Ever thought of going into the Floristry Business? (From Smallholder)

Ever thought of going into the Floristry Business?

2:43pm Thursday 13th July 2006

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What is Floristry All About?

Floristry and flower arranging is no longer about knitting needles and village gossip, as a group of ladies attend to the church flowers once a week. Oh no, things have changed! Floristry is now more than ever an expressive form of creativity, not only making use of beautiful and fragrant flowers but also adding textures, colour and shapes.

In a bid to find out more, I attended Britain's largest Florists' show the SFE 06 International - Spring Florist Event at Birmingham's International Convention Centre in January.

Why SFE 06 International?

SFE 06 International is the number one show in the UK for the floristry trade. This year the organisers' expectations were exceeded in terms of growth and visitor numbers too. In fact visitors flew in from the USA, India, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador and some European countries.

The show has been designed to develop skills, including product and design knowledge that will help take anyone forward with an interest in floristry or the floristry business.

There were in excess of 70 exhibitors, covering all aspects of floristry from the flowers themselves, accessories, cards, wrapping, boxes and balloons.

The arrangements were elaborate and went way beyond placing flowers attractively in a vase, in fact the vase became part of the visual display! They were filled with delightful splashes of colour and accessorised with sparkly objects. Coloured gel was used instead of water. Oasis cubes were used to add an extra dimension to the design. The textures of the flowers were fascinating. These designs truly were creative pieces of art.

Why is the event in January?

January is the perfect time for florists to attend such a show. The Christmas rush is over, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are fast approaching and new ideas and designs can be discovered and put into practise. Then of course there is the all important wedding work and what bride doesn't want to have a new and interesting look? After all, the crowd are equally as interested in the bouquet, as it is launched into the sky, as they are the lucky lady about to catch it!

What Can You Expect to See?

Along with the workshops, teaching interesting industry secrets, and how to be truly successful in floristry, there were also; business seminars, product seminars, table competitions and debut designers.

The products available were varied and innovative; with the traditional and new and interesting, of which included a twist on your average balloon or bouquet, with technology for flowers in balloons. This makes a unique gift or could be used as table decoration etc. There was also information on Balloon Association courses, covering various topics including safety of gases and sales and marketing. Other training DVDs were available on all aspects of floristry.

SunKing Flowers Ltd of Spalding had launched "Fairtrade" roses into wholesale markets, as they respond to consumer wishes to help farmers and workers in developing countries. Fabulous! They displayed the roses, which were also available at a very reasonable price!

Innovative and creative packing solutions were at hand to give some fabulous ideas to take away, from posy boxes, button hole boxes to balloon boxes. There were also specialist, celebration wine boxes - oh yes please!!

Various Cash and Carry outlets advertised their products of flowers, plants and sundries and other specialist producers displayed their fragrant varieties available from; English cut roses to scented narcissi from the Isles of Scilly. Again it was possible to make special purchases at the event, with every florist's requirement catered for. Huge savings to be made combined with essential knowledge gathering. What more could one ask for?

For more information on 2007's event, 'the meeting place for the industry', please go to, www.sfe-int.com. The event will be held again at Birmingham's ICC on January 21st and January 22nd.

Diversity Is The Way Forward.

With high street demand in all things floral on the rise, now is a good time to diversify into this area. There are many things that can be done, for example: grow your own and sell cut flowers or beautiful bulbs. Create arrangements and bouquets for profit. Sell your goods at your local farmers' market, craft shows or through farm shops. Become a teacher of this ever popular art and set up classes locally. Of course there is always the very, very lucrative commercial contract side providing floristry requirements to industry, retail and the hotel trade.

Now Here's Something Different...

Imagine the scene, walking home on a late spring afternoon. Bouquet of flowers for your loved one in hand, not a care in the world and then it hits you as you stop for a brief moment at the church gates. You look up and see what can only be described as an, 'eyesore'!

This is what happened to Charles Hudson approximately ten years ago, when he had his 'eureeka' moment. He saw the remnants of an earlier wedding. It was the sight of mucky wet coloured paper, the ghastly sight of left over confetti. In fact one could say Charles had, 'an idea that blossomed from a confetti moment', as some petals fell from the bouquet he was carrying. That was the moment he came up with the idea for The Real Petal Confetti Company.

As its name suggests The Real Petal Confetti Company provides real petal confetti. A completely natural and biodegradable product, which has been used at the weddings of many including; Madonna, Catherine Zeta Jones, Gaby Logan and even the recent Royal Wedding!

For more information on The Real Petal Confetti Company go to, www.confettidirect.co.uk.

And Now for Some Statistics.

According to the NFU, the main flower and plant crops grown in the UK are flowering houseplants (African violets, azaleas, begonias, gerberas, kalanchoes, potted bulbs), bulbs (daffodils, narcissi and tulips), chrysanthemums, foliage, freesia, iris, roses, lisianthus and seasonal summer flowers (asters, delphiniums, solidaster and sunflowers).

At the retail level, the UK fresh cut flower and indoor plant market is worth in excess of £1.45 billion, which represents an average annual spend per person of £26.

Approximately 60% of this spend is by people buying flowers and plants for themselves and their own homes. This is a significant change from recent previous years statistics, where floristry purchases in the UK were for special occasions and as gifts and the average household spend for the home and garden has increased by 42%.

This industry has a positive impact on the environment, as growing plants removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, also the recycling of rainwater and integrated pest management systems are widely used by growers as part of their commitment to the environment.

So Why Not Give it A Go?

Why not diversify into this field? The statistics prove there is money to be made and you can help the environment too. Not sure? Why not book tickets for next January's SFE 07 in Birmingham and see what your thoughts are then? You will not be disappointed.

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