How To Prepare Your Floristry Bench

When it comes to creating showstopping arrangements, preparation is KEY.

Taking the time to properly prep your botanical material, set up your bench with your tools, and envisage the design you want to create before you place the first flower is the sign of a great florist. Even just a little preparation can mean the difference between a rushed, messy arrangement, and something that will blow your clients away.

To get started, we need to make sure we’ve got a designated place to work. We recommend finding a workbench that’s approximately 90cm in height. Kitchen and laundry benches are usually a good place to start looking, as these benches will usually come with a large in-built sink area which is perfect for filling up your vases and buckets. They’re also quite spacious, and given that we recommend having about one metre of space to arrange on, this is a big tick.

Another advantage to kitchen/laundry benches is that they’re purpose-made to deal with spills and water. Whatever type of bench you choose, make sure that the table part is equipped to deal with water and can be easily cleaned. This is why we don’t recommend arranging on your dining table – it’s likely to get nicks and water damage!

Don’t be afraid to look around for custom options either – at the Bloom Studio we used the beautiful, wooden Ikea table tops and had the legs custom fitted to make them the correct height. We also had wheels added for movability. Add a thick coat of gloss on top to protect the wood from scratches and water damage – and ta da! You’ve got some gorgeous, custom floristry benches.

Now that we’ve got our floristry bench set up, let’s have a look at the tools we’ll need on hand.

First and foremost, make sure you’ve got your trusty, highly absorbent hand towel close by for mopping up any spills as well as keeping your hands dry.

You’ll also need:

Pair of protective gloves – important for making sure you don’t get nicked and for removing any leaves on flower stems
Flower cutting snips – ideal for cutting softer flower material
Secateurs – for cutting hard-stemmed foliage and sticks
Apron – for protecting your clothes from any splashes or dirt, as well as providing a handy pocket to keep your tools in
Parafilm floral tape – for wiring and taping
Snips sharpener – to keep your snips nice and sharp
Wire – we recommend having a variety of sizes

(Pssst. We have all the basics available in a ready to go pack if you’re not sure where to start!)

Now that you’ve got your bench and tools all set up, you’re ready to start arranging! For some easy arrangement tutorials check out our Bloom Basics course – it’s the perfect place to get started on your floristry journey.

So, you’ve had dreams of owning your own little florist shop, spending your days putting posies together, surrounded by the fragrance and colour of every season’s blooms?

Well, what’s stopping you?

This moment is the right time to get started, and if you follow my tips in this blog, you can be a fully-fledged florist by Christmas. That’s just ninety days between you and your dream career. For us florists, the start of the year is a lucrative time, considering you jump right into Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day––all huge days for flowers!

Let’s get into it.

Consider: Why do I want to be a florist?

Before taking the big steps, begin with figuring out your why. Why do you want to be a florist? For some people, the love of flowers is innate and unquenchable. If this is the case for you, then becoming a florist makes sense. If floristry has always been a passion for you, then it’s likely that this path will lead somewhere fruitful.

However, if flowers don’t motivate or inspire you—if they’re just something pretty on which to focus while thinking about other things—you may want to think about looking elsewhere for your career choice.

If you’re still on the fence, consider the following:

Do you like working with people?

Do you enjoy being creative?

Are you detail-oriented?

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

These are all important parts of being a successful florist, so if you’ve answered yes to the first three, it’s likely that floristry is a good path for you.

Talk to established florists

The great thing about florists is that there’s usually one or two in your area already. Give them a call and see if they’d be happy to answer a few questions over a coffee, or for you to visit them in-store and learn a thing or two.

Ask them about they got started, what mistakes they made along the way, what they would/wouldn’t recommend doing, how it is to run a floristry business day to day etc. They may even have an opening for an apprentice or an assistant––it’s always worth asking!

Research the competition in your area

Now, while having florists in your area is great for learning about the industry, these same florists will likely end up being your direct competitors. To really pinpoint what is going to make your business unique, it’s important to do your research on your competitors. What are their weaknesses? What gaps are there in their offerings? What are your customers looking to buy?

Knowing all this will help you decide your eventual product mix as you establish yourself as a new florist in the area. You want to have a clear point of difference from your competition.

Invest in a basic floristry kit

As you can imagine, a florist’s kit is an essential tool for the job. If you’re serious about becoming a professional florist by Christmas, then investing in a quality kit is absolutely necessary.

This is what you’ll want to start with:

Good quality snips – You don’t want your blades snapping halfway through your first bunch of flowers!

Heavy duty secateurs – For cutting through materials like heavy foliage, sticks and wire

Gloves – Without decent protection, your hands will be covered in pricks and slices before the first day is through!

Apron – To keep your clothes nice and dry (floristry can get a lot messier than you think)

Hand towel – I don’t recommend trying to create an arrangement without a towel on hand! (You can thank me later.)

Take the Bloom in Business course

The Bloom in Business course is a 90-day online course that takes you through everything you need to know about setting up your own floristry business. The course is run by me, a florist, and I share my experience of how I operated my own successful flower shop. The course covers all aspects of running a floristry business including how to set up your shop whether it be online or a retail store, market your services and create beautiful arrangements for your customers!

With this course, you’ll have access to a wealth of knowledge from a florist who’s seen and done it all, you’ll learn how to differentiate yourself from the competition and have all the skills you need––ready to jump into your new career for 2023.

In short, there’s a lot you can do to kickstart your floristry career and start carving out your own area in the industry, all before Christmas. If you’re still second-guessing yourself, I’ve just released a short session titled “Bloom in Business – Getting Started” where I talk through the very beginning steps of floristry business. Access is free for a limited time, as I want to make sure as many potential florists as possible get to watch it.

I can’t wait to see how you take the leap and create your own successful floristry business!

Yvette x

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