|
|
 |
Top Shops: Two Stems Ahead
Stems Floral Gallery thrives in two Alberta cities |
|
Written by Amanda Ryder
|
Stems Floral Gallery thrives in two Alberta cities
 |
|
The Red Deer location’s industrial look is warmed up through the use of vignettes.
|
|
Delivering couture designs, creative flair and energetic customer service in two large Alberta cities simultaneously isn’t easy but it’s a challenge that young florist Stephanie Laprairie is excelling at. Laprairie is the owner of two Stems Floral Gallery locations – one in Calgary and the other an hour an a half away in Red Deer, Alberta. In just four short years, she’s shaped both shops to reflect her own personal style and worked to build a trendy Stems brand that’s very popular with clients.
Laprairie purchased her first shop in Calgary – an existing shop – in 2005. The previous shop was very much a mom and pop operation and Laprairie has established a trendy shop that she’s expanded into both the wedding and event market. The opportunity to open her second shop came along in 2007. Central Alberta Florist’s, a Red Deer florist that had served the city since 1931,
announced they were closing their doors. Laprairie purchased the closing florist’s customer database – a list of customers accumulated from 75 years in business – and began building a new location in the south-east end of Red Deer.
The Stems design style – a combination of modern and European blending – is tweaked to suit the demographics of each shop. Stems in Calgary requires more cutting edge designs than Red Deer to cater to the high population of mature professionals. “It’s more the norm to use a lot of Mokara orchids, different proteas and anthuriums,” says Laprairie. Red Deer attracts a wide range of flower buyers so Stems in turn offers a large style selection. “We do and have been making a name for ourselves with our exotics and tropical arrangements and high style design but we still offer a very traditional feel as well,” she says. “We’ve been doing our own Stems take on tradition which is using different foliages and textures and a variety of different flowers, not just your standard everyday economical flowers.”
 |
|
| The Calgary shop mixes flowers with cool vases, accessories and hostess gifts. |
|
| |
|
 |
|
Stems’ knack for carrying distinctive containers and adding a little extra is something the shops have become known for. It’s offering a quirky item like a container that looks like a rock or accessorizing designs with trendy feathers, jewels, pins or lace that’s helped spread the word. “We try and strive to find unique containers and items that are something that people talk about.” Laprairie tracks down the unusual by travelling to gift shows, such as the CGTA show in Toronto or browsing the Internet. She advocates that florists also visit other shops and see what they have. “Don’t be afraid to go in,” says Laprairie. “Sometimes we get wrapped up in our shops and we don’t come through the front door and look at it in an objective way. It only makes you better; it keeps you humble as well. When you go and see what other people are doing you think, wow, what a great job, and it inspires you.”
Running two busy shops can be a challenge and Laprairie
depends on her staff to help keep the shops operating smoothly. The Red Deer location staffs up to five fulltime employees, including Laprairie, while Calgary has two managers and designers, Misha and Sherrie. In Red Deer, Laprairie has the help of several family members, including her mom Arlene Prysunka, who brings to the shop a human resources background, a coaching and a staff development background, all things which Laprairie says have become a major asset to the shop. “She’s able to help us with things like the designer’s growth, their productivity, learning about themselves and their goals.”
Laprairie says the shops have been affected by the current economic situation. “Two years ago we saw a lot of economic growth and a lot of customers were spending money excessively. They knew that the more money they spent, the better it made them look,” says Laprairie. “Now we are seeing our customers are being a little bit more cautious in spending but they still want us to wow them and inflate the wow factor in the design.” As a result, Laprairie says they’ve had to work a little harder at the shop to create designs that show more perceived value and educate their customers as to what the flowers are worth. “Our challenge is showing people the value in flowers and using florist quality professional services. We represent our customers and so, the better job we do, the better we make them feel.”
Although Stems is still a relatively new business, the florist has already attracted media attention. In 2007, the Calgary shop was a People’s Choice Award Finalist for Wedding Bells magazine. Despite a busy past couple of years, Laprairie isn’t looking to stop anytime soon. She says her goal is to get the Red Deer shop into the FTD Top 100 within two years and to expand the customer base at both locations.
In just the four short years that Laprairie has been at the helm of Stems, the up-and-coming florist has successfully grown the business and established a name and style in two cities. It’s clear that Stems Floral Gallery is a business that will continue to grow for many years to come.
 Spreading the Word with Branding
At Stems Floral Gallery, they believe there’s no such thing as too much branding. Whenever an arrangement goes out the door, whether it’s to a longtime customer or a wire order, Stems makes sure to use custom designed tags, stickers, and even branded tissue paper. It’s got to the point where even at just first glance, a Stems design is easily recognized. “It’s been interesting to see things on the local news where people have bought flowers and in the background you’ll see that it’s totally Stems flowers. You see the lime green paper with the black and the black damask sticker,” says Laprairie. Even her customers have commented to her that they recognized the telltale wrapping paper and this has confirmed to Laprairie that their efforts are paying off. “We’ve spent money in the branding and in having those customer tags, the custom stationery; and that part is invested on each and every arrangement that goes out the door.”
Branding also extends in part to the way that the employees speak about flowers. They know it’s all in the name and will refer to silks as permanent botanicals, wedding flowers as wedding and event design, use the term personal flowers as opposed to corsages or boutonnieres and home staging or outdoor design instead of outdoor pots. This helps add to the Stems atmosphere of personalized service and going the extra mile. “It’s using the terminology that makes the customer feel like they are getting something special and like they are getting something that’s a little bit more custom.”
|
|
|
|
