r/florists

^(Hello all,)

^(I'm about to embark on a new adventure and sign a lease tomorrow on a small but perfect space for a flower studio. It's small- 500 sq feet- but perfect for what I'm envisioning.)

^(I'd love any advice specifically on building out my space. What do you wish you'd done differently? I can build out however I want so- flower cooler, utility sink with drying rack, storage, work station- all of that can be customized how I like. I'd like a workstation on wheels to move out of the way during classes.)

^(A few things to note before I get any feedback:)

^(1- My house is way too small to work out of my home. That simply isn't an option.)

^(2- The overhead including rent, electric, internet, insurance etc will be about $1900 a month)

^(3- There are no businesses like this in my town. My vision isn't for a traditional flower shop (we do have one of those.) I strongly dislike the flowers they make there, and the only options for my style (whimsical, season, farm grown flowers,) are either to make arrangements myself or go into the city 20-30 mins away.)

^(4- I plan to not have retail hours to start- but simply to do pre orders with pickups/delivery, pop ups, mobile bloom bars, and lots of classes, workshops and parties. Flower arranging, brunch & blooms, and other botanical crafts.)

^(5- There was a woman who ran a similar business out of her home for years and there was a huge market for her work. She did tons for homecoming/prom, holidays, subscriptions etc.)

^(6- I would buy my flowers from wholesalers in my area. There are many great options. I also will grow many of my flowers in the summer.)

^(I am a highly capable and artistic person who has run a 6 figure online business for 15 years- I am great at local marketing, social media, photography etc- and I have tons of connections to our community. I feel confidant in this venture but would love some advice!)

Hi! I'm in the process of figuring out buildout for my new flower shop, and I'd love to know if anyone has a workstation they really love?

Also if you could change something about the layout of your shop what would it be?

Not sure what flair to tag. This is the second time in a row we’ve had a potential client reach out via email about florals for a wedding. We respond with some information & they ask to set up a zoom/video chat consultation. We’re happy to meet with clients virtually & we’ll always send a link to a zoom meeting. Once it’s time to meet, however, they email us again that they’re unable to join the meeting or that the link doesn’t work. Then, they send us a link to a virtual meeting that also doesn’t work for us. This time, our computer automatically blocked us when we tried to use their link since it had malware attached.

Has anyone else ever dealt with these kinds of scams? I don’t really understand what their purpose is or why they’re targeting florists. Is there any way to prevent this from happening?

content note: mentions of stalking, abuse, sexual violence
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short version of the story--my (31M) friend (33F) is being stalked by an abusive ex, who has included threats and revenge p*rn in the accompanying cards with the flowers, (which apparently the flower company doesn't check at all???) Friend wrote to the company pleading with them to do something, on two separate occasions. The first time they sent a reply saying they were "taking measures internally to ensure it doesn't happen again," but when she received flowers from the stalker again, once again with an extremely fucked up card, she wrote again and this time they just coldly told her "we can't block your address from deliveries because then it would stop friends and family from sending you gifts with our service" and said that if the police contact them directly they'll give the sender's info to the cops according to the law. but they point blank refused to stop aiding the stalker.

It seems extremely cold and selfish to me that they're prioritizing their own ability to make a buck on sales over not being accomplices to a stalker who has threatened my friend's life.

obviously, all her close friends and family already know better than to send gifts using the same service as the stalker, because seeing their logo on a box at this point terrifies her. they wouldn't be losing any sales by "blocking her address" except the stalker's sales. but even if they are so eager to protect imaginary deliveries from non-stalkers, they couldn't block the sender's account? block their card? put a customer note that says "check what the card says and refund the order if it has an elaborate r*pe poem"? nothing?

and also obviously, the victim will be advising everyone she knows to never use that service for anything ever. but I just can't believe that florists as a rule aren't familiar with the fact that flower deliveries are a common stalking tactic. surely this is something florists might have an advisable policy about? Please, are there any measures the florist could take to stop being accomplice to the stalker, is there anything we can explicitly ask them to do? my friend is desperate and in constant daily fear and i can't believe the flower company is acting like their hands are totally tied

EDIT: I appreciate your replies and the confirmation that this company is being unreasonable and uniquely shitty about this, and that it is indeed something a sufficiently seasoned flower company has probably had to deal with before. from your responses I would not be surprised if it were ever to turn out that the stalker had tried to use other shops but been turned down until he found the one with the lowest standards (although i have no idea how we would ever learn for sure if it were true.)

Once the victim and i get a chance to talk, i might delete this post, because even with anonymizing measures, this kind of situation creates a crazy amount of paranoia and fear. thank you all for your suggestions.

I’ve been experimenting with various cut flowers to keep my dining table perky and bright for more than a week now. Here's what I learned: cut stems of alstroemeria and they might last 14 days, hydrangeas last only 2 before drooping. What’s your trick to bring them back? I’ve tried the hot water dipping method - worked for roses - but does a copper penny in water really fix the bacterial growth problem? I saw that viral TikTok where a florist adds bleach + sugar - a little risky but very effective! When ordering bulk stems online, I check Alibaba for tips from wholesale growers - they’re honest about what harvesting stage they’re sending out and how it’s going to affect its vase life! My biggest ‘pain’ is finding stems that will survive in a low-light corner, any suggestions for flowers that love the shade? Also what works best for you? Homemade preservatives (i.e. lemon-lime soda?) or store bought packets? Can't wait to hear your fool proof methods!

3 chargeback so far totaling $2,200 - so discouraging. All 3 are phone orders, code and full billing address matched on card. Never win, what can I do for future orders to avoid this and win the chargeback.

Hi everyone,
My wife and I run a small events floral business, and fortunately we’ve grown to the point where we regularly bring on freelancers to help with projects. We have a solid go-to team, but last week we had a last-minute call out and had to hire a few people we’d never worked with before.
One of them showed up in sandals, worked incredibly slow, and spent a lot of time on her phone, it was pretty clear she didn’t have the experience she claimed. (I almost wanted to send her home) After chatting with my wife, we want to try to be clearer with our expectations.
I know hiring new people is always a bit of a gamble, but how do you all vet last-minute freelancer or set expectations before event days? Would love to hear what’s worked for you.

Looking for any tips on finding a florist here in New York City that can arrange deliveries to further out in Queens + all over Manhattan. Also looking for best communication styles (whether you're a florist or EA w/some tactics to share) for getting grand, ethereal-level arrangements that capture well on camera.

Give me the real talk on if $250 is too low for this; I know people who've achieved this in the past, but need to takeover this myself for ongoing deliveries.