krissie122 Intro

[krissie122]

My name is Christine and my website is www.christinesfloraltouch.com. I work out of my home in a suburb of Minneapolis, MN
I have been doing weddings on my own since 2002. I worked in the floral industry through high school and college and was trained in the shop. (no formal training) I did a search for something a bride asked about and this website came up in the search. I hope to learn new ideas, tricks, etc and share some of my own as well.

 

[Victoria]

Hi Christine, thank you for your interest in Flowerchat. Are you a registered business in Minneapolis?

How did the feature with the reporter go?

V

 

[Brad]

FlowerChat is a private board for professional florists if I understand your intro correctly you worked part time in a flower shop thru school with no formal training and are now doing weddings out of your house???Please explain do you even have a cooler or know how to properly process flowers???????:hammer:

 

[krissie122]

Wow. Yes, I know how to process flowers! I worked at a flower shop for 6 years before going out on my own. Did you visit my website? One does not need to own a shop or have 'formal training' to be a 'professional' florist. Why lose money with a shop when I can make money working out of my home? I don't have to deal with prom or Valentine's Day either! I hope others in this forum are a little more welcoming than you.

 

[krissie122]

Hi Victoria,
Yes I am a registered business in MN. The feature on the local news was a blast, thanks!

 

[Victoria]

Thanks for responding. You are an events only based business then with not holiday stresses... just the stressed of dealing with brides etc.

How many weddings do you do a year on average in your city?

I'm glad the time with the reporter was good. Did it garner some great results for you?

V

 

[krissie122]

Hi Victoria,
Yes, I am wedding and events only. I have done Thanksgiving/Christmas centerpiece 'specials' as well by emailing all my past brides, family, and friends and taking orders ahead of time. My average right now is 40 weddings/year. This weekend is actually my only weekend 'off' from weddings Mid-May until the end of October! I am however doing some centerpieces for an anniversary party tomorrow afternoon. I just can't turn down business!
I've got a few weddings from my segment on KARE11 and also a 'corporate account' with a local country club. I do centerpieces for them one a month and for special events. There are several rules at the club, one being white flowers only (except for special events), so I'm sure eventually it will get tough to jazz it up!
I'm enjoying reading through posts so far. The one below on mauve roses is interesting. I have only used www.sierraflowerfinder.com and get all of my flowers from a local wholesaler, so it is interesting to see what else is out there.
Hopefully I will be 'approved' so that I will be able to continue to use this site as a resource and contribute to it.

Thanks! Have a great weekend!
-Christine

 

[Victoria]

Hi Christine. Thank you for being so forthright with your answers. I appreciate your patience.

You shouldn't have much of a problem being approved, however, many of us are not quite in the home based business ballpark yet... that being said, many of us are.

So I say welcome.

V

 

[krissie122]

It's so funny to be referred to as a 'basement betty' by someone not approving me as a member. In the Minneapolis/St. Paul area my biggest competitors are also home based florists. There have been 3 different florists in a strip mall by my house in the last 18 months, all closed down because they can't make it. Why is my 'status' as a florist undermined because I work from my home?
I was really excited when I stumbled upon this site. From the information I read, it seems like you welcome people from all realms of the flower business, and for some to say that I don't count is quite unfortunate.

 

[Rhonda]

Don't take this wrong....use it as constructive criticism....
Working in a flower shop does not make you "professional". Professional means getting all the education you can....learning as much as you can...by utilizing State Association's Educational programs, attending every design seminar, hands-on workshops as you can. Find a school, if you want to do only wedding...then take courses in those regards.
More constructive criticism? I did look at your website. May I suggest you study some more, if you haven't already, Elements and Principles of Design.
I will not vote either way, but abrasive attitudes make abrasive comments.

 

[Brad]

Thanks for the red dot Krissie and I did look at your website I have to vote no here sorry.

 

[krissie122]

Apparently there are some nice people here!

"Krissie...welcome to flower chat. Not every one
is as nasty as that Brad guy...how rude he is!
Some people, but not all, think this is called
flowerSHOPchatonly! What a snob he is.
I have a fondness for Minnesotians and know
you mean no harm! Of course you are a
professional! Good luck to you and carry on!"

 

[Victoria]

Oh dear. Christine... that was really uncalled for and unnecessary. I truly hope the quality of posts won'tfollow this track in the future.

You are now a member in full standing to this really great and diverse community. I do hope you make good and positive use of all the information here. I also hope you share your knowledge freely.

Kind regards.

Victoria

 

[krissie122]

I'm confused Victoria, what was 'uncalled for and unnecessary', my defense of myself or Brad's attacks?

 

[Victoria]

I was speaking about your posting what another said in private to you.

V

 

[Queen of Weddings]

I am sorry I can't find your website, but then again, I may have missed it,,,Can you repost it..