Want to find help on wrist corsages

Spookyflowers

Spookyflowers

New Member
Jun 13, 2007
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Missouri Valley
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IA
I'm looking for ideas for wrist corsages mostly ones made out of a wire frame and for and armband effect.
Its been awhile since I was too a class for prom flowers and have forgot how to do the wire frames. Any ideas would be helpful.
I rent tux's and we are having a tux night and I want to show ideas for corsages at this open house also.
 
Got my Flowers & yesterday would anyone have any luck seeling some of the stuff in that magazine? The rose boa is just way too much and the cost is way out of sight. I's rather have some basic stuff with some bling added in or is it just our Midwest girls who are not into all of the weird stuff? Someone tell me what these kids want as they can't tell you. I do samples up with orchids and they go "no just use baby roses tipped to match my dress". I wonder if its me who can't sell them different or are they stuck with baby roses because mom told them to go with that?
 
Our down to earth northern girls are just finding "deco wire" and rhinestone bracelets. But they don't want to pay of $20 for a corsage with bling. It's not an "outdo the others" type of atmosphere. It's "wear it for pictures then take it off with the gown" to go party anyway....
I have had luck with a couple girls wanting arm bands and rings, but they are the only ones.
 
I'm thinking same thing here I even have some who don't want flowers they say they are a waste of money for no longer than they wear them. I have better luck with the ones who don't have dates than the ones who do. Also when mother of boy orders they tend to spend more money than if the girl orders in front of the boy.
 
Our customers, mostly OH, WV, KY & PA, are going nuts over the armbands. I never in my life thought they would be so popular. There is a Fitz Armband called "Athena" that we wholesale for $3.25, and we cannot keep in stock for anything. We worked with Mike Hollenbeck, president of the AIFD Northwest chapter, on the class he is giving in CA this weekend. His shop is in Idaho,he does a lot of work with arm bands and wire work going up the arm. If you are on Facebook, friend him, and look at his photos. Also go to his website, www.floralartistry.com, and go to Custom Corsages. Some pretty awesome ideas there.

I agree, I love Flowers &, but that rose boa was insane. Who would even want to wear that? It would be such an aggrevation, aside from the obvious cost factor. But I look at it like fashion magazines... 99% of the women in the world don't wear what's in fashion magazines. Yet many still buy the magazines... even though we shop at JcPenney or Walmart at the end of the day. In our Fitz class, Cory did mostly everyday corsage designs, things that real florists could sell at real price points, and it seemed that people were disappointed! They wanted more "fashion" designs. There is no pleasing everyone...
 
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Cool stuff on his website. Love the up the arm stuff. I have a hard time getting the flowers to fall in the right place on the ones on wires going up the arm. Am I doing something wrong?
 
Spookyflowers said:
Cool stuff on his website. Love the up the arm stuff. I have a hard time getting the flowers to fall in the right place on the ones on wires going up the arm. Am I doing something wrong?
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I couldn't tell you if my life depended on it. But I bet if you emailed Mike, and explained that you were a florist in desperate need of assistance, and that you loved his work... he would probably give you some advice. He's a real nice guy. His email is on his website - under Contact Us I think.
 
When you do the arm band and the wire swirls going up the arm.......you need to make little 'pads' for the flowers to sit on.......The way to do that is to make a flattened coil of wire at selected, random intervals along the length of wire.

Then for the flower content........make sure you leave as little of stem on the end of the flower as possible. The flatter the stem end of the flower, the better it will sit and balance on the bands/coils.
 
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Or just use the Athena Arm Band from Fitz. Most wholesalers are selling it for around $3.50 and it is already made. I'm not sure what Sarah has it for price wise.
 
Cory Brown said:
Or just use the Athena Arm Band from Fitz. Most wholesalers are selling it for around $3.50 and it is already made. I'm not sure what Sarah has it for price wise.
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$3.25

I'm not sure of the numbers exactly, but I think second to the gum drop, it may have been the best seller this year.

Thanks.
 
I don't sell many of the armband things either..in fact only a couple in the last 5 or 6 years. And one of them was rejected because she hated it.
But I do sell lots of cool wrist bracelets.

Just show them, even wear one, and then let what will be, be.

Just because you don't sell them doesn't mean your'e doing anything wrong, it just means your market isn't right for that style just now. Who cares?
All that matters is that the stuff you do sell, makes your customers happy, and makes you a reasonable profit. Nothing else matters. Remember, do what you do , the best possible way you can do it, and treat everyone who comes into your shop like the Queen of England, and they will come back to spend some more money another day.
Don't get sucked into the beleif that just because everyone else sells this stuff, so you must be doing something wrong.
Truth is most people sell different things from market to market. Just do what you know best, better than anyone else, and enjoy your success.
JP
 
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Last year I was in a town of 3500 and couldn't keep the Fitz Jelly Bean in stock, everyone had to have bling. This year I am in a town of 25000 and have only sold two of Fitz Gum Drops bands. I really don't know why there is a difference in a larger town. Last year lots of bling and coiled wire, this year plain jane. But hey, there is one year to work on them. See what happens next year.
 
Lizi said:
Last year I was in a town of 3500 and couldn't keep the Fitz Jelly Bean in stock, everyone had to have bling. This year I am in a town of 25000 and have only sold two of Fitz Gum Drops bands. I really don't know why there is a difference in a larger town. Last year lots of bling and coiled wire, this year plain jane. But hey, there is one year to work on them. See what happens next year.
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Location is certainly a big part. But its not the only part. Part of it is what is in style for the year. I bet, even if you were in the same town, you would have sold more gum drops this year than jelly bean. The Gum Drop is just more along the line of the style trends this year. Next year will be something totally different, I am sure. Last year - we sold lots and lots of the Hard Rock (glitzy)- this year, mostly gum drop. And we are still working with the same core group of florists, located in the same physical locations.

Plus there is the price point difference... If memory is serving me correctly, jelly bean wholesales for about 5 times what gum drops does. Not sure how the florists are handling that, but jelly bean corsages would have to be more expensive... The way I see things - Gum Drops made Fitz an option for everyone, where as before, it was only for the girls with $$. But hey, I could be totally wrong. :)
 
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