Permanent and dried botanicals can be a great way to round out the selection in your shop. Gone are the days when you could easily distinguish fake from real – today’s products have a realistic appearance and texture and a stylish flair that makes them appealing to buyers of all ages.
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A realistic appearance is important in the current permanent botanical market. Tone-on-tone colours are used to make the product look as lifelike as possible. (Photo credits: Winward Silks (top); Floridus (bottom)
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Realism is key
At Winward Silks, Steve Baumgartner, vice-president of sales, says they’ve seen several changes to the permanent botanical market in recent years. “It used to be there was a collection of florals. You had a rose, a lily, a daisy, etc. And now we’re seeing less of that and we’re seeing key SKUs that represent fresh product. A good example would be hydrangeas – we can’t keep those in stock,” says Baumgartner.
Realism is also a big factor that drives this sector. Different tone-on-tone shades are used on the blooms to mirror the real-life counterparts. “We have a brand new hydrangea that has three tones on one petal. That’s a really big piece because what happens is that the hydrangea looks so realistic.”
Baumgartner says this is a move away from what’s typically been popular in the past, when hues were more about matching a home’s colour scheme. “There used to be a trend in silks where we were doing home décor colours, matching carpets and pillows and wall colours. We used to mimic home design colours but that’s definitely not happening. We’re finding if it’s close to the real thing, it’s a good thing,” he says. Permanent and dried botanicals have moved from background home accents to pieces that stand out in the home. They aren’t blending in to the walls – instead the flowers are punching out. Baumgartner says colours like creams, whites and greens are strong colour waves for the company, as well as purple, which is a hue that’s currently trending up.
At Floridus Design, vice-president Mike Havenaar says earthtone colours are always a big seller. “It doesn’t matter if it is January or November, it is still one of the number 1 performers for permanent florals,” he says. The benefit with these colours is that they are neutral – they can match a variety of room and home décor.
When it comes to how permanent or dried flowers are arranged in a vase, Havenaar says there’s a desire for florals to be clean cut and simple. He says it can be as easy as putting a dozen cream or brown lilies in a vase.
Baumgartner reaffirms this move towards single-bloomed designs. “We’re seeing a lot more in multiple groupings in the same monochromatic products. They’re not doing mixed floral gardens, they’re doing all blues or all creams,” he says. “It’s what we call a lot of massing of silks. You can put like five or six in a nice glass vase and that’s it . . . . The days of structured, floral botanical arrangements where you put them in your dining room and it’s a big ‘oh my God’ piece, that’s definitely not happening for us. We’re seeing more big glass vases with eight or 10 beautiful hydrangeas and it’s simple.”
Positioning permanents
One obvious advantage that permanent and dried botanicals have over fresh is a long vase life. Florists can use this to their advantage in displays. Baumgartner says florists should utilize permanent florals as showpieces in their shops and experiment with stems that are a little bit different, like a lilac branch, forsythia or cherry blossoms. “If they can only do one big statement in the store, then make it a story with one punchy vase. When the customer comes in, they see the ‘oh my God’ piece rather than a cheap and cheerful little filler flower in a cylinder tucked away on the floor.” It also helps the consumer if florists can position the permanents in their shop in a way that shows the customer how they could feature this piece in their home.
Havenaar says that one easy way to display this product in your shop is to show the florals in a collection, in simple vases that allow the product to take centre stage. It’s also important that the florist have a staff member on hand to talk with the customer and explain why the cost might be $10 to $15 per stem.
Creating and communicating value is important with permanent botanicals because the product is available at low price points at places like Wal-Mart and Michaels. Florists need to emphasize the quality and realistic appearance their product selection has as opposed to what’s available at other outlets. “We always say in our business we’re the last thing that goes on the table. Consumers do the home renovation, the fireplace, the granite, the hardwood floors, all the great furniture and the last thing is florals around the home,” says Baumgartner. “It’s an opportunity, if you get that level of customer, to upgrade the final touch. Don’t be afraid to work it as a mid- to high-end product offering.”
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