Tina, "Little Miss Pink" at work
Kemptown Flowers is in its infancy, just 4 months old! The new arrival is refreshing and real evidence that recession can be the catalyst for inspiration! Kemptown is an area of Hove and Brighton which is a busy ‘village’ close enough to the sea to hear the gulls, but not quite close enough to smell the salt!
Today we meet Tina Croucher, the charismatic owner of Kemptown Flowers, who stands proudly in her shop adorned in a very dapper pink outfit – the colour which seems to be at the heart of her very sole and everything she does. If colours were ever used to describe people, Tina is definitely a “Pink” person. She personifies the energy, vibrancy and the overt nature of the colour – she is simply charming. So it is with great ease we chat about floristry in general, the decision to start her business, the challenges she has faced so far and what the future holds.
So we open with a question which we could guess the answer to, a “starter for 10”..
Q: Starting a business is a recession might be described as insightful or folly, what would you say ?
The answer we get is full and considered, Tina starts “ My husband and I have been in business for years now, indeed, Andrew started his business in the last recession – so we know what to expect”. It is clear that both Andrew and Tina are no strangers to hard work and have committed themselves to their business’s 24/7, they have succeeded in building a good reputation among their local community, something they consider a cornerstone for the success of the Florist business.
Starting in the recession has framed Tina in her attitude “I know people will always want to buy flowers for special occasions [but] I try to buy very wisely to find something different, little gimmicks or one off items, things which are value for money” she pauses a moment “I do give them [her customers] something unique which is simply good value for money”.
We probe a little more on the process of starting the business
Q: What is the background to starting the florist business?
Tina responds “I’ve always been a creative person – for years I been doing favours making arrangements and table decorations for weddings with my good friend Paula”. So when space became available in a corner of the premises of their existing business, it was a “slam dunk” – Tina wanted to open a florists!
However, don’t take away the impression this is a dark dank corner of a shop, the spot is a corner plot with both sides made up of floor to ceiling glass panels. As with most premises it has attributes and weaknesses – great for display, tough on the flowers! With Tina the premises only provide opportunity to display colour and it provides a stage for her work as the local community wander about their daily life.
The shop has the “wow” factor, so we are intrigued on Tina’s take on her style
Q: How would you describe your style of floristy
“Colourful, if you’ve got a florist shop you’ve got to stand out from the rest”. When she started her business she made a decision that her shop would be noticed and the use of the rainbow of colours in her shop’s sign shows she has done what she said she would. She comments that she didn’t want to have dark colours or become a ‘classically dark style’ florist – spending time with Tina, you can see why – her character would simply clash with such styling.
Interestingly, the colours are synonymous with the Pride colours which are seen frequently in this part of the country, but she coyly comments “that it wasn’t a conscious decision” but she does smile wryly and admits she is “quite happy” that it could be seen that way.
Q: What things are important to you in your business?
She responds by talking about her standing in the local community “ I have regular customers who want to support me”. The importance of the local theme continues as she explains how she tries to support fellow traders, buying fresh flowers from a local grower; and plants from a source in Sussex.
Tina also picks up on one of her traits which is key to her business “I’m open minded, I take anything and everything on board-especially new ideas. I’ll then play around with them myself and then develop my own design from that.”
She listens hard to her customers as well, which leads us down an unexpected track – a discussion on being Eco-friendly in business. Tina acknowledges this is starting to influence her buying decisions “ over half my customers are now asking for paper and tissue wrapping in preference to cellophane, in a bid to be eco friendly”. This presents her with a challenge which she relishes – still providing stunning, pretty and attractive packaging to help differentiate her offering, she adds “we need the manufacturers to move into the 21st century when it comes to Eco-friendly packaging”.
Tina is focused on developing her business and using business ‘lingo’ she is implementing a clearly defined strategy which differentiates her business and the service it offers, but what about the future of the industry….
Q: How do you think Florists will “bloom”?
She sits pensively when pushed on the subject of supermarkets “I am worried about the supermarkets, but there are customers who want the individual, personal touch from a professional – you can’t get that from a supermarket”. She then goes on to add that she believes that people will always need their local shops and the community they help create: “I have customers who deliberately buy from me, not a supermarket, so I won’t disappear!” she goes on “her clients feel valued as a person, not just as a customer, sometimes I’m more like the local community centre!”
Having had 4 months at the sharp end we are keen to have her views on others starting out in Floristry…
Q: What advice would you give to those starting out in Floristry?
“You have to be mad!” she laughs playfully, she goes on “it is good fun, but very, very hard work, it’s not as pretty as people think it is”. Tina pauses and the adds “Florists work bloody hard – I take my hat off to people that have been doing it for years” After a momentary pause Tina then adds that she now feels it’s time for her to take on a part time assistant: “I’m not currently as creative as I want to be, I’m so tired, I need to have the energy to be more creative” – a very real balance which needs to be achieved for all starting out in this industry.
To get Tina back onto her fun side we ask a few quick fire questions to finish on a high…
Q: Is Floristry art?
Tina is quick to reply “Yes it is – it’s not just about selling flowers, floristry is changing all the time” She adds that each item leaving a shop is a statement about her, her shop and her creativity. Even simple off the shelf plants never leave without her touch she replants them, “presents” them – everything has her stamp, “the Kemptown Flowers Brand”
She goes on “florists are creative every day, it is a blank canvass every time you do some work, you can do what you want to do!” She adds that it’s so very rewarding when customers compliment her designs “I feel a real sense of achievement, a REAL sense of achievement – I’ve created something beautiful from just a block of oasis, a basket or a vase, that’s what makes it special”.
Q: If you had an Aladdin’s lamp, what 3 things would you ask your genie for?
Ironically, Tina then becomes quite serious and thoughtful, after a brief pause she says “Healthy” and then she adds “this is a hard choice, but I think it has to be Happy, just two will do!”
Q: What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Straight away she laughs and says “A shop assistant, of course. The florist shop makes me happy, when I stand and look at the flowers they make me smile!”
So we have to say goodbye to “Little Miss Pink”, we thank Tina for the massive injection of optimism and her infectious energy. We wish her the very best of luck and genuinely hope her humble nature and hard work ethic see her established for many years to come!
