Can a British Wreath Design Inspire Holiday Sales?

Why recreate a British designer’s holiday wreath design in your floral business? Because it sells, it’s versatile and can trigger add-on sales. Not only has this idea successfully crossed the ocean, wreaths are also a good place to make use of leftover flowers. “This design sells very well for us at Christmas fairs,” says Keira Donnelly, who works in her mom’s bespoke florist shop in Colchester, Essex.

Versatility and affordability

Wreaths are a good holiday sales item because of their versatility. They can serve as table, door or mantel decoration. Add four candles to this table centerpiece and it becomes an Advent Wreath. Place it atop an urn and stand branches in the center for a natural centerpiece on the buffet. They can go wherever your creativity takes you. Adding a bright color can make it eye-catching. Keira found a few red roses in the cooler leftover from a wedding. “With careful thinking, you can always use leftover materials to create something saleable,” she says. She finds other ways to save. “I plant foliage in my mum’s garden to use in my floristry work. Using garden greens makes it very cost effective for the florist to design.”

INSPIRED with red roses

Inspired by the wedding roses, Keira created a holiday wreath and submitted a photo of it to the OASIS Floral Products 2017 INSPIRE Floral Design Showcase. Her design was chosen as the most inspirational holiday design. Smithers-Oasis Floral Design Director Kevin Ylvisaker AIFD, PFCI recreated the wreath and additional holiday ideas for OASIS Floral Products print advertising.

Creating the wreath

[rev_slider alias="saleable-holiday-wreath-1"] Keira listens to her customer’s needs during the holidays and designs for them long-lasting designs such as the wreath to enhance their celebrations. Choosing a floral foam wreath form as a water source for the design, she uses fresh spruce to hide the base, then adds the foliage from the garden. “I love using the rich velvety texture of red roses at Christmas. They complement the dark shiny leaves of fresh cut ivy,” says Keira. Feeling that the wreath needed a splash of gold, she added some faux ivy from her Christmas decorations box. She placed the roses and festive baubles in groups of three around the Holiday wreath design, helping create a strong visual balance.

Creating a collection

[rev_slider alias="saleable-holiday-wreath-2"] Kevin created a number of complementary looks, starting with this red rose and green ivy topiary (always a popular holiday decoration) in a moss green biodegradable container. He added a touch of gold by collaring (encircling) the roses with a wire armature and added beads for ornamentation. Next, Kevin created a simple centerpiece of red roses and fresh pine in a rust-colored metal tin, then filled another container with red millimeter balls and spruce. For another centerpiece, he used a wood ring as her container, adding red Midollino for accent. These simple styles are also very saleable. Colorful and compact, they can be used for many purposes, from a centerpiece to a special holiday gift. Note: The email incorrectly credited these designs to Loann Burke.

Creating seasonal sales

Create coordinating floral arrangements: door, mantle, centerpiece, etc., to inspire impulse sales. When customers come into your shop for one item, they can see and purchase complementary designs. Create vignettes to show your customers how to use holiday designs in their homes. Blend a variety of design sizes and prices to offer something for everyone. Offer ideas on how they can use new items along with what they already have. Mix finished designs, design materials and easy ‘grab and go’ buys of basic seasonal merchandise such as ribbon, containers, candles or novelty items to encourage DIY sales. People are attracted to new ideas. Even if you don’t have a physical location, you can create sales buzz by building displays and posting photographs in emails and on your website and social media.

Aster la Vista – a bespoke florist

“My mum has a studio on the grounds of her home,” says Keira. “She is a trained florist with a degree in floristry and I have learnt from her. We work well together.” “The shop is cozy and welcoming to customers who pop in for wedding consultations or to see which sympathy designs they would like. Always with a warm welcome with a cuppa and homemade cake or biscuits,” continues Keira. “People love to talk about loved ones or the plans for their weddings. Listening is one of the florist skills I have learnt from my mum,” she explains. “My style is bright colors. My mum’s is more natural and rustic, which makes us a good team,” says Keira. Blending design styles to create holiday collections is a good way to increase seasonal sales. Keira says that last year she and her mom joined forces to create the décor for their own holiday celebration. She made her wreath and “my mum made a matching candelabra design using floral foam which we kept and used at our family Christmas meal.” They were even sold on their ‘saleable’ idea. How can you showcase your ‘saleable’ designs in winning ways?