thoughts about design

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lori042499

lori042499

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May 3, 2006
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The recent debates of design vs cookie cutter arrangements have got me to thinking...

Now I am basically an everyday florist...my design style is pretty regular...I can design lots of things and have been designing for 25 years...If I took the time and thought I could probably be a outstanding florist, but I find it is a utter waste of time and resources...and this did not happen since I own my own shop....

Now having said that, I have nothing against great design...I actually go to shows specifically to see good creative design. I get very inspired by design...I also look at it and think, Oh my God, that is very expensive....Do people(consumers) look at these creative masterpieces in the same way??? Can you sell these in your average shop?

I find that I can and do use alot of tips and tricks that I lean along the way, but I also find that people in general want flowers when they go to a flower shop...I find that the accesories that go into making arrangements with great texture and interest also cut into the arrangements flowers greatly and some people are dissappointed...I find that if someone sees the arrangement they may buy it but that same arrangement would be hard to sell over the phone...when they hear wire and butterflies, a great many would say, I just want a nice flower arrangement....can't I just get some nice flowers in a vase...Is this because they just don't understand or they just want flowers???

I also find that it is quicker to make a nice arrangement full of flowers than it is to make an arrangement that I have to stop and think what accesories would look good with it and the placement and fitting in those extras that are not used everyday..I have been working for so many years in this industry where I have been employed for my ability to get things made well and fast, that I have forgotten how to make an arrangement that is well thought out and executed..I look at a pile of flowers, I get an Idea and in 10 inutes that idea is excuted from what I have in my hands at that moment...

The reason I am bringing all of this up is because I am interested in befoming an AIFD florist. I always want to enter contests, but never have the time..I want to do this for me because I think I am good enough, but I am torn by the sheer cost of it and the expense of the upkeep...I so much like working with the TF show designers, I love competition and I love designing flowers, but from a business standpoint I don't see that it is a neccessity or a need.


Is it possible to be left brained and right brained all at the same time???
 
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I am a very creative person and find peace and contentment in creating anything. That is one side of my brain but the things that sell are what you describe and I am in business for an income. Contentment is nice but is flat without $$$$. I am currently cutting line by line every expense including training. I have to be able to meet consumer desires and creating more expense that raises prices isn't an option for me. As long as I am selling and customers are happy, there is nothing to fix. Down the road when the economy is better I might consider some shows and classes and certifications when I can afford it. Now I just want to eat well.
 
In order to have your own flower shop, you must use both sides of your brain pretty much at the same time. And yes, it is great to compete with others in your industry and receive accolades for your work. But, remember you are in business. If those awards will draw more money into your store, go for it. Otherwise, spend the money you would on classes and competitions and provide complementary arrangements to schools, large offices, private clubs & restaurants and build your customer base.
After thirty years in this business, I never won an official award but if I happen upon one of my arrangements after they leave the store, I am still in awe of the beauty which I create in 3-D. Best prize ever!!!
 
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To me, good design also has to do with how you put colors together, in fact color is my favorite element of design. You can use color and texture to stand out from the crowd without contorting the flowers or adding a bunch of extra "stuff" to the arrangement.

As far as AIFD, Lori I am going thru the exact same thing. I am trying to build a biz, and AIFD is a personal fulfillment thing, but can I get that fulfillent from making this biz go? It's taking up all my emotional energy for now. I think for personal reasons I'm going to wait till 2011 anyway, so that will give me time to think about it. :)
 
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Some very valid points are being discussed in this thread. The bottom line is that you have to make money.

I have presented a show throughout the country on bread and butter type arrangements with an emphasis on adding the touch that separates you from the competition. A lot of these tricks were learned from being in AIFD.

Actually, AIFD is probably more of a personal goal. Creative people have to have something to keep them stimulated such as AIFD, or they will lose their interests in the industry.

I can do the bread and butter all day long and actually like to do it, but, very often someone wants one of my more creative pieces and I get my "high" for the week. I probably would have left the industry years ago if I had not had this outlet.

It takes both the left brain and the right brain to be a successful florist. I have been tested and on a scale of 10, I am a 5. But, if you are only the left brained.....you are losing out on some pretty wonderful things. If you are only right brained....you are losing out on money. My opinion is that is HAS to be a combination of both.

I am guessing that Bloomz and Twyla are the perfect combination of the two. One might be useless without the other IMHO. But, together....Wow. It makes a great system of checks and balances.

If money is a problem in going for AIFD......why not just go to the symposium? You can learn so much just by attending without paying dues and paying for the testing. Several can room together and save a bundle.

Carol Bice
 
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I agree AIFD would be a personal goal. You could list it on a web site and the only People who even know what that is are people in the flower industry.
Being successful in your own business is a clear clue that you are doing something right, design wise and money wise.
Never would I assume that simply because I am the only florist in town that people don't have other options. There are several florists 15 miles away from me in both directions.
This is my first year in business and after December EVERYTHING is getting revamped. I had nothing to go on the first year but guess, that in itself is a nightmare!
I agree with you Mary Beth. I did a wedding this summer I just couldn't stop looking at it came out so beautiful. It will be "The Wedding of the Year" on my website. However, it will be another month before the photos are up.
When you can be in the industry for 27 years and still look at something you have created and say "Wow" that beats it all.
 
Hopefully, I can help to answer this question......In a nutshell.....yes, You can be both left and right brained at the same time.

Now, To delve a bit deeper.

In a lot of ways, AIFD is a personal achievement. It is also an industry achievement. Outside of the floral industry......AIFD does not have a lot of meaning......However, Within the industry.....being AIFD is a mark of someone above the ordinary.

Design versus cookie-cutter. First of all - All floral arrangements are designed. Even an 800TFTD picture began it's life as a design. It may be a hundred years old....but it is a design.

We call the staid, traditional, wire service roundy-moundys cookie cutters.....In fact, they are not. The term cookie cutter should refer to the METHOD of PRODUCTION.

A roundy-moundy traditional arrangement of carnations, daisies, statice, and baby's breath with leatherleaf fern foliage done and executed PERFECTLY....with all the elements and principles of design present in that arrangement is no less a design than a Hitomi Gilliam AIFD towering floral design sculpture using an hand-woven armature of twigs, branches, callas, standing 12 feet tall.

Reciped, standardized, cookie-cutter designs ARE a neccesity in the floral marketplace. Arrangements that you can produce repetively, quickly, are essential to maintaining profit margins. HOWEVER.....This is not to say that the repetitive, cookie cutter arrangement needs to be a staid, traditional, gathering of flowers placed into a vase or bowl. It CAN have a designer touch.....That could be something as simple as a branch with extended height, a pretty ribbon treatment on a basket handle, an intriqueing combination of foliages, etc.

In short......The only reason that the 800TFTD pictures are successful is that they are what a cookie cutter arrangement SHOULD be.....That is a pleasing, repetitive, easy to produce in multiples, standardized design that an AIFD member or a beginning designer should be able to reproduce the design and have it be a reasonable copy of that design. It is easy for different skill levels to create.

A good example of this concept. JB says that at his shop he does not design, yet if need be, I should think that he could reasonably copy a 800TFTD design.

There is NO RULE anywhere that says that a 'cookie-cutter' design need be a boring design. It CAN have excitement, It CAN be creative, It CAN be fun, It can be easy to make, It CAN be made in multiples, and IT CAN PLEASE THE SENDER, THE RECIPIENT, AND THE DESIGNER.
 
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RWK said:
A good example of this concept. JB says that at his shop he does not design, yet if need be, I should think that he could reasonably copy a 800TFTD design.
Click to expand...

Possibly but I wouldn't bet on it.

Most excellent post by the way, as is Carol's also, and Lori's question.

Thank you
 
If I'm right, one of the stipulations of maintaining your AIFD standing is that you have to be able to attend a few shows over a set period of time, if leaving your shop is a problem, this may be your make and break factor. If you feel you would like to try there is a group here you can join to have people rate your designs for you called "Kansas City Here We Come!"

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/group.php?groupid=9

If you have a website that you can add your own photos that is a good way to test market a few pieces that are more of a non traditional design than a cookie cutter. I second the comment about upping the style of the design with color and floral product as opposed to using hard goods. If I am doing a roundy moundy I'll add some lily grass loops, curly willow, ti leaf or something that turns it up a notch and makes it a bit more interesting. They still get that full, overstuffed look without taking away from it, to me, that is the basis of a cookie cutter. I have also gone toward using less foliage and more flowers, each flower stands out more and tells it's own story, which is a more updated look if you look online. More traditonal designs first "stuff" the container with foliage.

There are customers that will appreciate something that has a contemporay design to it, sometimes you have to educate them, that's where a website has an advantage. Some shops are fortunate and have developed a reputation for high style and unusual, it has to be worked at though.

Trish
 
You are partially correct Trish - When one becomes a member of AIFD, You have then a responsibility to continue your education. You show this by earning what is termed CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS ( CEU's). You have to earn 25 CEU points over a period of THREE years beginning immediately AFTER your induction ceremony.

You earn these by participating in various floral events....such as attending national, local, and/or regional design shows/seminars. If you are on the board of directors of a local, state, regional, or national floral association....that can earn you a certain number of points. You can have a printed article published in a magazine...( I am not sure if it has to be restricted to an industry publication such as Flora or Florists Review or not - but it does have to be about an aspect of the floral industry ), presenting a design program to a group of industry professionals can earn you points.

There are so many ways to earn CEU points.....even if you cannot attend a national symposium....You can earn 10 CEU's by purchasing the set of DVD's and then answering a series of questions about the programs and information presented on the DVD's

You are required to earn 25 CEU's in a three year term...You are NOT required to be absent from your shop to do so....you CAN be absent if attending a design show will help you earn the points, but it is not 100 percent required.
 
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