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On The Level With Neville: August/September 2011
Time to Reinvent |
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Written by Neville MacKay
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You know the little jingle, “Lipstick, make-up and paint makes (insert name here) what she ain’t!”? Well, in these days of making do with what we have and reworking all of our bits and bobs, this classic verse is more relevant than ever. Sometimes, we just have to do what we can with what we’ve got and make the best of it. (Look at dear ol’ Dolly – she reworks those tired old wigs, glues on a little more glitter, and off she goes!)
My mum always said, “Waste not, want not, Neville!” which is why, I suppose, I got to be as fat as I did. She has always been a great reuser of things, and could always make our old Christmas décor at home look bright and shiny each year. A little sprig here and a sparkle there, and all of a sudden we had “new” Christmas decorations! It was magic!
I’m sure many of you have been at a design show or seminar where the designer drags a garbage can up to the stage and dumps it out, then proceeds to create several beautiful arrangements from the waste. (I always want to shoot him!) The thing is, we all have crap, bits and pieces of stems that wind up either in the trash or in some “treasure trove” that sits lonely in the storage room for years to come. We have such a “monster” in our storage, and I am always amazed, and rather afraid, at how it grows! What we do at our shop is drag it out at the same time as all the lovely new seasonal décor, so we can integrate the older, or “more experienced,” product with the newer.
Look at what treasures and trinkets you have, and think where you can best use them. The holiday season is when you can get away with mixing all sorts of things in with fresh flowers, so this is a great way to use up that leftover ribbon (you know, the half-metre left on the roll), or the odd bauble. Now, remember to look at the recipient and the occasion the flowers are meant for before you add too much to an arrangement. There are other holidays than Christmas in November and December! (Yes, I do speak from experience! It wasn’t pretty and I did seek medical help because of it!)
Making a challenge or game with your designers can be a fun and effective way of using what was left from last year. I have
been known to offer a prize (lunch or coffee . . . well, actually, it was usually a bottle of booze) for the one who uses the older product most effectively. It’s exciting and fun to see what can be done with what in essence is dead/old/stagnant stock. We only ran into one issue some years ago with some awful, old plastic leaf stems – we painted them and glittered the edges to get rid of them. We made 30 centrepieces for an event, which was a total hit, until the next week, when folks started coming in for more of those dreadful “dragged up” twigs!
We all get a “lead balloon” sometimes, and are stuck with a pile of product, or get in a lot more that we thought we’d ordered! Well, when you have a lot of something and need to shift it fast, create a sense of urgency. (That won’t be too hard, eh?) We recently got in 10 bunches of Bells of Ireland when we thought we were getting 10 stems and we had a lot already! Anyway, the heat was on in my shop! “New baby . . . we have these lovely Bells of Ireland that would be perfect!”, “Sorry for your loss. Perhaps the tranquil green of Bells of Ireland . . .” You get the picture, from the womb to the tomb, hatched, matched or dispatched, we need to employ whatever means we can to use up the materials we have.
When speaking to a client, especially on the phone, it’s easier to “upgrade” an arrangement with some leftover pieces. For goodness sake, don’t tell them you are using leftovers, but suggest you have a few “special” accent pieces you have saved to use. Be sure to put a price on these treasures, or you will lose valuable revenue. Also, if you don’t charge for these add-ons, you’ll find yourself paddling up that “special” creek when you get a repeat order looking for added treasures and realize you gave them away the last time!
I know that for those of us who are more experienced and have seen the repeat, seemingly unsellable product come out for round two, three or sometimes four, it is all the same stuff but in a different pile. We do, however, get new customers every year, and also new staff, so, with a little encouragement and a genuine smile (up the dosage if you have to!), you can say bye-bye to those tired old soldiers for the last time! A little ribbon here and a splash of glitter there and all that was old is new again! Speaking of which, I’d better go dig out my Christmas outfits and see if they need a smart new belt or snazzy brooch! Wonder what I did with my “BeDazzler”?
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