Planted - New frontage

This month we visit Planted to find out about their exciting shop move and the motivations which led Steve to commit to a major investment project in such tough times.  The Planted team are all the same, Floristry runs through their veins; they have a combined experience of over 35 years – something which has not occurred by chance! 

We believe Steve, and Neil reflect the approach and attitude which will see Floristry succeed for many years to come, so it was a great privilege to spend time with Steve and this is what we found…  

How long have you been in floristry?

Steve opens with a proud, beaming  smile “I’ve owned Planted for just over six years and before that I was freelancing for about 15 years: doing jobs mainly abroad and especially in Australia where I lived for three years.”  So immediately we find something we didn’t  know about Steve and we couldn’t resist digging a little more into the attitudes of the Aussies when it comes to floristry, Steve goes on “In Australia they really understand floristry; they spend good money on flowers, they appreciate that flowers cost money – finally a place in the world which has a real appreciation of a florists skill”, he goes on “ here, the British public do not understand the costs involved, for example they will come in and only want to spend fifteen pounds and expect to get a large bunch of flowers, which of course is impossible- you can’t create a big bouquet for only fifteen pounds. The florists provide a skill, creativity –if they want a cheap bunch of flowers they should go to somewhere that just sells bunched flowers, if they want something to be a creation with beauty, it needs skill, they should go to a florist.”  Here, here I hear you say!

So when we ask one of our provocative questions, “What do you think of the statement “Floristry is Art”?  there are no surprises with the answer…

“This is what some of the British public don’t understand!  They think they are just paying for the cost of the flowers, not the knowledge and skill of the florist. We spend time with our customers, talking through the brief, researching and resourcing the customer’s wishes and only then do we spend time completing the actual flower arrangement or display.  For some reason the great British public never wants to pays for that, or appreciates the time we have spent on each order”.

But do not get the impression Steve has given up on trying to educate the public in Brighton, indeed he has managed to create the Aussie attitude to florists amongst his customers.  Steve feels that his success is down to his approach to floristry and therefore his customers.  He talks passionately about spending a lot of time really getting to know the client, in order that every creation is unique and personal to that customer. His approach is like a painter, in the sense no picture is ever the same, neither is their work.  They try to ensure that ‘special’ arrangement every time; they have had some customers burst into tears when they see the completed work – satisfaction indeed!  Steve comments with a sense of pride  “It’s about respecting the client, understanding and relating to the person, finding out what they like, so you can then go away and create something just for them.”  In our mind this approach creates the perfect route to a Florists Masterpiece – bespoke, unique and beautiful!

Steve loves his work and his business and made the massive decision to move ‘across the road’ to a bigger premises, which after considerable vision and hard work became his blank canvass on which to create the shop of his dreams.  So last October and November had been incredibly busy months for the staff at Planted: this has meant Neil continuing the business as normal in St James’s Street whilst Steve oversaw building and renovation work at the new shop in Cavendish Street, just down the road. Steve showed off his project management skills by keeping to their predicted six week completion date, although as with all major projects this proved quite stressful!  Steve is very gracious to acknowledge the undying support of his team, friends and family: “ I couldn’t have done it without the involvement, support and help from Neil and my family as well, they were brilliant helping me to juggle both the shop and the renovations, Mum also gave me extra moral support and made sure I had a meal in the evenings”.

So Planted have ‘re-potted’ themselves in their new shop, purposely designed for them to ply their trade, so we wanted to know how it felt the first time he put the key in the door of his new shop…

“I can’t explain exactly, it was weird! Weird to be moving out of the old Planted on the Sunday and then to open in the new shop on the Monday. Although it was great to be leaving the other shop, it was sad as well, because it had been amazing, it was my beginning, it had been brilliant! Leaving our old shop was taking the gamble: would the regulars stay with you? It was scary, but you have to take calculated gambles if you want to progress – I thought our customers would find us – but it was scarrry!”

But if you look at the new shop and the customers purposely walking across the threshold the ‘gamble’ has worked.  It was a pleasure to see people’s reactions as they step into the world of Planted, Steve summarises “it’s been just fantastic, and it’s been just beautiful – Just beautiful: the reactions from everyone”.

And so having lived with their new surroundings has the ‘shine’ of the new toy warn off?

“We love this premises, the atmosphere of calmness, the openness, the space and light, means that everything is so much easier to do, initially we thought that we weren’t busy, but then we realized that the stress and tension had gone from working in a tiny shop, now there is peace, calm and tranquility, which it should be in a flower shop, it should be beautiful, the whole experience should be beautiful from the moment when you walk in the door: for both the customer and for us, it should be a lovely experience – in the old shop ,on a Saturday we used to slam the door behind us, because we couldn’t wait to get away, because we’d just had it. Whereas here, we close the door and look forward to coming back on Monday.”

So Planted is establishing its roots in new street with a stable, committed team and attitude towards Floristry to die for, so we thought we would get a few more opinions from Steve (whilst we had his attention)…

What advice would you give to someone starting out in this profession?

"Neuve" Space - cool!

Steve considers his response, “if it is about someone opening a shop, then your shop should reflect your creativity, it should set you aside from others.  Your window should look amazing and represent who you are, it’s very important, it’s a crucial selling point, we’ve now made it that you can see straight into the shop, so our whole shop is our ‘window’. I have to clean the windows virtually every day, but it’s all about first impressions!”

Steve goes onto say that the quality of the flowers is also crucial, “we buy the best we can buy, so when we send out flowers, we know they will last and the customer will be pleased with it.  The fact that our customers come back again and again speaks volumes. You have to be confident of quality of your flowers, if you’re not, you shouldn’t sell them- put it in the bin!   After all it’s your reputation at stake. The only reason were here, is because we have built up a good reputation and we sell a good product”.

And Steve’s thoughts on business don’t stop there…. he adds

“You need to think about the long term in this business, it’s about service, quality of service. I want to know who my customer is, we have real conversations with them, I’m interested in what they have to say, and that way we can give them a better service. There’s nothing more rewarding than when someone rings you up and says ‘Oh my god it was just amazing-thank you’.  Our experience shows that person will be a regular customer and will also tell their friends about you.” So there you have a business model built on the best possible foundations – recommendation!

Steve is also keen to add his opinion on the team you chose to help you in your business…

“You can’t run a business on your own, you need a right hand man, or woman, but you’ve got to find the right person, which is hard.  You need someone you can rely on, someone who can work under pressure, who you can trust financially with your business if you’re not there, and that their standard of work is good – you can’t compromise. After all your reputation is also in their hands. “

But Steve is under no dissolussion about where the buck stops – with the owner.  When he talks about running his shop he describes the need for characteristics such as being brave, silly and passionate – we can see what he means he finishes “You have to have the desire and passion: that’s what made me do it. And a total love for flowers and creating something beautiful”.

And what about the future, well we asked Steve “How do you think florists will flourish in the next 5 years?”

There is a common theme in his response “I think it’s going to very hard for florists to flourish in the next 5 years – it’s going to be a time to batten down the hatches, be careful and conscious about everything you do and buy.  Critically standards mustn’t slip!”  He goes on “I’m worried that a lot of florists will stop buying the unusual or exotic flowers and plants…. and then the suppliers and growers will stop producing them and then the range of flowers will go back to the basic varieties”.  We agree with Steve, the thought of not having unusual and different varieties of flowers and plants is depressing. Let’s hope there is a niche of the British public that continue to demand and appreciate the beauty of these unusual species. 

And in the midst of all this activity over the last few months we are intrigued to know what keeps Steve sane…

“My dog, when it gets too much we go out and walk and walk……..”

The time at Planted has flown; it’s been insightful and thoroughly engaging.  We have met a business owner who is focused, committed and prepared to risk his future on Floristry – something which Steve realizes was not always there in the early days.  Steve “went where the wind took” him and relished a fantastic life traveling and doing a variety of jobs, but at 38 he decided he wanted his own business, he was ready to “settle down and give it 110 %”.  Today we see a man giving 110% to his business!

We wish Planted the wildest success in their new shop….go for it!

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 21^st 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!