Tag Archives: florist-howtobeaflorist-iwanttobeaflorist

Feed Your Soul with Flowers Series Preview

white freesia as used in this video

How to use the element of line when constructing a fresh flower wreath

Yvette shares with you a quick tip straight from the classroom on how to use the element of line when constructing a fresh flower wreath.

Watch Now 

Bloom College

Learn about how & why Bloom got started

Bloom College was created in September 2012 and launched in March 2013. The school has been through a number of changes since but one thing has stayed the course, the mission and intention remains the same. In this interview from 2017, Yvette is asked to share her purpose for founding Bloom College.

Watch the Interview Here

 

A Florists workspace

Graduate Profile – Judith Harvey

I completed the Bloom College career change course in 2019 in Alyssa’s Collingwood studio after enrolling in Yvette’s Flower Basics course earlier that year.
After graduating, I placed an ad on Gumtree seeking work as a florist assistant and from this I was contacted by a business based in Brisbane that specialises in pop up creative workshops. They asked me to run some flower crown workshops that they had bookings for in Melbourne for hen’s functions. This was a lovely gentle way to begin working with flowers and people. It was a delight to be part of such a happy and receptive groups of women, and whilst working on their crowns, they often spoke quite candidly about life in general.
With the onset of COVID, online flower orders took off and that opened my next door. I began working for LVLY, making jar posies by the bucket load to keep up with the overnight demand. Whilst not working directly with my customers, I worked with small teams of florists and learnt so much from each of them, as their backgounds were so varied.
As restrictions eased, so did the online demand, but now I had some resume experience which I took to a lovely florist business in my local area (Mornington Peninsula) called Tully’s. They hired me and I can honestly say I have the best job I could ever wish for. I work with beautiful product, in a lovely setting as part of a small team. We share the week between us.
Apart from being able to make beautiful things each day, the hidden aspect of floristry has revealed itself – people share their stories with you when they buy flowers, and you can be part of the joy or give support and presence when the situation is not a happy one. You know if you have done well by the look in the customer’s eye.
As well as all of this, I am often called on for random everyday flower deliveries for friends and their contacts, which is an additional element.
One of the best aspects of being a florist is being able to walk around with the inner tools to look at flowers and foliage and create something of beauty wherever you happen to be, and the constant learning and development that comes from being part of an evolving industry.
Training at Bloom would have to be one of the best things I have ever chosen to do in my life.
Best regards,
Judith Harvey
Please follow Judith’s journey via Instagram:
@judithplainandsimple
@simplestems_
Australian grown flowers

Flower Industry Australia launches with a national vision of one industry together – unite, protect and connect.

Flower Industry Australia launches with a national vision of one industry together to unite, protect and connect.

Flower Industry Australia (FIA) , a newly formed nationally represented peak body for flower growers and florists, will officially launch this month.

With the mantra of “unite, protect and connect” it aims to provide national advocacy for macro and micro flower growers and florists on a number of industry issues such as Biosecurity and Country of Origin Labelling, as well as promoting nationwide industry connections, access to industry specific industrial relations, events and promotions.
It has grown from the vision of a small group of passionate flower industry professionals, who recognised that the Australian flower industry urgently needed to form a more unified approach in order to flourish.

Australian Flower Industry

The CEO of FIA and the inaugural Board of Directors consists of 10 men and women with working backgrounds in floriculture (at both micro and macro scales), floristry, floral education, biosecurity, and law, allow representation and advocacy at all levels across Australia..
Although still in its infancy, FIA has already lobbied with the government on important issues currently affecting the industry, including biosecurity matters relating to cut flower imports and country of origin labelling.

Australian Flower Industry

Memberships are now open, to all growers and florists across the country offering access to industrial relations support, online directory listing, Australian Flower Magazine, advocacy to government and many other benefits. Whether a micro farmer, a glasshouse grower, a ‘bricks and mortar’ florist, a large events florist or even a student entering the flower industry– FIA will advocate for all on the issues that affect them in the industry.

Job Roskam , CEO, said “Since I arrived 20 years ago in Australia many growers have stopped growing flowers. The current flower growers are determined to stay in the industry and some of them have come together to set up Flower Industry Australia. Flower Industry Australia will work to reverse the decline in the number of growers to create a strong future for new growers, and the next generation of growers.”.

Australian flower industry

FIA Board Member, Lawyer and NSW Farmers Board Member Sal Russo welcomed the national launch adding “stronger biosecurity is required to secure our future – more needs to be done and a national approach with FIA is pivotal “
All monies earned and raised through FIA will be spent within the Australian flower industry for the benefit of FIA members.

FIA looks forward to welcoming you – together we will grow –stronger together.

For more information about flower Industry Australia and their memberships , please view www.flowerindustryaustralia.com.au or contact Job Roskam at ceo@flowerindustryaustralia.com.au

About Flower Industry Australia®
Flower Industry Australia is the newly formed national representative body for Australian flower growers and florists. Flower Industry Australia represents and advocates for its grower and retailer members at both national and state level on issues affecting the industry. Flower Industry Australia is governed by a board of appointed directors who are either growers, retailers and/or in possession of skills deemed beneficial to the Flower Industry in Australia. Please visit www.flowerindustryaustralia.com.au

Recession proof your business

Weathering the storm ⛈ of forced change

 

In January I wrote a post about the floristry industry being recession-proof, which I still stand by today. That doesn’t mean your business will be recession-proof but the industry will. How can you be one of the survivors? There is no doubt there will be casualties in all industries, and I predict a great deal of them to be within the floristry sector. How could I say such a negative thing? Because I’ve seen it before, over the past 30 years I’ve witnessed waves of good times where flowers, florists and clients have been plentiful. On the flip side, I’ve also witnessed multiple downturns, scarcity in blooms, jobs, and clients. Yet this current, or should I now refer to as ‘previous high’ was the biggest I’ve seen. Equally, I have yet to be apart of a downturn to the extent that is hitting us smack in the face today. So if the casualties where there in the past you can be sure they will be here in abundance today and in the coming months. 

So why do some businesses crumble never to be seen again and what makes others survive and the few thrive? 

Is it just the luck of draw? Hell No! It ain’t nothing to do with luck. It’s all about execution, you must learn how to ride the waves of change and weather the storm, be agile and pivot, pivot and pivot some more. This is where your creativity comes into play, less about the flowers and more about strategy. Allow your mind to be creative by allowing yourself to be excited by the changes rather than scared. For me, this is where the true secret lies. Those who get stuck and bogged down in fear will cut off their flow of creativity. In turn, this cuts off the mind to see new possibilities, opportunities and a connection to their soul purpose, ‘your why’! 

For too long now many businesses have been riding on the coattails of others, whilst others have just been getting by doing the same old thing. The first group that we will refer to not so kindly as ‘copy cats’ do exactly as the name suggests. They see a creative business doing their thing and think wow that’s a winner, it can’t be that hard, I’m going to do that too. Whilst the original florist coming up with original ideas has to continually keep adapting and changing to stay fresh and original in her/his designs. The copy cats simply wait, watch and you guessed it, copy. Often the copy cat offers a lower price and markets directly to the original florists’ clients. Let’s come back to the story of the copy cats later on… Remembering there is another type of business I mentioned who did the same old thing. This type of business has been in existence for a very long time, some of them have even survived previous storms. Change is a word that makes them shudder and I like to refer to them as ‘Dinosaurs’. The dinosaur is often the only florist in the area, they often display a faded ‘Interflora’ logo and sometimes the customer service is old school lovely and sometimes it simply is not. 

“Jack be nimble, Jack be quick”  would be a great mantra for any of these business owners to adopt right now, sadly though we know many of them will not. But why? What makes them so different?  I wholeheartedly believe it’s their mindset and how they have trained it. Not everyone was brought up to believe that change is good, in fact, it makes us all feel uncomfortable. We work so hard to create things in one environment and often don’t consider the consequences of that environment changing.  Many people will survive this by hanging in tight and utilizing savings, they are often the people who can learn to live simply or frugally. But these people will not thrive and it’s my prediction that at the end of this storm they just might be our new dinosaurs. The ones I’m excited about are those who embrace change they will not merely survive, they will thrive. So how do they do this? Again it’s all in the mindset, this does not mean they will not feel pain and sadness for society as a whole, in fact, they possibly will feel it so much it will inspire them to keep moving with their mission. The mission is a very important part, you must be driven to serve others and not just yourself. This is the juice, that one necessary ingredient that allows you to be supported by the universe. This where those that will watch, the ‘copy cats and dinosaurs’ this is, and they will say “look at all the luck you had, it’s not fair blah blah blah”. This is when they will refer to themselves as ‘victims’ and we will refer to them as ‘casualties’ 

  • Learn to train yourself to thrive on change and enjoy the unknown 
  • Listen to what your clients and the world needs so you can pivot sooner rather than later 
  • Look after yourself mentally, emotionally & physically it’s a survival of the fittest in every meaning of it
  • Believe in yourself and the universe 
  • Be creative in all areas inc. marketing 
  • Be quick 
  • Be nimble 
  • Be unashamedly YOU 

Notice my suggestions above are mainly to ‘be’ as opposed to ‘do’. This is because who you are about to BEcome is linked by the extent of how much you will evolve, grow and ultimately thrive. Lean into the discomfort. Stand strong yet flexible, keep your heart open as much as your mind and know we are all in it together, how you come out the other side is entirely up to you. 

I see a lot of posts lately that show flowers being bulldozed, with a message that instills fear into the reader such as ‘buy flowers or our industry will not survive!’  I can’t see this as a positive or sustainable way forward. The fact is the Industry will survive as a whole. We need to inspire people to have flowers in their lives by promoting the various ways in which they will benefit personally and the community as a whole, not our industry. Sending them messages of fear and shaming them into buying will not work, it might keep the dinosaurs in existence but will not be the strong foundations we need moving forward to form a higher quality and sustainable industry. 

Times such as this have previously been described as ‘a clearing of the deadwood’, don’t be the deadwood.

May you grow, prosper, inspire, thrive and be a new sprout ready to blossom in the coming season. 

I invite you to stay connected with me and other like-minded florist professionals in our private Facebook as we navigate this new challenge forcing us to grow or shrivel up, the choice is yours.  If you would like to stay connected please be in the group each Monday for our LIVE Q&A sessions at 12noon. 

With gratitude, love & blooms,

Yvette x

Things to do in a lockdown – COVID-19

Yesterday I visited my local market as I do most weeks, it’s usually one of my favourite things to do. However yesterday was different, as I stood in the crowd of people, some weary masks, I felt a sudden surge of panic. Having experienced many panic attacks before I knew the signs all too well, heart racing, sweaty clammy palms, dizzy blurry eyesight. So I got myself out of there pretty quickly and did my best to return to a sense of calm. I felt silly for feeling that way and woke this morning wondering what I can do to prevent the anxiety and overwhelm from recurring. Over the past 10 or more years I’ve been gradually learning and adopting new habits to improve my mental health and embed tools to keep anxiety & depression in the past. Over the last week I had stopped applying many of those healthy habits and indulged in an over consumption of news. Sure I wanted to keep myself informed and not be naive nor ignorant but I’m self aware enough to know my limit before I become over sensitive to it all. Once I’m in that state I’m of little to no use to myself or others. No amount of my staying informed will cure the worlds woes but I believe if we collectively stay well mentally & emotionally well we can see a major shift. I expect what I’m experiencing is something many people are, in particular creative types. A good imagination when used for positive thoughts is wonderful, yet with that comes a flip side when left unchecked. Remember your soul is what to tap into and listen to not the mind! The sense of uncertainty is one of the major contributors to anxiety and although removing any impulse to control the future is the most ideal antidote, it’s often unrealistic for many of us. Particularly if you love to plan & look forward to the future as I do. 

Looking at what you can control and plan is helpful to me and keeps me on track. For anyone else feeling this way you might find it helpful to read my list of things to do if you are quarantined or should we have a lockdown.

So here’s the list;

  • Read books 
  • Have a bath
  • Sit in the garden 
  • Tend to the garden 
  • Meditate 
  • Talk to family & friends (deeply)
  • Write – books, blogs & journaling 
  • Watch comedy, romance, adventure movies and tv shows 
  • Yoga classes on FMTV 
  • Dance & sing 
  • Play in the cubby & trampoline (yes I know I’m an adult)
  • Clean & sort all cupboards & garage (Marie Kondo style)
  • Arrange flowers from garden 
  • Film tutorials 
  • Sort photos into albums (digitally)
  • Take more photos 
  • Make playlists
  • Make rose water 
  • Make flower essences
  • Cook
  • Cuddle the dogs & family 
  • Create Pinterest boards 
  • Watch YouTube 
  • Create YouTube videos 
  • Create new vision boards 
  • Study online courses
  • Exercise 
  • Remember to take supplements 
  • Connect with people via social media 
  • And so so much more 

Upon reflection of my list I’m going to ensure doing more of these daily regardless of a lockdown or not! 

Actually it would need to be a very long lockdown to do it all 😂

Stay well, safe and connected.

With gratitude,

Yvette x