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Talking Floral Design With Kathy and Sarah
144 Plays2 years ago
In this episode of Hort Culture, we will be closing out Kentucky flower month with two amazing floral artists, Kathy from Ephemeral Floral Sky and Sarah from Drury Floral. They share their stories on the industry, why they value local blooms and how it inspires their wedding, event, and everyday arrangements. We also talk about some of the challenges and joys of working with flowers, and how they balance their passion and business. Tune in to hear more!
Questions/Comments/Feedback/Suggestions for Topics: hortculturepodcast@l.uky.edu
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Transcript
Introduction to Hort Culture Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to Hort Culture, where a group of extension professionals and plant people talk about the business, production, and joy of planting seeds and helping them grow. Join us as we explore the culture of horticulture.
Hosts' Excitement and Guest Introduction
00:00:17
Speaker
Oh my gosh, we're here, we're back. Welcome to the pod. I think that might be the first time I've ever sang on the pod, but it's because I am so excited. I was a strong intro game, Alexis. I am so excited because we got some guests on the pod. Real pumped about it. You're like the hype man and the MC.
00:00:37
Speaker
Like, oh no. You're like your own entrance song. I've told you before, this is basically my podcast, welcome to it. I'm just happy to be here. I'm happy to stand in the sun. I think of myself as a regular guest.
Meet Kathy and Sarah of Aunt Bagonia's
00:00:53
Speaker
We have some gals on the pond today, which is nice because I won't get drowned out by these bald boys plus Ray. Excuse me. I'm a plus one always.
00:01:07
Speaker
That's all right. I mean, do you want to be a bald boy? There's a few things you have to do first. Not only are they not, they're like the inverse of bald boys because they have amazing hair and they're not boys. Not in danger of becoming bald any time. Incredible hair. Incredible. Wish you all could see it. Kind of glad that you can't because this is more of a fun experience for us. We're gatekeeping the good hair experience.
00:01:35
Speaker
Who are they?
Formation and Success of Kathy and Sarah's Partnership
00:01:37
Speaker
Who is it that's there? This is Kathy and Sarah. We are reporting from Aunt Bagonia's, which is our shared studio space in Lexington. Yes, we've got and so you guys are two different businesses, but you share a floral space. Is that correct?
00:01:56
Speaker
We both have our own independent wedding and event floral design businesses. And just luckily enough, we found each other and found this space and moved in together. And it has been so great and so fun for both of us. Yeah. So we've been in this studio space
00:02:22
Speaker
for a year and a half. We moved in here in November of 2021 and we really didn't know each other at all. Beautiful partnership. Trial by fire. We had just kind of been like girl crushing on each other on Instagram for a little bit and then
00:02:46
Speaker
We had somehow chatted about our dream studio one day, and then I found this place for rent on Facebook Marketplace of all places. And because I found it, I was like, hey, Kathy, you remember that studio? And we can do this.
00:03:04
Speaker
You guys are really awesome. You've made it your own. I wish people on the pod could see it, but right now they're right behind them is this beautiful floral tapestry and they're just looking super cool and creative and beautiful.
Backgrounds of Kathy and Sarah in Floristry
00:03:19
Speaker
Kathy, you own ephemeral florals and Sarah, you own jewelry florals.
00:03:27
Speaker
We are excited to have them here today because we are talking and kind of finishing up our celebration of Kentucky Cut Flower Month. And as they said, they are wedding and event designers and we have them today because they love to use local product. And that's something, you know, we talked with,
00:03:45
Speaker
Kayla from Kentucky flower market a couple episodes ago so if you haven't checked out that you know check it out and short of talking about how she works with flower farmers to aggregate and to get things to florist and now we're taking it kind of that next step of the people who are actually buying that product and using it in in designs and so
00:04:04
Speaker
And you know, like they're really like awesome people. So, and we'll, we'll tell you how to go follow their, their journey and all their beautiful things here at the end, but I'm excited. So tell me, both of you tell me kind of how you got involved in this world of floristry and using local, but just floristry in general. Yeah. So I am in my seventh year of floristry right now.
00:04:33
Speaker
About seven years ago, I was working in embroidery. And I wasn't liking it. And I remember just being like super frustrated. And I just happened to see that Mikler's florist was hiring. And as soon as I saw that, I was like, that's the job I want right there. Like I want to be a florist. I want to work in a flower shop. Like I'm going to work with plants. That's what I want.
00:05:00
Speaker
And so I kind of like devised a plan to go in there and like I met up with a friend that previously worked there and they helped me talk to the owners. And so I got a job and I started out delivery driving at first and I guess they realized that I was somewhat creative. So I had the opportunity to start learning to design.
00:05:20
Speaker
not just kind of escalated. And I went from designing everyday arrangements to then I became a wedding designer and then I became a manager. And after four years of working there, it just kind of reached a point where it was like, you know, I love floristry, but I think that I want to do it the way that I want to do it.
00:05:45
Speaker
And I only want to do the things I want to do and I don't want to do the things I don't want to do anymore. And so it just felt more aligned for me to take that leap of faith and start my business. And it was pretty terrifying, but thankfully I have gained traction and I've had a really successful first few years of business. So I'm now in my third year of being a business owner and
00:06:12
Speaker
Rory Floral is doing well. I'm booking weddings and making some cool stuff, and I'm really honored that I can say that. What did flowers offer that the embroidery and drapery didn't, or what do you think was the thing that clicked more with the flower side?
00:06:36
Speaker
my entire life I've always been creative and I have the type of personality that I need to be doing something with my hands and I need like I have this urge to want to create but I felt really lost for a long time because I would try all these different avenues of creativity and just none of it
00:06:58
Speaker
white felt right. I was like a lost artist who couldn't find their media for a really long time. And then it was like the moment I found flowers, I was like, oh wow, this is it. This is what I was looking for this whole time. And it actually makes, it feels aligned because my grandmother was a really passionate gardener and she actually grew roses professionally, would enter them in tournaments to grow them.
00:07:27
Speaker
So this was this huge thing. And my dad is the same way. My dad can grow trees like nobody's business. My dad has probably planted 2,000 trees on our farm that we have in this really large effort to reforest it. And so I think that knack for flowers and working with botanica is something that is innately inside of me, but it just took a long time to find that.
00:07:59
Speaker
What about you, Kathy? Well, um, yeah, I've been a florist for maybe like, I don't know. This sounds not real, but I think it's been like eight or nine years. Um, I don't know how that's right. Cause I feel like I'm much younger than two of them doing something for that long.
00:08:29
Speaker
I don't know. Have you seen that meme that's wondering how people who were born in 2000 are turning 23 when I was born in 91 and I'm still- Alexis, that's too much. Stop now. That's how I feel. Alexis and I have known each other for a while because we went to college together and
00:08:55
Speaker
We need to talk later, by the way. We need to talk later. No, you cannot. First of all, this is college stories. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I thought Alexis was amazing, of course, as soon as I met her. So. But anyway, yeah, I started college and I had no clue what I wanted to do. I was really just like, I'll just go take some random classes and try to figure it out.
00:09:21
Speaker
And when I, between college and between high school and college, I met my partner and his mom owned a Kentucky native plant nursery. I didn't really know anything about plants, but I loved going there. It was so beautiful. Literally the most beautiful place.
00:09:46
Speaker
I have it very romanticized and idealized in my mind. It doesn't exist anymore. But it was an amazing place. His mom taught me so much about plants. I didn't know the names of anything. I didn't know how to take care of a plant. And so I learned so much just being submerged in this world over the summers, my last couple of years of high school in the beginning of college.
00:10:16
Speaker
Then I think I was a freshman and I saw this class called Agriculture 103 or Plants and People, something like that. I don't remember the name of the class, but I took this class and immediately loved it. I thought it was so cool. I didn't know anything about agriculture or horticulture. I didn't even know the word horticulture.
00:10:41
Speaker
Honestly. Most don't. So this was completely new to me but I was so excited about it. I wish I could remember the professor that taught it but I don't remember now.
Kathy's Journey in Floral Design
00:10:53
Speaker
But I went to talk to my advisor and I was telling him I didn't know what I wanted to do but I really liked this class and I wanted to learn more. And so he suggested that I go into horticulture as my major because I hadn't declared anything and I didn't have any direction
00:11:12
Speaker
at that point and every single class I took, I was just so interested and so excited about every single thing. Like every topic that I learned about was my new favorite thing. I loved everything. Plants, production and propagation and pathology and entomology were probably my top favorites. I thought they were really cool and fun.
00:11:41
Speaker
and through college I was still working at the nursery and I think I took roost class floral design and from there I hadn't ever designed any flowers before
00:11:57
Speaker
But that was truly an introduction for me. And from there, I just gained a little bit of confidence, I guess. And I saw that Micklers was hiring. I went to him. I showed him some random designs that I had made in class and made for my aunt, who also loves flowers. And luckily, he hired me. And I worked there for a couple years, both in the forest and the greenhouse.
00:12:25
Speaker
loved it. And then as soon as college was over, when I graduated, I had learned so much about plant production, but I had never really seen it. And for my capstone, we are supposed to shadow a farm. And so I cold called Aaron from Bellaire Blue.
00:12:49
Speaker
And I was like, hey, I think I left a voicemail, which was probably really awkward, because I'm terrible at leaving voicemails. But I was like, hey, do you want some free labor? I need to do this for my capstone, and I just want to come and see your place. So I went out there, and it was amazing. They are so funny. It couldn't have been a better intro to seeing flower farming.
00:13:17
Speaker
I was just really interested in the production. I had been working at this traditional shop. They did buy some at the time that I was working there. They bought some local flowers, but most of it was from the wholesaler imported and everything like that. At the end of college, I also learned things about the pesticides, how much of
00:13:39
Speaker
the U.S. flowers are imported and you know all the icky stuff that they do to to bring those flowers staying fresh all the way to Kentucky and that's when I decided like I wanted to dive deeper into local farming flower farming and plant production so I just kept bothering Anna and Erin and just like kept coming back
00:14:08
Speaker
And they kept having me and we just had so much fun. And I really gained an appreciation for how hard they work, how much, how many plants they could fit into such a small space. I think at the time they were only using like less than two acres.
00:14:25
Speaker
And there would just be so many flowers and so many bugs and critters. Like every single day, I would just, Aaron gives me a hard time for this now, but every single day I would just be like, oh my God, you have to come see this. It's like a little photo or something. He's losing my mind. And he'd be like, yeah, yeah, like let's cut the flowers. Cut this. Yeah, I'll pick something. Yeah, and I was like having a mini photo shoot over there.
00:14:54
Speaker
Instagram worthy. Exactly. I was like, I have to Instagram everything. It was a really great experience. I'm so lucky to have found them and to become friends with them.
Kathy's Business Beginnings and Challenges
00:15:09
Speaker
And of course I like
00:15:12
Speaker
became better friends with Alexis and all my other flower farming friends and I just appreciate them. I know they work super hard and it's hot and sweaty and dirty and not glamorous like Instagram makes it seem
00:15:30
Speaker
but it's really fun. And so I worked with Bel Air for a couple of years and people just kept asking them over and over if they would do their wedding flowers. And Anna was like, nah, she is not interested. And I was like, well, I mean, I think I could do that. The first wedding I ever did was for my cousin.
00:15:56
Speaker
And I didn't, I thought that I knew what I was doing. I did a pretty good job, honestly. It was not to brag, but I did a good job. Killed it. I'm still pretty proud of that wedding. Um, not every, you know, not every one was perfect looking back, but, um, I definitely feel.
00:16:21
Speaker
Like it gave me the confident that first one, you know, kind of doing that one, um, gave me the confidence to start my own business. And I really, I wasn't sure about it. I was really scared to start my own business. I talked about it with my family and all my friends over and over. And then one day I think it was right before my birthday.
00:16:45
Speaker
in May of 2018, I think, and I went to a tarot reader in Frankfurt, and she could just, she immediately was like, something, you really wanna do something, but something's holding you back, and that thing is you. And I was like, damn it, she nailed it. She knew it. I'm the problem. It was so funny, but,
00:17:14
Speaker
Do you remember the draw by chance? Like the cards that were drawn? It wasn't a traditional tarot deck. It was like a special deck. Oracle card or something like that.
00:17:26
Speaker
I don't remember exactly, but there was like- It's not Uno, Brett. It's not Uno. There was a girl on the card that looked like me with like brown curly hair and someone in the background that looked like my partner with like black hair. And so I was like, shit, this is really- It's gotta happen. It's gotta happen. And so that day I went home and like started filing the paperwork to become my own business.
00:17:56
Speaker
That's the scary part, isn't it? You guys have talked about the business of things. I know you guys are obviously, obviously passionate about what you do. But we hear that a lot. It's the aspect of going that next step to make something into a business. We've talked about that on different podcasts. But yeah, that's interesting. I'm afraid the IRS is going to come for me. That's elite. I gave him your cell phone, Alexis, that we call him.
00:18:26
Speaker
The government is really terrifying if you're a creative, because it's hard to balance that creative side, but then that creative side too. And a lot of times when you're a creative,
00:18:41
Speaker
I am speaking purely for myself when I say this, I can be a little bit of a nut job sometimes because I'm so focused and whatever I'm creating that like maybe, you know, there's some other important detail of my day that I might be leaving out because I'm so focused. So trying to balance like making sure that you are handling everything logistically and admin administratively like proper versus being able to let yourself be creative and create beauty.
00:19:09
Speaker
and a beautiful product as well. It's a hard dance. Are there nuts and bolts components of being a florist that come to mind that you were not expecting or didn't realize were such a big part of the job? I would say for me sales is honestly something that is really challenging
00:19:34
Speaker
Well, and so just because when you think that you're a wedding florist, you think of creating beautiful weddings and arrangements and working with clients. But at the end of the day, in order to get that, that bid or that event, you're selling yourself and you're selling your business. And for some reason, it took me a minute to connect those two dots that I, you know, that my job actually is a large chunk of sales in order to have the opportunity to work with these clients.
00:20:03
Speaker
and trying to refine my ability as a saleswoman and my process for my clients to make it as smooth and streamlined, but also as enticing as possible. That's a big set of skills on both ends. Sometimes it sounds almost like not opposite ends of the spectrum, but there's like the IRS into the spectrum and then the beautiful color palettes on the other end of the spectrum. It boggles my mind that people have such a
00:20:32
Speaker
wide variety of passions and skills and make all that work in that mishmash of, you know, spectrum of things. Yeah. Do you all feel, and Alexis, feel free to tell me to stop and I'll say no, I'm going to keep asking questions. Do you all feel that you have, you tend to attract or?
00:20:54
Speaker
Yeah, attract clients or customers who are different from like the normie middle of the, like, is there a particular type of customer that tends to come to you and a particular type of customer that you target in that sales and marketing conversation? Definitely, yes. I tend to attract more of the wild flowery hippie boho
00:21:25
Speaker
you know, natural garden, bride seeking that kind of vibe, which is great because those, those folks tend to be more laid back, which I love and goes really well with how I do my business. Typically since I buy so much local stuff, I'm not promising them specific things.
00:21:49
Speaker
they can of course request and I'll keep that in mind but you know there's some things like anemones when those go out of season I don't know exactly the date that's gonna happen for our local growers so if people really love those that's awesome if I can get them great but usually I'm not like yes I'll absolutely get these for you typically I'm just like
00:22:18
Speaker
All over my proposals that I send out is locally and seasonally available flowers and their color palette. So it's so nice for me when I have clients that really trust me that I'm going to get them really beautiful, really fresh, best in stock, things that were picked that week or a day before.
00:22:42
Speaker
instead of people that kind of want to micromanage the floral process and really need specific varieties and want to know ahead of time every single ingredient that's going to go into their wedding flowers because I don't even know sometimes. I have a good general idea. I talk to my flower farmers all the time and I see what they have available
00:23:05
Speaker
And I keep like a little running list in my mind of things that I want for these specific weddings. But a really fun part of the way that I do my business is getting, I'm getting surprised by what my flower farmers have in stock, because I kind of
00:23:23
Speaker
my clients give me the freedom and then I give a little bit of that freedom to my flower farmers as well and I just tell them this is the color palette, this is the vibe, surprise me with something really cool and something that maybe I haven't seen before or I don't know about or that is a perennial or something that's not a typical cut flower to put in my designs and that keeps me really excited because I like new different things all the time.
00:23:51
Speaker
So yeah, that's what I like.
Seasonality and Flower Availability for Events
00:23:54
Speaker
I think that's very, very different than, you know, for those of you who maybe don't know how that's more like a more traditional
00:24:04
Speaker
floor shop would work for events and designs, you know, they're making recipes because they have to specifically order. Those flowers might be coming from Holland or Columbia, you know, we've talked about kind of where those imports come from or, you know, they might be coming from California or Florida, but still a distance away where, you know, if they don't order enough or they order too much, it's cutting into their bottom line.
00:24:27
Speaker
where they don't have the product that they need and so they're making just like you would to you know cater an event they're making these recipes and everything is gonna look for the most part exactly the same for most more traditional florist and.
00:24:43
Speaker
Kind of what Kathy is saying is that, you know, she doesn't, she doesn't necessarily know she has a budget, I'm sure. And she, she knows, she knows, you know, like she said, she knows that dahlias are going to be in season in September. So her September brides are going to get dahlias. So she could probably pretty confidently say that, but you know, she's, she's getting what she gets. And not every bridesmaids bouquet might look exactly the same. They're all going to go together, but they're not going to be, you know, twins of each other. They're.
00:25:12
Speaker
Every event is unique. I couldn't make two of the same thing if I tried. Sounds like a good marketing angle. What are the three best months for seasonal flowers in Kentucky? To have a wedding if you were going to be like,
00:25:39
Speaker
Look, you're going to pick your day based on me and the arrangements that I'm going to do. And I'm going to make you the most spectacular thing. When would you, when would you want me to get married? My favorite, my most favorite flowers are spring flowers, the cool season.
00:25:55
Speaker
So May is my sweet spot because I still have those early cool season flowers like Ranunculus anemones, those kinds of things. Peonies are available in May, which are obviously stunning and show stopping just on their own. And my flower farmers are so great and they grow so many different colors and shapes and textures.
00:26:21
Speaker
But sometimes, in Kentucky, the weather's so crazy. Sometimes in May, we still have a little bit of early summer flowers too. So I really like that sweet spot where it's not quite, spring isn't quite over, summer's not quite here, and we get a blend of both. What about you, Sarah? What month do you like? Yeah, you got an opinion on the date?
00:26:44
Speaker
Oh, yeah. So I will back Kathy up on May being in my top three May is definitely up there. I'm a spring baby. I love spring flowers. I think nothing gets me more excited than
00:26:58
Speaker
a peony or an allium or a hellebore. But in terms of abundance of local flowers, definitely September and into October. Those are also peak event months.
00:27:15
Speaker
as well. October, it gets a little dicey towards the end because sometimes local flower farmers, their fields could be tired or there can be a frost. So that does get iffy. September is great because there's just so much available. Everybody's fields still are producing a lot. The days are still really long. It's still really warm.
00:27:37
Speaker
And then October being another peak event month, we're kind of getting into that season of really cool heirloom moms. We're still seeing Dahlias at that point. And at a certain point, we're starting to see larger harvests of people cutting down everything as well. So I would say May, September, and October are some of my favorite months for local flowers.
00:28:03
Speaker
So fun, fun fact. Anemone in Great Britain, they pronounce anemone aluminium. No. Oh, no, wait. They give for it. Sorry, something I was thinking. So do you all not. I do have a question. Do you all know that you all just not take weddings in the in the winter times? Or what's the what's the deal with that? The demand is not as high.
00:28:32
Speaker
in November, December, January, February. But I still can get some local stuff then. I have a cutting garden of my own. Just since I moved into my house, I planted a lot of hardy perennials, things like hellebores, a lot of foliage plants. So I can cut from around my own house.
00:29:00
Speaker
And from my flower farmers, they have healables really early or in the winter. They have foliage and stuff. I do some foraging as well to try to get some locally grown and trusting ingredients. And throughout the year,
00:29:18
Speaker
If you could see our studio right now, we have just dried flowers hanging from the ceiling all over. So throughout the year I'm also saving anything that I'm not using for events and drying those. So even in the winter, I still am using local flowers that have been dried by me and that were grown here.
00:29:40
Speaker
This past Valentine's Day, there were locally grown tulips and anemones available. So shout out to Freetoad's farm for the local tulips and then Bellaire Bloom's had the local anemones for Valentine's Day, which as a florist, the ability to have local flowers, like in the dead of winter, I think that I like the amount of joy I received from that was
00:30:05
Speaker
was insane. We were in here every single day. We got a order delivered or picked up. We would just be in here being like, look at this, look at it. And we would just be and just running around. This February was really exciting for us. It's really like lifts our spirits after a cold winter when not much is growing. So yes, we still can get some local stuff.
00:30:34
Speaker
We have to supplement a lot more with imported, but we don't feel too bad about it because the rest of the year we're using as much local as possible.
Importance of Local Sourcing in Floristry
00:30:45
Speaker
So why did you all, like why do you all decide to do local? And I think you've touched on this like a smidge, but you know, you all came from kind of some traditional florists who, you know, you some local, but did a lot of imports as well. So why was it important for you to do as much local buying as you all do?
00:31:04
Speaker
Well, I would say with that two main things come to mind. One, being a small local business owner, I know how hard it is. And I'm out there trying to support my other fellow local business owners because we're paying our bills. I want to give you my money instead of the wholesaler. I want to see you grow. We're all eating here.
00:31:34
Speaker
So that's one of my big things is just I love business owners. But secondarily to that, and this is a huge thing, is just the quality and uniqueness that we receive from local is just completely different from what I can get to the wholesale.
00:31:54
Speaker
I can walk in the wholesaler and I can buy a bunch of renunculus that's all going to be the same stem length and the same head length, but it's going to be two weeks old already before it even gets in my hands and it's going to rot significantly faster than what a bunch of renunculus from a local grower would be. So like the stem length, stem quality, age, freshness of the flower, they don't even compare to one another. Local always wins.
00:32:23
Speaker
I completely agree with that. I've never gotten, never ever have I gotten a bunch of local anemones or ranunculus where half of them are slimy and rotten and completely trash. They've all been inspected by the grower. They've cut it.
00:32:42
Speaker
And they've given it to me, you know, when they pull it for my bunches or for my buckets, they've laid eyes on that. And it was just a couple days ago that it was cut. It's not, oh, it's been sitting around in a cooler truck or a wholesaler for a couple of weeks.
00:33:00
Speaker
Now it has botrytis and it's slimy and stinky. That doesn't happen with local flowers ever. So I appreciate that so much. And like Sarah said, locally, the colors that we can get are way more diverse. There's all of those.
00:33:26
Speaker
like in between colors where it's not pink, it's not orange, something in the middle. You can't really get that. It's hard to order that stuff from a wholesaler. And then there's some things like Zinnia's that you just can't get from a wholesaler. Those have to come locally. So yeah, I agree with everything Sarah said. There's just no comparison in the quality and the diversity.
00:33:54
Speaker
Do you think your clients, sorry Brett, I'm excited to know, like, you know, you all have talked about you're selling yourself and your clients and what kind of client finds you. Do you think that that's part of the reason they come to you? Is that you all talk about your, or maybe you, maybe you don't market that you use local or that you do, do you use that as a marketing technique? Do you think that's why some clients- Is it your vibe or is it the flowers that are doing, you know,
00:34:22
Speaker
What's carrying the water of selling, you think? Well, for me, I definitely advertise. Every time I'm talking about anything that I'm doing, I'm saying that it's locally grown or I highlight where specific flowers came from. I tag my farmers when I can.
00:34:44
Speaker
Um stuff like that. So it's definitely I definitely think it's a selling point for me Um and all of the literature literature I hand out to my clients when they are first starting their booking process With me. I have a full page About all the growers that I buy from and I link have links to them so they can get followed too awesome and then also a big part of my
00:35:12
Speaker
A client base has been vendor referrals. So Alexis and I send clients to each other. If I'm booked, I'll send it to her. She's booked. She'll send it to me.
00:35:25
Speaker
And that happens with filler blooms as well. Um, and other sustainably minded wedding vendors that I work with, um, that I have a good relationship with. They, if they get a, um, a couple that's like really until local sustainable, anything like that, they send them to me and they're like, this florist will be a good fit for you. Is, is it more, is it more expensive?
00:35:52
Speaker
for you, for the client, for, I mean, what's the real talk on that? I think it's actually the opposite. I think, I mean, so our local growers do a great job of researching fair market value of flowers and we want to pay that, absolutely. Absolutely. But I think in the end, it actually is more cost effective to purchase locally because you're not having a larger percentage of loss.
00:36:20
Speaker
So just to reiterate, the hours are significantly more fresh than what I can buy from the wholesaler, that there's just less loss in general. So I think that's a huge reason why it's more advantageous. So even if... Oh, sorry.
00:36:41
Speaker
Brett and I are just like competing for your time. We're just so excited about local flowers and having some awesome people on the pod. So do you have clients, customers who
00:37:03
Speaker
they aren't really sure what the local thing is about or they're not they come to you with certain expectations. But there's yeah, that's what I was curious trust or an element of whatever conversation because when you say your wedding planner to me, it's like, I mean, a wedding a wedding florist to me, it's more like you're just like managing people and their expectations and the logistics. And the flowers are awesome. And you're amazing at that. But to be able to do all of the creative stuff on top of all of that managing of the
00:37:31
Speaker
know, potential bridezillas. I haven't ever seen one in the wild, but I've heard that they exist from time to time and maybe you all avoid those. But do you, what is that conversation like? And I'll give a little bit more of a primer. So Kayla was talking about, Kayla from the Kentucky flower market was talking about how in conversations with florists and with customers, I think just more generally,
00:37:56
Speaker
Part of her toolkit is the idea of palette, that you talk about palette rather than specific cuts or specific whatever. Are there other elements that you all see as key to conversations with maybe more traditional customers who aren't the boho local ready type but are interested in engaging with local flowers? And what tends to work and stick with people?
00:38:23
Speaker
Well, so ultimately, your client, in an ideal world, your client's hiring you because you're the expert in your field, right? And so they're relying on you to give them good advice and good guidance. And so that kind of falls back on us to be strong in who we are and what we think is best, and then guide that back into the client. And so if the client comes at me and says that they really want peonies,
00:38:50
Speaker
in November, I'm going to say, well, you know, peonies aren't really in season then. And if I were to try and import them, they're going to come in and poor quality likely, and they're going to be super expensive. So instead, I would steer them towards another large, prestige heirloom flower that I could hopefully get. So that might be like a Dahlia.
00:39:13
Speaker
which I would be more likely in October than November, but ultimately it falls back on us to stand strong and what we believe is best and going to be best for them to guide them properly. And you do run into the bridezillas. I mean, anytime you're working with the public.
00:39:33
Speaker
wild things come up. You can't always rein people back in, but most of the time people can understand reason and do trust you enough to guide them into what's going to be best for them both monetarily wise and also aesthetic wise.
00:39:54
Speaker
Whenever I'm talking to my clients, some people don't know anything about flowers or not passionate about it. They don't know the names of any flowers, especially things that are outside the realm of like roses and mums and things you can get. I used to be a Kroger. Whenever I'm talking to my clients that don't know a lot about flowers,
00:40:18
Speaker
They get excited because I'm so excited about the local flowers. I'm telling them about all the cool stuff that we can get and how things smell really good, which is part of the imported flowers. A lot of those smells have been bred out of them because that's not as important as
00:40:39
Speaker
longevity. If they get shipped well. So local flowers smell better and I can tell them about all the pretty colors and different varieties and just interesting things that they have probably not seen before. And I just, I get really riled up about it. And so I think that
00:41:01
Speaker
instill some confidence in my clients as well to know that even if they're not 100% sure of every single ingredient that's going in They know it's going to be a really nice quality fresh local beautiful and I haven't run into any problems almost all my clients are completely cool with that and Really trust me to make
00:41:26
Speaker
their wedding flowers for them and their color palette, like we said, I really focus on that instead of specific ingredients and that's been okay for us. So to follow up on that same thing, so on the flip side, so you all are florists who are on board with the local and
00:41:48
Speaker
It's a part, it seems to be a part of the businesses that you've built and the message and the branding and the identity that you've built, which I think is awesome and great.
Pandemic Impact and Shift to Local Sourcing
00:41:57
Speaker
You know, one of the challenges or one of the things that I'm curious about your perspective on is, you know, the Kayla and other flower, anybody who's growing or trying to sell flowers to a florist is gonna, going to come across, I think 10,
00:42:17
Speaker
people who aren't on board with the local yet for every one of you. Maybe it's more than ten.
00:42:23
Speaker
Do you have any ideas, like as we think about growing a flower market in Kentucky and continuing to expand it to the folks who aren't already on board like you, what are some of the key messages or key, is there a gateway flower or a gateway time of year to get them hooked on the more local sourcing? What do you all think about that as essentially your peers who are doing things differently and having had experience in that market?
00:42:52
Speaker
Well, so sometimes I think that there for me, it was almost out of necessity that I really started to dive into local.
00:43:04
Speaker
when I was working at a very traditional brick and mortar shop, we bought mostly from the wholesaler, and that's because that was just the system that was already in place, right? And so in a sense, like I was so used to writing my wedding orders with recipes of X amount of roses, X amount of spray roses, and then placing that order with one broker and receiving that order. And so that was a system that was working, right? And sometimes when you're overwhelmed,
00:43:33
Speaker
you just have a lot going on, it's hard to rip up that system. So when the pandemic first hit, it really made flour sourcing difficult. Like the wholesalers, everything shut down there for a minute.
00:43:48
Speaker
And so there really, there was a great demand for flowers at that time and florists were super busy but the wholesalers were almost carrying nothing. And so at that phase is when I personally really started to shift into sourcing local because I could text my local growers and say, hey, what do you have this week? And then get on their schedule. And so that was kind of my gateway in particular in terms of shifting how I operated my existing system.
00:44:18
Speaker
which I know that didn't really answer your question, but that was the answer that I had. That's good. Makes it so easy for florists too. And I'm, I'm not a huge, you know, I'm not placing my orders a month out. I'm more of a last minute girl. So
00:44:37
Speaker
being able to look at Kentucky flower markets online shop and order from there has been so awesome. In addition to just being able to text my flower farmers, I have three or four on rotation and I can just text them that week or the week before and get my orders in which
00:45:01
Speaker
has been so awesome and having our studio kind of in a central location and Sarah and I share this space. And so our flower farmers have one location to drop our orders off at. And that has just made everything very simple and easy.
00:45:23
Speaker
for florists that want to order more flowers locally, or I'm not sure how, I think the best way is just like, be friends with your flower farmer. The best and easiest way, because then having a relationship with them, they like, I know when I order from Alexis, she knows what I like, she knows what makes me really excited.
00:45:51
Speaker
And everything I get from her is like exactly what I want, even if I didn't even know what that's what I wanted. I think that is like the best advice. I know some florists are, traditional florists are more stubborn and are scared of the bugs that come in with local flowers and things like that.
00:46:17
Speaker
I'm not scared of bugs, so it's not mine. And I'm not a problem for me, but. At least it's not like some crazy jungle spider or weird frog bow coming from South America. Some gross like invisible poison any day.
00:46:35
Speaker
Yeah, that's the other thing. Most of your flower growers are no spray or low spray in Kentucky and so you're much safer handling that product. I think more and more florists are becoming aware of that. When you receive a dozen roses or 25 roses and they're covered in a white something and you're like, what is this that I'm going to have my hands touching for the next 48 hours?
00:47:05
Speaker
In theory, it's quote unquote safe and has been approved, but use your own logic there versus something that and then the quality. There's just stuff that you can't get. You can't get a Cosmo at a wholesaler and you can get a Dahlia from a wholesaler, but how many times have you had-
00:47:29
Speaker
Have you ever had good dahlias come from a wholesaler? Never once. They will always let you down. I'm trying not to pick too much on the wholesalers because there is definitely a place and you also have a business 12 months out of the year and just because it's not the growing season doesn't mean you don't have to make your own income. There is a time and a place for it. I'm not throwing shade, whatever.
00:47:58
Speaker
Yeah. And well, like I don't want to throw shade on the wholesaler either too, because that, like if I break it down, ultimately the wholesaler probably gets maybe 50% of my business as well. So I do mix it up because my business structure is, Kathy has really structured her business around being local as much as possible. And mine, I do emphasize local, but I also,
00:48:26
Speaker
A lot of my clientele really wants the fluffy garden roses and things that are just really challenging to grow in Kentucky for our growers at a larger scale. And if I'm doing a wedding and I need 300 roses, that's not an option to source that locally. So the wholesaler, it's a great resource. I love that it's there, but it doesn't get me nearly as excited as talking to
00:48:56
Speaker
To me, it's going to a farmer's market, but you also often have to go to Kroger or Walmart or Aldi's or wherever. But you go to the farmer's market first to see how much you can get and buy locally, and then you go supplement those things that you really like bananas. In theory, you got to have bananas. At my house, we have to have bananas. I can't get those at the farmer's market, so I'm okay buying them because I did support local first.
00:49:24
Speaker
Are they ever in pajamas or is it usually not that kind of stuff? Why are you the way you are? He's in his pajamas. Unlike my mother. No, I'm just kidding. Started at an early age. I did have a joke that I was not able to shoehorn in earlier. I'll just tell now out of context. Oh, please.
00:49:51
Speaker
You'd say like, please, my father is Mr. Tritus, call me Bo.
00:49:56
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Excellent. Yeah. Thank you. I wonder why you couldn't shoehorn that one in. But you said the tracks earlier and then Alexis had to ask some insightful question like a fool. How do I? What are we here for? I'm here to be the fun guy and you messed it up. I'm here to workshop Brett's vids. I see a lot of parallels with the local flower stuff with like the local, just local foods in general that
00:50:21
Speaker
There are some establishments that are really, I mean, they are about
00:50:27
Speaker
producing a meal, but they're really more about producing the commodity or the concept of the meal and the customer service environment. Context and experience. And the same way they're, it's like, this isn't, they aren't necessarily, yes, they are florists who are providing flowers, but they're really providing this concept of like how the flowers fit within a commodity system about, you know, this is what we do and somebody has a funeral or this is what we do and somebody has a wedding.
00:50:57
Speaker
When you're talking about local food or like questioning anything other than the stuff coming off the Cisco truck, it becomes a whole other enterprise with like layers of consideration that some people, some businesses are just never going to want to get to that level of complexity. They want the commodity and, you know, Sarah, your comment about COVID.
00:51:15
Speaker
And the effects that that had, it was the same way in the food world that we had these major disruptions because that whole commodity system and the concept of like being able to think of a tomato as a product, an industrial product without agricultural implications is dependent on a very long and we have found out fairly vulnerable supply chain and seems similar with the flower thing.
Floristry as a Trade and Art Form
00:51:41
Speaker
And so I'm just curious if,
00:51:44
Speaker
if we don't have to have a pandemic to push people in the direction of doing this kind of thing and could have even more like more subtle cues, but in some cases, maybe it's not, maybe it really is just a waiting for the disruptions to kind of guide some of that decision-making until then it's just the boho's and the cutie's out there. The younger generation of florists are a little more flexible with the new,
00:52:13
Speaker
the new trend of ordering flowers locally and maybe using more sustainable practices, things like that.
00:52:24
Speaker
A lot of traditional florists do what they do and that's how they're going to do it until the end. That's how they've always done it. They still call their wholesaler and like to talk on the phone. All the millennials listening are like cringing at the idea of talking on the phone. Just text me.
00:52:46
Speaker
Send me an email. Trade work and artistry in a sense as well because if you're in a trade and I'm not wanting to throw shade on any florists and degrade their artistry because they purchased from a wholesaler, I do the same thing. But if you're stuck in your ways and you're not willing to try something new, then
00:53:09
Speaker
In a sense you're kind of just regurgitating what you've always done right you're doing what is comfortable you're doing what you know right so in the way that like an electrician wires a house you are creating happy birthday arrangements and funeral arrangements and knocking out these white weddings and things like that.
00:53:27
Speaker
But I think that there's that spark of passion that you can see in Kathy's eyes when she's talking about local flowers. And you can also see it in her designs as well too. Like the inspiration behind it and the desire to create something that's new and unique that's different. And so
00:53:50
Speaker
when I think of modern day floristry, it is a trade, but I also see it as an opportunity to market yourself as an artist, just like a tattoo artist would in modern day. That's a really good comparison. Can you hear the ping that's on my computer?
00:54:11
Speaker
I don't know how to turn it off. I'm sorry. I thought it was my computer this whole time. Then I was like, I have headphones on. So surely nobody else is hearing that group chat. And that's what there's a group chat. I really don't know how to turn it off. I'm just I silenced it on my orders are coming in now.
00:54:29
Speaker
That's okay. You're just, that's how popular you're all forestry is, is that flower farmers and customers are just texting you left and right. And they're like, we need those local flowers and you make them beautiful.
00:54:44
Speaker
All right. Well, any further burning questions or anything that you guys would like to say, you know, whether it's to the farmer, you know, we've got kind of, from what we can tell, we have a variety of listeners that are going to be either the growers or the consumers of what is grown. So if you have any words of wisdom you'd like to share, and if not, that's okay. Brett, I'm sure we'll come up with something.
00:55:10
Speaker
I think I just want to take a moment to fangirl on Kentucky Flower Market because from the perspective of a florist wanting to purchase local, I had to keep my local vendor list really small.
00:55:28
Speaker
because I only have so much bandwidth in one day. And I max out on how many text conversations I have. And so prior to Kentucky flower market, I was really only purchasing from about three or four local growers.
00:55:42
Speaker
But this past week, I placed an order with Kentucky Flower Market, and I think I had seven different flower farmers. And it was, I went online while I was doing something else, placed my order, and then it was delivered to my studio on Wednesday. And I was like, wow, that... Couldn't be easier. Couldn't be easier to support local. And it was beautiful and streamlined and easy. And so I think with...
00:56:07
Speaker
getting florist to start purchasing locally, having that broker system of Kentucky flower market or that co-op system is extremely helpful.
00:56:18
Speaker
It's a little bit more like what they're used to, just not as far in advance as they're used to, but it's like bridging that gap between what they've always done and what's coming and what's new. Awesome. Well, we're so glad Kayla was an awesome guest and you all know Kayla. Can I ask a little bit of a fluff but nice question?
00:56:39
Speaker
I guess. Is there one flower or a particular flower that since you have become florists, your appreciation for that flower has grown particularly?
Appreciation for Flowers and Joy in Floristry
00:56:51
Speaker
Yeah, a lot. Tulips. Ones that you didn't used to love as much and then now you're like, oh, okay, I get it.
00:57:00
Speaker
I never loved tulips, carnations, like the little French ones, marigolds. I never bowed an eye out before and now I love them. Mums, wasn't a fan of mums before, but now I love them.
00:57:17
Speaker
I don't know. There's a lot. Yeah. There's so many. So you had a little bit of like a like basic bias it seems like. Yeah. Right. I mean, or like kind of like rustic rural bias or something. Yes. Yeah. Love that. Well, I know any coronation but now there's so many I guess I didn't realize
00:57:42
Speaker
the different colors and sizes and everything, there's just, you know, when things are in the grocery store, the scents is gone, the leaves are stripped. Everything is just really feels really mass produced and just not exciting. And I'm very excitable with the with the new different colors. Just anything, anything that I haven't seen before I'm immediately like obsessed with so
00:58:13
Speaker
Watching Kathy get like some new flower or just a flower that she hasn't seen in a full year or something is like the most, it's like watching a small child like discover ice cream for the first time or something. She's so excited. And like, even if it's something that she's known before, she hasn't seen it in a year and she just like puts her whole face into it.
00:58:36
Speaker
And she sits there and smells it. And from a grower standpoint, nothing makes you feel better than having a florist, especially florist as talented as Sarah and Kathy are. Just go gaga over something that you grew with your two hands. It's very rewarding. I'm very grateful for people who are willing to express joy so freely because I think it makes other people feel comfortable expressing and feeling joy too. So I appreciate that a lot.
00:59:06
Speaker
Good. We have a lot of joy over flowers in this space. Yeah. Sarah, have you, have you come around on particular, particular flowers or, or just grown? Yeah. So I would say calla lilies, especially I, I used to just like loathe. There are some growers who are starting to do those locally, which is awesome.
00:59:33
Speaker
Let's see, I also really like scabiosa, especially local scabiosa, just for the ability to get the luscious buds on them. Again, like what I can purchase from the wholesaler for scabiosa versus locally grown is just, they're not even comparable.
00:59:56
Speaker
The big thing that this might also make Kathy really excited is stock. Yes. Or Cappiella, like local stock. Oh my God. When it walks in the shop, Kathy loses it. Yeah. Every year. She's just like, you smell it. Have you looked at this?
01:00:13
Speaker
Because you know again like stock from the wholesaler is just usually rotten before you even get it out of the door there's petals that you have to take off for the foliage is starting to yellow but then when we get our local stock or even our local snap dragons.
01:00:33
Speaker
um you know we end up with these thick stems and these like chunky masses of flowers where we're used to purchasing these kind of like sometimes rotten sometimes like really flimsy broken stems that already are kind of bruised and and it's just like wow oh so
01:00:53
Speaker
If you've never smelled local stock, it smells like clove is the best way. I know how to describe it better. It's spicy and delicious. All I heard was Hermione Granger, it's scabiosa, not scabiosa.
01:01:15
Speaker
That's awesome. That was a good one. I'll give that one to you. Thank you. I'm just trying to reach out. You're welcome. Did we give them a chance to plug or are you going to do that now? I'm sorry. Brett, I got this. How many episodes in are we? He's just so excited today. I don't know. When we have guests, I just lose it. I just lose the thread. He does. He loses all sense. Let's get so excited.
01:01:37
Speaker
Anyways, Kathy, tell us and our followers how to follow you and see the beautiful things that you post about.
Kathy and Sarah's Business Information and Podcast Engagement
01:01:48
Speaker
Yeah. Um, again, my business name, it's a little hard to pronounce my, I'm pretty sure my dad still cannot say it. Even after being in business for like six years, he just kind of mumbles his way through. Um, but it's ephemeral florals and my handle on Instagram. That's where I post the most is ephemeral florals. K Y all one word.
01:02:12
Speaker
If you go to my Instagram, there's links to my Pinterest, my website, which if you are an inquiring bride or groom or couple, that's where you can submit an inquiry and go to my straight into my booking process through that, um,
01:02:32
Speaker
I'm on Pinterest and TikTok and all of those things too, but Instagram is where you'll see the most up to date, like all the pretty pictures, which is what counts. So. And Sarah, where can we find you?
01:02:48
Speaker
So you can find me on Instagram and Facebook. My Instagram is Drury Floral. And that's the name of my business. So Drury is like where the muffin man lives on Drury Lane. I know the muffin man. You're trying to suppress an impersonation here.
01:03:07
Speaker
Yeah. So that's my last name. I decided to keep it classic and name my business after that, even though it is also a really hard word to say. Why do we do that? I don't know! We're like, let's make it very impossible. Well, it's memorable. Think of it that way. It's more memorable.
01:03:33
Speaker
We will put this in the show notes. So if you guys are driving, don't be on your phone, looking at Instagram. Pull over right now and follow them. So we will put that in the show notes where you can find it and follow them when you are not moving at a quick pace. You can also follow us on Instagram at Hort Culture Pod. And you can also send us an email if you'd like to just tell us what you think.
01:04:04
Speaker
hortculturepodcasts at l.uky.edu. Please feel free to also leave us a review. If you loved our guests, just comment that you loved our guests, and that helps more people find us. You can just be like us, Erin, Kathy, true MVPs in the review, and we will share that with them.
01:04:25
Speaker
And we are so grateful that we had you guys on today. So thank you for, I know you all are very busy as small business owners who run your business all by yourself. So we really appreciate this hour that you have spent with us today.
01:04:40
Speaker
I think that's about it. Anybody from the peanut gallery? Okay. Well, then we hope as we grow this podcast, you will grow with us. Join us next week and we'll talk about more awesome, fun plant things. So thank you all so much and have a great one.