Floral Guild Radio

Today we're getting to know Jackie Newns of Red Seeds Floral , a spiritual director/conselor turned event florist based in Wyncote PA, right outside of Philadelphia.  Jackie brings a unique approach to her work, one where creating spaces of reverence and reflection are as equally important as the flowers themselves.  Over the past three years in business, Jackie has strived to make her clients fee...

In this episode, we sit down with Liz and Tim Shea of Grow Wild Studios at their beautiful design space in Malvern PA.   This sibling duo likes to joke that they accidently started a floral studio on purpose.   Liz, the artistic arm of the operation, had been working in a traditional flower shop and found herself bristling against the unsustainable practices and imports there.   She drew her broth...

Today we're getting to know Annie Pertes of Wildbird Flowers , a farmer florist in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Annie gives us a candid look at what it's like to be in Year 5 of building a floral brand.  She's found her groove and is pursuing luxury events with a sustainable approach.  And she expects to get paid well, as she should!  Lots of golden nuggets in this conversation.  Enjoy!  And be su...

In this episode you'll get to know one of the talented and dedicated farm members of the Philadelphia Floral Guild.   Elise Hanks owns and operates Terra Luna Herbals , a microfarm located in the very urban Norris Square neighborhood of Philadelphia.   Elise has been working in flowers for over a decade, both in florist shops and at farms.   In fact, she was an employee at my flower farm all the w...

This episode is all about quality control in the local flower supply chain.  To share some insight on this topic, Katy Beene, market manager for the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market joins us. Founded in 2011, the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market is really a frontrunner in the local wholesale cooperative model that has inspired so many flower collectives like the Philadelphia Floral Guild.  With 18...

Today we are hearing the story of how Jessica Cummings built her floral event business, We Are Wildflowers .  Jess has had a unique approach to growing her business slowly through friendships and now does 80+ weddings a year with a merry band of floral freelancing friends.  The We Are Wildflowers crew is committed to sustainable floristry that highlights locally-grown stems and uses zero floral fo...

Attention Florists! We're back with another episode on how to sell local flowers, this time with a closer look at building a retail customer base who understands what local is and helps you tell the story of the stems.   Unlike events, retail is all about building a relationship that lasts for life.   A handful of dedicated customers evangelizing about how awesome your business are what you need....

Ellen Frost , owner of  Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, joins host Jennie Love for a lively chat about how to "sell local".  As a florist working exclusively with locally grown stems for the past 17 years, Ellen has valuable insights into how to find the right customers and get their buy-in.   In this episode, the conversation is focused on selling local to event clients, namely weddings and cor...

In this episode, I'm chatting with Grace McDonald from Flower Clvb, a fun little floral studio in West Philly.  Grace is a builder of strong community and an advocate for the earth.  She's put a unique spin on educating the next generation about flowers and nature.  This episode is packed full of gems to apply to your own business! Be sure to check out Grace's Instagram feed @flowerclvb .  It's a...

In this episode, I'm chatting with Rose Oland from Mullica Hill Floral Co , a florist shop that has been in business for 37 years.   Rose and her mom who founded the shop are dedicated to supporting local flower farms and approaching floristry with sustainability at the forefront.   Rose's perspective of the industry is unique in that she literally grew up in the flower shop and has seen just abou...

Today we're chatting with Emalee Lally, owner of Bird Seed Florals .   Emalee has been a stalwart supporter of the Philadelphia Floral Guild since day one.   Her design style and story are unique, including her attitude towards being an eternal novice.   Three years in the biz, she's still stretching her designer legs and has found being a beginner has some serious perks.   Like coming up with a r...

We're back on air with a conversation about selling flowers wholesale.   This episode is geared more towards flower farmers, but might be a fun peek behind the scenes for florists as well. Many of you are already familiar with today's guest, Scott Shepherd .   Scott is the host of The Flower Podcast .   If you haven't checked out that podcast yet, be sure you do.   Scott has such a unique position...

Ellen Frost , owner of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, joins host Jennie Love for a five part series focused on key drivers of flower math for floral shops.  An informative listen for both florists and growers!   We wrap up the Flower Math series today with Part 5: Being Team Players.  Being profitable as a small business, be it a floral shop or a flower farm, is a struggle.  We all work with a...

Ellen Frost , owner of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, joins host Jennie Love for a five part series focused on key drivers of flower math for floral shops.  An informative listen for both florists and growers!   Fees add up!  In Part 4 of the Flower Math series, we expose this often unseen sinkhole for profit.  Growers have to charge delivery fees and often collectives and wholesalers charge ha...

Ellen Frost , owner of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, joins host Jennie Love for a five part series focused on key drivers of flower math for floral shops.  An informative listen for both florists and growers!   In Part 3 of the Flower Math series, we discuss quality and how that can impact flower pricing. What is "quality" to a florist?  There's baseline quality that should be observed with al...

Ellen Frost , owner of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, joins host Jennie Love for a five part series focused on key drivers of flower math for floral shops.  An informative listen for both florists and growers!   In Part 2 of the Flower Math series, we dive into product shrink and how it can be devastating to a flower shop's bottom line.  A staggering 45% of wholesale flowers never get sold, ins...

Ellen Frost , owner of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, joins host Jennie Love for a five part series focused on key drivers of flower math for floral shops.  An informative listen for both florists and growers!   In Part 1 of the Flower Math series, we dive into price per stem and how what a grower is charging a florist wholesale gets amplified through the mark up process. The price per stem has...

Welcome to Floral Guild Radio, where each episode explores another aspect of sustainable floristry and producing flowers commercially.  This podcast captures the voices and stories of seasoned and beginner florists and farmers.   Why Floral Guild radio?  Firstly, this podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region of the US selli...