married her, but gained this whole extended family, that in reality, was not legally by blood, or name or genetics "her family". But family is in our hearts & his too. We came to love this man as much as if he were our "family" and he loved all of us too. More importantly, he loved our children. He inherited 12 grandchildren. He only had one grandchild before this. He was a Great Grandpa!! He has been battling cancer & diabeties for many years now & on Sat. Dec. 1,2007, he passed on. We will miss him dearly, but will forever be greatful to him for allowing us into his heart. We will treasure the time we had with him & carry him forever with us in our hearts along with everyone else in our "Family". We love you Don & thank you for loving us .