|
|
 |
A look inside: Flower Studio
Flower Studio |
|
Written by Anja Sonnenberg
|
Located in a beautiful heritage building in downtown St. John’s,
Newfoundland, Flower Studio is a modern flower shop that prides itself
on offering customers floral designs with an artistic flair, but the
flowers aren’t the only artistic element that can be found in the
store.
Fresh Funky Fabulous
 |
| Flower Studio’s design team from left to right: Glenn Manning (Designer), Nicole Rousseau (Bridal Designer), Steve Davis (Creative Director), Beverley Freeborn (Principal Designer), Susan Ryan (Designer). |
Located in a beautiful heritage building in downtown St. John’s, Newfoundland, Flower Studio is a modern flower shop that prides itself on offering customers floral designs with an artistic flair, but the flowers aren’t the only artistic element that can be found in the store. After seven months of restoration, the house was retuned to its original glory, showcasing 11.5-foot ceilings, hardwood floors, stain glass windows, ceiling rosettes, and several slate and marble fireplaces. To enhance the rich ambiance created by the character of the building, original artwork is displayed throughout the shop.
“I realized I was missing out on an opportunity when customers kept asking if the art was for sale,” says Steve Davis, owner of Flower Studio, who initially bought art to simply display at his store. “I’ve since negotiated with local artists whose work complements our shop and we now sell original Canadian contemporary art. Our whole image focuses on unique, one-of-a-kind design and the art on the walls lends itself to that image. We’re artisans and like the artwork our floral pieces are originals.”
The main floor of the building is used as the studio, showroom and primary design area, while the basement houses the walk-in cooler, prep area, bridal design area, and storage. The second floor offers private consultation rooms, which are ideal for grieving families ordering funeral tributes or blushing brides contemplating their flowers for their perfect day. The third floor isn't used at all, which Davis admits is a shame because the most spectacular view of downtown St. John’s, the harbour, and the ocean can be seen from there.
After six successful years operating the business from the company’s original location across town, Flower Studio moved into the heritage building three and a half years ago. The move symbolized the achievement of fulfilling Davis’original business plan for the company, but it didn’t come without its own hurdles. Certain rules apply to heritage buildings that don’t apply to other retail locations – signs for example.
“We’re not allowed to have any external signage,” Davis says. “Initially that turned me off from buying the building, but then I thought that that’s an interesting challenge and since about 90 per cent of our business comes in over the phones, I thought we could be just about anywhere and hopefully maintain that percentage of the business.” The solution to the signage problem was to found by taking advantage of the oversized windows in the building.
“We’re right on the corner of a downtown intersection and there is a traffic light literally on the corner of our front lawn that stops traffic throughout the day – mostly commuters from the business district on their way to and from work,” Davis says. “So we decided to maximize the windows and do incredible window displays. Our windows became our signs, even though we don’t include any text. You don’t need a sign saying ‘flower shop.’ People are smart enough to realize what sort of business it is.” The window displays are changed every couple of days to keep customers interested and to display new products.
With 18 years of experience in the floral industry under his belt, Davis has learnt a few things along the way – how to keep his staff happy being one of those things. Flower Studio employs five designers and a driver, and unlike most flower shops, Steve hires designers first and foremost.
“What I’ve found works best for me is to surround myself with designers who can function as sales clerks, not vice versa. I find that designers do a better job selling because they know the products and they can communicate effectively over the phone. They have the best understanding of what they’re capable of doing and they’re passionate about what they do.” Davis takes it one step further by tailoring positions for each of his designers. “I try to identify my designers’areas of expertise, strengths and interests, and then try to customize the job to their needs. Nicole Rousseau, my bridal designer, has always had a passion for bridal designs and she’s very good at it. So although she does day-to-day designs, she’s referred to as the bridal designer. I find that if I give designers a specific title, it implies your expectations of what you want them to do, and they feel better about being Flower Studio’s bridal designer or Flower Studio’s principal designer, as opposed to one of five designers. It’s a great way of implying specific tasks and expectations.”
Another thing Davis does to make sure his employees are happy is to hold regular staff meetings throughout the year.
“We have meetings three or four times a year, which I try to tie in with a social event. We’ll often meet at the studio on a Sunday morning, go over important stuff and then all go out for brunch.”
Flower Studio’s mission statement is also a big part of each meeting to remind everyone of the company’s goals and mandate.
“To me you need a mission statement. My staff are reminded about it throughout the year. If you don’t write down what you're goals are, it’s too easy to become sidetracked and forget what you intended to be. You need to be true to yourself and your employees.”
Something new that Davis tried at the last Flower Studio’s staff meeting was an exercise where each employee was given a notebook with their name on it and Davis requested that they write their thoughts and ideas down. He provided several questions like:
I’m happiest at work when I’m _______.
I’m bored at work when I’m doing ______.
My greatest strength being underutilized at Flower Studio is ______.
My personal career goals for 2006 at Flower Studio are 1._____, 2.____, 3.____.
“I feel that it’s important to know what your staff enjoys, what they don’t enjoy, what their goals are, etc. When I worked for other florists, I always felt that I had other strengths that were not being utilized. The exercise with the notebooks was interesting to see how my staff felt about how they fit in with the company. Sometimes it’s easier for staff to write down their private thoughts than saying it face to face.”
Flower Studio has come a long way in the past 10 years and the company’s success can be contributed to the passion that Davis and his employees share about the floral industry.
“I’m a big believer that you can’t be everything to everyone. You need to be true to yourself. Early on I realized that in this business you need to assess what makes you different from the competition and do everything that you can in your power to widen that gap. Whatever your strengths – you need to focus on those to continuing to make yourself stand out.”
At a Glance:
Company Name: Flower Studio
Proprietor: Steven Davis
Location: St. John’s, Newfoundland
Website: www.flowerstudio.ca
Store Slogan: “Dare to Be Different”
Years in Business: 10
Awards: WFFSA Nominee for 2004 Florist of the Year |
|
|
|
