Getting The Word Out
Most designers love the challenge of a new design style or some interesting accessory item or an unusual colour combination. They get bored very easily and constantly protest the ordinary at what they refer to as production-line designing.
But the new and unusual, in most stores, is not what happens on a regular basis. It is the customer who decides what they will send for that special birthday, the “get well soon” gift or the family funeral. This isn’t altogether unreasonable as they are footing the bill, but for the most part they don’t know anything beyond the pretty, round centerpiece mache tribute design.
The industry does a very poor job of telling the consumer that we are capable of so much more.
Our design shows are wonderful, whether they are wholesale or show associations. They are informative and full of ideas, techniques, the latest colour trends and everything that is new for that season, but they are not available for the general public; or to the buying customer. So the designers attending the shows take the ideas back to the store and dress the window, fill the fridge and wait for possible reactions. It doesn’t always happen first time, so gradually the new ideas are forgotten or deemed to be a waste of time and the old safe favourites are back in the fridge.
There is very little advertising in the industry and what there is, is done by wire services. They do a magnificent job and spend a lot of money on TV, radio, and magazine ads that really are very professional and certainly get the message across, but what is the message? They are in the business of selling a service, not really flowers or design but the wire service. We all benefit greatly from their advertising, but it does stress consumer favourites rather than up-to-the-minute design trends.
A few stores advertise very successfully on TV and radio, but once again the emphasis is on the service of that store and not the floral industry in general. Who can blame them – they are the few who are willing to invest thousands of dollars to get their name out there. This is a very strange situation – it is one of the few industries that leaves its advertising to the retail. Imagine Foodland Ontario, the egg marketing board or the milk producers asking Loblaws or IGA to shoulder the responsibility of their advertising programes.
What it all comes down to is that we as designers want to get the word out that the ordinary and mundane is no longer acceptable. We have to do it ourselves. On an individual basis, one small step at a time.
When you were last invited out for dinner did you stop by the LCBO for a nice bottle of wine to take as a hostess gift? Don’t do that; the LCBO is doing very nicely without your help. Take flowers. But more than that, take design as well. Spend a few more minutes to twist a bunch of bright coloured tulips into an armature of twigs or copper wire, float a single orchid in a simple glass bowl full of amber beads, or have humble carnations in wild colours or what else? The ideas and rewards are endless.
Don’t miss the opportunity to show off your product and talent.
I live in a small village that has a very active social scene. There is always a birthday or anniversary to celebrate or just the fact that it is Friday. There are dinners and cocktails parties and very casual movie nights or barbeques. Each occasion is a chance to introduce a friend to an unusual flower or a colour scheme that is not safe. So what if it doesn’t match the living room. It is a very temporary piece of living art.
My friends have come to expect something out of the ordinary – it might even be the reason we get so many dinner invitations? I now get orders from these same friends to send flowers to their friends and family with very strict instructions about it making a statement. I have in a very quiet way educated a number of people into expecting something other than the pretty posy or the mache tribute.
A friend of a friend suffered the devastating loss of a young teenager recently. Stuffy traditional designs seemed totally inappropriate, so lovely arrangements were sent of seasonal flowers and branches, ornamental kale, even fruits and vegetables in strong, lovely colours. Each design invited comment and was a comfort to the family.
Not every occasion is a happy one but each design we send or give should be a memorable one, and it is up to each one of us to get the message across by giving our own skill and product to a friend. What better gift and what better way to advertise our industry?
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