Valentine's Day has arrived, and what better way to commemorate the occasion than by recognizing our outstanding florists who are on the front lines during the holidays. We interviewed customers who operated a retail space and got the inside scoop of their operations during a busy floral holiday.
The Blooming Idea, The Woodlands, Texas
The Blooming Idea is a brick-and-mortar flower shop on The Woodlands' east side, opened in 2002. Their designers are certified by the Texas Master Certified Florist Program and the American Institute of Floral Designers.
Starting on her 20th Valentine's Day as a florist, Mary McCarthy, Wedding and Event Consultant for The Blooming Idea (pictured left), she begins preparation for the next Valentine's Day, the day after the previous holiday. "I take stock of what flowers I have leftover - what did I over order on, what didn't sell well, etc. I take notes on what processes worked well and didn't and where we can improve for the next Valentine's Day! Keeping records from previous years is so helpful in the planning process."
In December, she begins ordering vases and other hard goods. After all of the items have arrived, the photography for the website will begin. Arrangements are being put together, and all of the information is being compiled for what will be sold on Valentine's Day. Pre-booking for flowers starts in January.
It is essential to reach out to your customer base early so they can keep you in mind for any holiday needs. "We reach out to our best customers who ordered from us in the previous year with a personalized email three to four weeks before the holiday to ask them if they would like to order the same as they ordered last year, and we have an excellent response to this - the customer appreciates the reminder!"
The Blooming team starts prepping vases the week before Valentine's Day. "We start prepping vases with greenery the week before Valentine's and keep them in the cooler until we're ready to add the flowers. We start arranging the flowers five days before and keep everything in the cooler - I have the luxury of having a lot of cooler space! We deliver close to 200 arrangements over Valentine's, take on extra drivers, and limit our delivery area to optimize the number of deliveries we can make."
"We try not to work late and we keep up with orders as they come in. We have daily morning meetings, 10 minutes or so, to go over the plan for the day - who's doing what, what flowers do we need to push when we're on the phone, what flowers are we running out of, etc. I buy in lunch for all the staff on February 13th and 14th and I always give a bonus after the holiday for a job well done as I really appreciate all the hard work my team put in to make it a successful holiday!"
Teamwork truly makes the dream work for The Blooming Idea crew. Their dedication to the love of flowers and their customers shines through their designs. Give them a follow on Instagram @thebloomingidea to follow along on their floral journey!
Interested in seeing more Valentine's Day behind-the-scenes at floral retail shops? Make sure to check out our interview with Monarch Gardens!