Silks anyone?

[aileen_c]

Ok so I started thinking since I need to get a 2nd job that maybe I should try my hand at silks. Anyone here have day to day experience with silks? How often do they sell? What have you seen that sells more than the others? Any other good tidbits would help in my own mental debate!!

 

[genie]

silks

I could write a book about silks. 99% depends on your part of the country, & type of clientele you serve. I am in a very small town in one of the 3 poorest counties in Missouri. Have very large amt of walk in traffic, have best location in town, you can park at my front door.
We carry two kinds of silk--the kind we call cemetery silk (cheap) & better silk, not high end, just nicer for home arrangements. Silk cemetery probably accounts for about 25% of my business because we have tons of little country cemeteries & even the big one in town--they hardly ever clean off the graves, hence the flowers stay on & people think they are getting a lot for their money. We have some funerals that are almost all silk cemetery pieces & green plants. My customers are always saying, we don't something that will die, we want something for our money. I am talking mostly lower end orders, although sometimes we have very big expensive pieces. If you are in an area that will support this the key is having a big selection on hand. We do lots of grapevine wreaths with silk, very large easels & some funeral type baskets. Home arrangements seem to go in spurts but we do sell a lots--again--you need good walk in traffice. In our area we have several (more than I want)silk trucks that make monthly runs. This is a very big thing in the southern regions of the country. If you want more info give me a call at 573-996-3717--Genie

 

[crazy daisy]

Hey Aileen, I agree with genie's post. It depends on the area of the country you live in and your clientele' base. Here where I live, silks are fairly popular (I'm in the South!). People see silks as a better value as compared to fresh cut flowers. We have a large, older population, so cheap silks are popular with them. Traditional designs in value priced silks (not "cheap" exactly, but a little less than mid range silks) are favorites with the younger generation. Take a good hard look at who your customer base is. Some areas may see silk flowers as cheezy or cheap. Some areas may demand higher quality silks in a much more stylized design. We be cheap here!

 

[aileen_c]

thanks you two!! I really appreciate your input. I don't think the cemetary silk thing would go here...everything gets cleared off each week!! Plus it's mostly flat headstones as opposed to upright ones. I coud be wrong..who knows maybe it could work?? Anyhow, either way I appreciate your input. I feel the silk thing could be successful here in my area since I'm around a lot of military AND we are always on a tight budget. Great points to take in.

 

[Tuberose]

We do mid to high end silk designs, you need a shop that caters to this type of clientele, I can't see you being able to sell that type of work out of your home and you would need to be experienced and good. I'm sure San Diego could support that type of merchandise but you have to have the right place to sell out of.

trish

 

[RWK]

If you do not have any Interior Designers as your clientele......then seek them out. They can be great leads and can really spur your permanent floral sales.

Some other things to consider.

Is your shop in an affluent area?
How many Home and craft decor stores ( Hobby Lobby, Carolina Pottery, other craft store) in your general area of service?
How large is your showroom space.......Permanents always showcase and sell best in home inspired vignettes - For instance: A chair beside a mantle with a small table beside that.....draped with cloth, flowers on the mantle, complementary design on the table, maybe small handtied laid on the chair for example.

How often do you peruse the shelter magazines......like Elle Decor, Better Homes and Gardens, etc. and take note of what they are showing.

Some some things that can help.....I am sure that there are plenty more sales generating ideas from our fellow FC'ers.

 

[aileen_c]

I was thinking what about selling silks on Etsy?? anyone try this site? If so have you had success? I currently own a domain name and have it reserved. It's the future name of my flower shop...was stinkin' thinkin' about possibly developing this site for at least silks until I get my b&m shop for real!! Thoughts?

 

[SpringCity]

Etsy is great. I love shopping on that site.

Whether Etsy or Ebay or any other online site you still have to do a lot of marketing just like a brick and mortar biz. It is do-able but not gonna happen quickly.

I know there are florists around here who have designers come in and just make silks, because the staff they have is too busy doing other things. Not sure if your boss would be ok with that though.

 

[aileen_c]

Hmmm....now I think I may be swaying to do silks...I will try my hand at some and then post here for some wonderful critiques!

 

[Connie]

We sell very few permanent botanicals in our shop, and we carry grave pieces as well as higher-end pieces. Actually, the sales of either or both seem to come in spurts.

Good luck to you, Aileen! I surely do admire your spirit.

 

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Permanent botanicals

I am in a small town of 3,800 people with two other flower shops. I have an excellent location, being on a main road with two large windows. Permanent botanicals designs is at least 50% of my business. I do a lot of customer designs for clientle that brings in fabric samples, as well as, keep permanent botanicals in the shop for each season. I designed 45 interior and exterior wreaths in a six week time period from May until Mid-July. I am blessed with an excellent designer that we have worked together for 25 years. We already have several permanent arrangements designed for Christmas and are beginning to put together the Holiday displays, as we are having an Open House, November 21, 22 and 23. Have fun with permanent botanicals, designs, colors and textures are limitless. Sharing a blessing today.