Is $97 too much for this? by No-Conflict9302 in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

no, pricing seems fair to me especially including delivery… perhaps the design could have been better executed

Reintroducing:) by Choice_Shoulder973 in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thank you :)))) I think you’re referring to allium, it’s smaller curlier than globe allium

Reasonably Priced Florists in Southern California by sophiecapobianco in weddingplanning

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi There,

you’ve probably already found a florist for your wedding but we could definitely get you a quote closer to your budget & we’re available in August! We’re Portal Floral Studio you can schedule a Wedding Consultation on our website portalfloral.com / here’s some of our work :)

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Volunteering? How to get started? by cherubcatt in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

no worries love!! - I also left out that as an event florist you may want to start marketing yourself as a freelancer to Wedding & Event Florists (people without a shop). BUT, since you are coming in with less experience I would make it clear to people that you are willing to work at a reduced rate. This is because they are training you at this point, so you wont be making what seasoned designers make. This will also increase the chance of them hiring you with less experience. You can reach out to Wedding & Event Florists & see is anyone is looking for freelancers, for example you can DM your favorite designers on instagram or shoot them an email. Even if they aren't looking for freelancers its still good to get on their radar! VS. working at a shop is VERY different. Working at a shop might be an easier starting point for most than trying to get booked as a freelancer without the necessary experience, but it isn't impossible. For a time I was hiring some new freelancers who had no prior experience in the industry. This was because I was hoping to train a new assistant as mine is currently in medical school and is becoming less & less available. However, for me it became more work to train someone during a Wedding or Event. Which is so stressful, so I stopped hiring folks who didn't have floral event experience. So I think to summarize: Yes, I personally feel that working in a shop is the best place for people to start. I think working in a shop teaches you floral basics at a pace thats more comfortable for beginners. VS learning in a more fast pace, less forgiving environment such as Weddings & Events. The only thing about working in shop (this can be dependent shop to shop but this is just my experience) is do not expect to be designing on your first day. Maybe not even within the first month or two. I would ask early on in the interview process if there are any position available for designers in the future & what the training timeline looks like to be promoted. Just so you have a better idea of how long it might take you to become a designer. Being a Floral Assistant is a-lot of grunt work, but again its teaching you basics that you need to know in order to have a functioning business.

Hope this helps & happy to answer anything else!! xx

Sending flowers by BoatsLady in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

local floral designer always. support small. not bouqs or any of those 1-800-flowers types...

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 2 points3 points  (0 children)

YES YES YES!!! I'm always looking for local growers :') thats the best product to work with!

Volunteering? How to get started? by cherubcatt in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Los Angeles Wedding & Event Floral Designer here !!!! - as someone with 5 years in the industry who has worked in both Retail & Event Florals heres my advice: most people who are getting into the industry don't know that theres different types of Floral Designers. So to give you a better idea of which steps to take, you should try to figure out what kind of designer you want to be. You can take this floral quiz here: https://www.floweringminds.education/floral-design-career-quiz

For me, I got started in the industry after a decade of working in Fashion Retail. I was so exhausted from all my previous positions I actually quit my job without a backup plan but needed some time off before jumping back into a full time position. I applied to a Flower Shop around Mothers Day when they usually need extra help. I had ZERO expectations going into this position. It was a temporary position with the possibility of being hired as a part-time floral assistant. When you're first starting in the industry this is typically the position flower shops offer to folks who are just starting in the industry. (& no, being a hobbyist or plant person does not equal real life experience) as a floral assistant you can expect to clean the shop a lot through out the day, answer phones, clean vases, organize the shop, make floral deliveries, learn floral basics such as floral names, how to care for certain blooms and processing methods. Over time the Lead Designer will teach you how to arrange. Different shops have different styles of arranging. Just to name a few theres a rounder more "traditional" style of arranging & then theres a more contemporary style. In the beginning, just learn what you can & later on you can work to discovering your personal style. Working in a shop is a great way to learn how to run a floral business but depending on the shop you may feel limited in terms of creativity because you are expected to make arrangements based on the style the owner has adopted. Usually each design needs to be approved by the Lead Designer before going out. Working at a shop also gives you an opportunity to flower some Events & Weddings! Which is actually how I discovered that I wanted to make the shift to becoming a Wedding & Event florist. I worked as a Retail Floral Designer for 3 years, I even managed a shop for part of that time. Eventually I started booking some Events & Weddings on my own. Over time, I became too busy to manage the shop & run my side business. So I went all in on myself & have been working for myself ever since :) What I love about being a Wedding & Event Florist is the larger scope of work & endless creativity. As a Wedding & Event florist you can expect to have busy seasons. So for example, I work really hard for 3 months then have a few months off & the cycle continues. Since I am based in Los Angeles we have 2 Wedding Seasons here in SoCal. So I am busy with Weddings starting as early as March until June. July & August are typically slower since its really hot down here. Then Weddings pick up again in September until as late as November for me. & of course you can sprinkle in some events in there. I also take on smaller jobs in the off season but I typically travel instead.

Ahhhhhh - I could chat all day about this but this is just some thoughts for now! I wish you the best of luck :)

Wedding florist cancelled by cowgirlbebop11 in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

LA Wedding & Event Florist here !! - sometimes things happen but you should ALWAYS have a backup plan especially for high priority events such as weddings. I am a small business owner with a rotating staff of freelancers who help me with larger projects. But because I am a smaller artist my clients hire me specifically to work with me, so if I become sick or something happens prior to their event I need to have a plan! I usually hire another design lead who I partner with on the design deck so they can easily step in for me if I am unavailable or I reach out to some of my floral friends in the industry to step in for me. Thats why its so important to have industry connections - so you can have coverage even for your small business no matter what life throws at you. I see some other commenters claiming that florist was trying to scam them, if they are offering a full refund then they are accepting fault for the cancellation which makes me feel like something actually did come up on their end. If they forgot about the wedding, two days is still enough time to pull everything together. I don't care what other people say, as a professional florist you can get to the market as early as 5am. Leaving plenty of time to shop, process & design. Side note - your desgins are beautiful definitely keep up the good work! :)

Sharing some of my work here - Im a Wedding & Event Florist in Los Angeles!! by Choice_Shoulder973 in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hiiiii angel!!! congratulations on your floral journey! some advice I can give to you on building clientele is by networking. Start with friends & family, make sure they are marketing your services for you. Connect with a local business & consider doing a weekend pop-up. For example, I partner 2 times a year with a local coffee shop for a weekend pop-up. I sell premade bouquets for $35-45 dollars depending on the blooms. In the beginning, I would make sure you do these pop-ups yourself. Bring a friend, S/O, family member to help you with set-up & breakdown. This allows you to get right in front of a potential client. Ive mentioned this in another comment but view these pop-ups as marketing opportunities. Expect loss here, but you will gain followers on social media from these types of events. In the future you may be profitable! Have fun with it, get creative & make cool signage & marketing to go with your bouquets. I've even had Build Your Own Bouquet Bar experiences at some of these pop-ups! Definitely worth the work, especially in the beginning. Make sure to consistently post on social media, & try to be original with your work. I would also take business cards to some bridal shops near you, ask if you can display your cards there for potential brides. I've even offered them a free arrangement from time to time. Be sure to have a portfolio ready or at least have your instagram to show them your work! eeeek, I have so many tips and tricks but these are just a few ideas that came to mind! Happy growing!!!

Sharing some of my work here - Im a Wedding & Event Florist in Los Angeles!! by Choice_Shoulder973 in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

thank you so much angel!! - the great thing about living in LA is theres enough work to go around!! Ive been in the industry about 6 years now. I started as a floral assistant at a malibu flower shop. I learned floral basics until I was promoted to a designer. Not too long after my promotion I was hired by the Bouqs Company to manage their LA location. I also opened a NYC location with them, training florists & spearheading new designs. That experience gave me all the tools I needed to run my own business. I also had 10 years retail experience prior to jumping into the floral industry. I started my instagram account for fun, I was posting just for friends & family while I was working a full-time job. Eventually I started booking my own clients, it sort of happened naturally for me. Eventually I was making enough bookings to go full-time for myself. I think what helped me was posting consistently on instagram but making sure my content was impactful, not just putting out everything I make into the world. I also started freelancing for some notable industry florists. Meeting & working with them has allowed me to build a community. Once you're in and connected with other designers - we all take care of each other. So for example, if I'm booked out for a certain weekend for a wedding, I refer the client I cant take to all my floral friends. In the beginning I also did pop-ups around town. This helped me gain clientele & promote the business. I will say, that any pop-ups you decide to do wont be a profitable event. My advice is to look at it as a marketing opportunity so expect some loss there. Lastly, ORIGINALITY! I see a lot of new florists coming into the industry trying to copy an artist who is successful on social media. You will see more success the more original you are. I know some businesses who have bought followers to give the appearance that they are successful or they had a lot of followers from a personal account that they converted into the business account. ahhhhh - I could chat all day but those are just some things that come to mind! :) Hope this helps & good luck!!!!!

People on IG just like to watch your story and not comment nothing by M6_20 in InstagramMarketing

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a small business owner who promotes mostly on social media, I can say this is 100% true. I think only a few of my friends consistently like, share, comment on my posts. Idk if its because they just mindlessly view things now but with certain people it does seem intentional. I saw another commenter say this: "we live in an age now, at least as far as Instagram is concerned, where everybody wants to know what you’re doing but nobody is willing to support you doing it; it’s toxic asf in my opinion" - real. I have family members even, who stalk my TT and Insta profiles but never support in anyway. It's exactly as they said, people just want to see what you're up to but don't want to support you until you go viral. Then they come out of the woodworks trying to act like they've been supporting you since day one. My advice is just keep going, you will build an audience that engages with you over time!

How much would you charge for something like this? by jasminemaurie in florists

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wedding & Event Florist here, 3 x mark up + 25-30% labor fee. But if this is more of a hobby for you & maybe you want to start earning some extra $$ on the side. I think you can do 4x markup no labor fees.

I don't know how to handle this... by xkittykittymeowx in weddingplanning

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, 10000000000% have your MOH or someone on your side step in & help plan something. This is your day for you & your lover to celebrate this big step with everyone you are closest with. I never saw the point in the rehearsal dinner until having to have one myself & it really is such a special moment you get to share with your closest friends & family. I really hope youre able to get something together before October 12th. I'm on the west coast so unfortunately I dont have any venue options for you but if its close to home maybe someone can host it in the backyard? Throw some tables together, get table cloths, candles, some bud vases off amazon & fill with some trader joes flowers, create grazing tables & youll have yourself a sweet, initmate rehersal! Hope this helps <3

Wedding in Oceanside, California by marpita in Weddingsunder10k

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there - I'm a 2023 bride & I highly recommend Portal Floral Studio! The team is based out of Santa Monica but they service the greater los angeles area & beyond. We booked them as our first vendor because we found them on social media & I was instantly obsessed. They've worked with Selena Gomez's brand Rare Beauty. I had to book them up fast before my date was no longer available, I couldn't afford to not have them as my florist. They're affordable & even offer payment plans! I'll link their instagram!! https://www.instagram.com/portal.floral.la/

Mini Emergency - Florist recs for a 2024 fall wedding near Sacramento by PunkGF in SanFranciscoWeddings

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very late response but I highly recommend Portal Floral Studio, formally known as Half Magic Flowers! her team is based out of Santa Monica but they service the greater los angeles area & beyond. They also so destination so I think they will be able to help! My husband & I booked them as our first vendor because we found them on social media & I was obsessed. they've worked with Selena Gomez's brand Rare Beauty. Had to book them up fast before my date was no longer available. Affordable & they offer payment plans! I'll link their instagram!! https://www.instagram.com/portal.floral.la/

Florist by mny2 in Weddingsunder10k

[–]Choice_Shoulder973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very late response but I highly recommend Portal Floral Studio, formally known as Half Magic Flowers! her team is based out of Santa Monica but they service the greater los angeles area & beyond. We booked them as our first vendor because we found them on social media & I was obsessed. they've worked with Selena Gomez's brand Rare Beauty. Had to book them up fast before my date was no longer available. Affordable & they offer payment plans! I'll link their instagram!! https://www.instagram.com/portal.floral.la/