Vases full of joy and yellow pollen disasters; the life of a florist

A simple bouquet of flowers can mean so much more than a gift. They are a sign of love, happiness, sadness, beginnings and endings. It’s easy to forget just how big of a part flowers play in our lives. From birthdays to weddings, flowers are a centrepiece for many of our lives most significant events. But what is it like to be a florist, the very person who brings the creations to life?

We sat down with Floral Image Dublin to discover the biggest trends for 2019, the perfect flower for any occasion and find out what a day in the life of a florist actually looks like.

1.     What’s a day in the life of a florist like?

I suppose there is no typical day in the life, it is not a 9-5 job by any means, but in general, we start of our day by planning which clients we will be visiting and carefully selecting the displays to bring to them based on the space being dressed and on their specific taste. Bringing a vase full of joy to clients on changeover day is what it is all about for us! We love getting feedback from our clients on the displays that they loved and the displays that they didn’t. Everyone has a unique taste in flowers so we love when we get to know a client enough to be able to bring them their perfect display every time. We also often do one-off events for clients, if they have a photo shoot or a special event on, we will provide flowers for them for the day at no additional cost. In addition, our work also involves helping our selected charities out with their events by providing flowers to them to enhance the décor of the venue.

2.     Did you always want to be a florist/ how did you get into the industry?

No! This was an accidental marriage! I have always loved flowers and I have always been a firm believer in the transformative powers of a truly beautiful bouquet of flowers can have on a space. However, anyone who has a light-coloured carpets/ furniture will also know the pain that pollen stains can cause – seeing your beautiful carpet covered in yellow lily pollen can induce serious panic. So, I went on the hunt to find some artificial flowers that looked just a beautiful as the real thing, for my home. I was very disappointed to find that there was really nothing on the market to rival real flowers in Ireland and that is where we spotted a big gap in the market. From there, Floral Image Dublin was born.

3.     What do you like most about your job?

Without a doubt, the thing that I love the most is seeing the smiles on our client’ faces when we walk in with a fabulous display. You can tell instantly when a client really loves the display we have chosen for them and that’s a great feeling. I also love the disbelief on people’s faces when they realise that our flowers are not real. We once had a client who phoned one day to comment on how fresh the flowers were and to query how they were not wilting and dying – even though she was a client who had signed up to the service, she hadn’t realised that our flowers were not fresh!

4.     Which flowers are best for which occasions and why? (weddings, birthdays, sympathy, etc.) 

Taste in flowers can be so personal and what one individual loves another will hate. So when choosing flowers for an occasion, you really need to think about the person you are buying for and their own particular taste and style. Whilst there are some traditional ideas in terms of flowers, i.e. roses for a wedding, lilies for a funeral etc, in general people are not constrained by these traditions anymore. The key things to remember when choosing flowers are to ensure that you are choosing flowers that are in season and that the recipient actually likes the flowers. Also, if the flowers are a housewarming gift, maybe avoid lilies, you definitely do not want to be responsible for spoiling their brand new couch with yellow pollen!

5.     What advice would you give to wedding clients who don’t yet have a clear vision of their day?

Planning ahead is key. Taking a really good look at the ceremony and reception venues and noting any strong colours is an important first step in choosing a colour scheme – for example, red flowers are not going to work well with a bright orange wall, so always keep the colour schemes of the venues in the back of your mind. The next important step is to decide on what colours the bridesmaids and groomsmen will be wearing. This will help set the theme for the flowers. There is no need to be too matching with flowers. Nice contrasting colours can look really beautiful and make a big impact. Finally, don’t be afraid to use plenty of foliage as this is the key to creating beautiful arrangements with that wow factor.

6.     What is your favourite type of space to decorate and why?

We love to decorate traditional rooms with high ceilings, panelled walls and grand fireplaces, these rooms really come to life with a pop of colour from strategically placed floral arrangements. We genuinely enjoy decorating any space though, everywhere looks better with a bouquet of stunning flowers on display.

7.     Where do you get your inspiration for floral designs?

We are always researching flower trends and we love to look towards America, Asia and Australia as we find that they have some stunning tropical and unusual flowers which are not readily available in Europe. This helps us to provide unique and bespoke arrangements to our clients.

8.     Have you got a favourite flower? Why/Why not?

Hydrangeas are my all-time favourite flowers. They are so elegant and beautiful and come in a range of different colours and they suit almost every space, room and occasion. I love them.

9.     What is the next big trend in flowers?

Of course, we see the next big trend in flowers being Floral Image’s life-like flowers dominating the market. Up until 2017, there was really very little on the market in terms of alternatives to fresh flowers but we are already seeing a trend towards life-like flowers emerging in beauty salons, hair salons, hotels, boutiques, restaurants and offices all around the greater Dublin area and we expect this to continue and to expand all across Ireland in the coming months and years. In terms of flower arrangements, we are seeing a shift to more architectural displays at the moment.  Clients are opting more and more for pared back, understated displays which focus more on structure and texture. We expect this to continue into 2019.

Find out more www.floralimage.com or call (087) 9185839