Tips for Increasing Design Speed

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SpringCity

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...besides "years of experience"...

One of mine is: Have all your materials right nearby.
Another: Figure out your recipe ahead of time. It does take a couple of minutes but once I know labor, container, greenery, ribbon, then I know how much in fresh I can grab from the cooler and whip together
 
We had a large funeral today, with lots of sprays, casket spray, family pieces, baskets. The thing is just this week supplies and flowers have gone up so much, I didn't have time to rework the recipes ( think I lost money on some ) and had to keep refiguring everything as I went, took way to much time.

I have got to sit down and rework it all before tomorrow.

At least you should now the cost of the basics, stand, oasis, greens and keep current of the flower prices. Saves a lot of time.
 
I never log on from work, only at home and usually at night, so that's not a challenge for me.

I have a formula and way to take container, foam and labor off the top so that I know what is left is for flowers, saves lots of time for me. We sometimes tend to get some stuff that is different and seasonal, helps to remember to price that out as it comes in, instead of stopping when you're arranging to figure it out.
 
OK...I'm gonna hunt y'all down later tonight and see who's real a later nighter. I think I've got all of you wannabes beat!

Back to the thread:

On holidays, proms and weddings we operate assembly line style. "Helpers" fill vases with water, floral preservative and greenery. One designer puts in the focal flowers, another adds filler and accents. Prom work...same thing...we did hundreds on Mother's Day week. Premade all the bases, head designer glued in main flowers, beading, etc. and "helper" glued in filler flower, boxed, numbered, placed in cooler and filed order form alphabetically for pick up.

Every day work...have designers make 2-3 of the same design at the same time. Definitely increases productivity.
 
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Holiday especially, we use premade foliage kits.

Often times you can cut two or three stems at once as long as you adjust your height accordingly before cutting.
 
Seriously, the best way to increase design speed is to be severely understaffed.

YOu will be forced into improving design time.

this afternoon, at 3:30 I had about 6 or 7 arrangemtns - $600 worth - of arrangements to do, and I kept getting interupted.

We stuck 1500 unrooted poinsettia cuttings this afternoon. For the life of me I don't know why I kept screwing around with issues out there, phone calls, etc and I just couldn't get my self moving on these orders.

Well, that casket spray took 30 minutes with interuptions, easel took 20, the others took about 15 minutes apiece. I got done by 5:30 with lots of interuptions.

In the old days, I would have been really concerned but now, its nothing. All this and about 15 more pieces have to be delivered by 8:30 am tomorrown.

I still have a $185 fresh wreath to do.

There is no better teaching aid, than being understaffed or being pressured to perform more than you thing your capable of perfroming for over a year.

jeo
 
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I am a clock watcher, and I make it know to my staff. I am always saying stuff like, "I need to have these 3 BM bouquets before 3:00". When I give them projects I have started telling them this should take you xx minutes. Especially the high school girls who feel the need to sit and clean roses (it makes my blood boil!!!!!).

I am also all about the prep work...especially for weddings, holidays and funerals. We use recipes for all holiday & party work...Oh yeah, assembly line too!

To keep a little control on costs, I have my HS girls price all baskets and containers with a retail price tag inside (so noone sees it) and have 1/2 index cards near everything else (vases, mache, easels) with their retail prices on them. I force myself to update the filler & greenery price list twice a year and it's posted in several places. I let costs go for too many years in the beginning...I learned my lesson!!!!!! :hammer:
 
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Joe Mioux said:
Seriously, the best way to increase design speed is to be severely understaffed.
Click to expand...

No truer words have ever been spoken. Besides making the casket spray I've got to make 15 - 30 other pieces of all different sizes plus run downtown to get the flowers plus write all the cards plus get all the cards attached PLUS get them all delivered...

I never thought about it before but, you're so right, Joe!
 
no better words were spoken Joe...since I am the ONLY one at my shop right now (my best delivery/designer found a 40 hr / wk job)...and absolutely no one worth any salt has filled out an application...It's going to be a long summer.
Flowerchat is running on the laptop behind my work bench...."behind me"........but geez it's hard not to hit the new posts button every time I turn around !! Good thing the phone is right next to the laptop!
 
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felicityflowers said:
No truer words have ever been spoken. Besides making the casket spray I've got to make 15 - 30 other pieces of all different sizes plus run downtown to get the flowers plus write all the cards plus get all the cards attached PLUS get them all delivered...

I never thought about it before but, you're so right, Joe!
Click to expand...

I sometimes go a bit nuts at home when I see Anna cooking. Like last night, she and I were sitting out on the patio and she was grilling a bunch of hamburgers. My hair started hurting as I watched the pace she was moving when flipping the burgers.

Rhonda at work said:
Flowerchat is running on the laptop behind my work bench...."behind me"........but geez it's hard not to hit the new posts button every time I turn around !! Good thing the phone is right next to the laptop!
Click to expand...

Rhonda, it's time for some professional help. ;)
 
Joe Mioux said:
Seriously, the best way to increase design speed is to be severely understaffed.

YOu will be forced into improving design time.

this afternoon, at 3:30 I had about 6 or 7 arrangemtns - $600 worth - of arrangements to do, and I kept getting interupted.

We stuck 1500 unrooted poinsettia cuttings this afternoon. For the life of me I don't know why I kept screwing around with issues out there, phone calls, etc and I just couldn't get my self moving on these orders.

Well, that casket spray took 30 minutes with interuptions, easel took 20, the others took about 15 minutes apiece. I got done by 5:30 with lots of interuptions.

In the old days, I would have been really concerned but now, its nothing. All this and about 15 more pieces have to be delivered by 8:30 am tomorrown.

I still have a $185 fresh wreath to do.

There is no better teaching aid, than being understaffed or being pressured to perform more than you thing your capable of perfroming for over a year.

jeo
Click to expand...

Absolutely true, and some of the hardest times I hope to ever have, but it's made me a better, more efficient designer. And more creative under time and budget constraints.
 
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Good thread! The above posts make great points - especially being under-staffed, or "under the gun"...

A couple more ideas for increasing design speed:

Hold on to your knife! When designing an arrangement, from start to finish, imagine that your knife is glued to the palm of your hand, and never put it down!

Time yourself. Try this for a day or two: As soon as you grab an order, jot down your "start time" - (i.e. 10:09). When you're done, write down your "finish" time. (I worked at a shop where this was a requirement, and it made me aware and more effecient!)

Val
 
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