Ordering Early: A Discussion with Holly Chapple

by Details Flowers ● 7 October ● Designers, Partners

Recently, Details Founder and CEO, Corrine Heck, joined floral extraordinaire Holly Chapple for a discussion about the state of the floral industry. They hit on a really important topic, which is the effect of florist habits on the success of floral growers and suppliers and how planning ahead is so important to seeing our industry rebound in the coming year.

As we look forward to next year, hopeful for a healthy and successful 2021, it’s more important than ever to plan ahead. Floral farmers and growers all over the world are planting and producing flowers again, and their ability to service all the orders we’re expecting (*fingers crossed*) next year for upcoming events is going to be dependent on florists letting them know what will be needed.

This year has been a tough one. In the event and wedding world, we saw nearly all events cancelled for a period of time, layoffs and business closures, and entire fields of flowers being thrown away. It goes without saying that the floral industry has been hit in a huge way - many of you well-know the effects of the pandemic on floral businesses.

Florists are on the front lines of the industry; you are the ones who will be educating the public on the importance of flowers with your proposals and retail offerings. As weddings begin to start scaling up again, so will the need for flowers. Keeping track of what you're going to need and passing information up the chain is going to be essential to the industry next year!

Growing floral crops (or any crops) is a tricky business and takes quite a bit of foresight, planning, and good timing. As florists, we need to get orders out in advance so that our farmers and wholesalers can get a picture of the future. If we don’t tell them what we’re going to need, they may not have it at all!

So this goes both ways. For a successful 2021 to happen, the farmers and wholesalers need you as much as you need them! 

The floral industry is a deeply connected ecosystem. From florists to wholesalers to growers and breeders, and even technology companies, we all count on each other to keep our system alive and growing. Planning ahead, communicating to suppliers, and supporting each other is how we’re going to come back strong. Make strong habits in your event planning and the industry will feel the effects!

We're encouraged by all of you out there who are pushing ahead and doing what you can to keep making the world a prettier place through flowers, and we're hopeful for what next year will hold. A resurgence of events and weddings is a light at the end of this 2020 tunnel and we want to help the whole industry prepare. Let's make plans, get organized, and get those orders in to the suppliers early so we can all take the necessary steps to come back strong in 2021!

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOLLY CHAPPLE

Top ways to stay ahead and on top!

  • Set short-term goals: Setting easy-to-achieve goals for today, tomorrow, this week, or this month is a great way to stay ahead. Plan to get that proposal done by tomorrow, and get that order in before the end of the week.
  • Create a routine: Develop a standard operating procedure for your event production. List out what needs to be done each time, in what order, and stick to it. Never get caught off guard.
  • Offer packages: Create a couple of packages you can offer that use same collections of blooms each time so you can create standard orders.
  • Mise-en-Place: Success on the fly or in a rush is all about having your stations in order. Get everything ready, set out what you need, create collections and recipes in your Details account that are ready-to-go - do yourself these favors!
  • Compartmentalize: Keeping track of everything you need to do is tricky! Don't keep it all in your head- write it down! Have too much going on at once? Make a list, execute each task in order of priority, wash, rinse, repeat. 

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