On Sunday after dismantling a wedding from Saturday I set off to go to Crewe Hall for the annual BFA conference.
This is the only Floristry Association we have and I feel it is important to support them so that they in turn can fight our battles in the wider worlds of politics and economics.
We had some lovely speakers from Tim Huckabee on how to improve the workspace environment, Helen Goodwin on advice for visual displays for shop windows and exhibitions (I do it all wrong!!), John Young from The Bank of England on all matters of money and Brexit, Jonas Zwitserlood from Florint on all things social media, Tracy Tomlinson of the Florist Fight Back from The BFA (I wouldn't want to mess with her) and Brian Pope on creating a stronger future for all florists.
There were two others and these were all about the flowers;
Gerben Ravensbergen, a Dutch lily grower on how his farm has evolved from Grandparents setting it up to modern day technology. Who knew chickens would be at the forefront! (Some varieties are at the bottom of this post)
And the one whom I definitely wanted to hear, along with most of the other attendees, was Jonathan Moseley, who many will know from TV appearances. He was speaking on his passion of British Flowers. He is leading the British flower revival and is working closely with various grower organisations and wholesalers to form a network so us independent florists can source and buy these beautiful blooms more easily.
Jonathan and Gerben answering questions
Jonathan being passionate about British Flowers
A few varieties of British flowers available from growers, soon be available to buy from me!
These all smelt divine, so much stronger than their Dutch counterparts.
My favourites, Sweet peas and such strong stems and flowers
Not to be out done, the Dutch lily special varieties. I can source these now when in season, more lovely colour combinations than just white and pink.
These ones were tiny (for lilies) would work really well in bridal bouquets
It was a truly inspiring day. BUT we as an independent business cannot survive without the support of you, our clients. If we can sell flowers, we can support independent growers, who can support the network provided by our wholesalers to support us both. We need customers who want to buy to keep the chain going.
As Jonathan said, why buy those plug in scented oil/fragrance things when you can buy a bunch of British scented flowers and get the joy of the scent and the visual impact of the flowers too.
British Flowers will be available within the next few weeks, if all goes according to plan. If you are looking to buy homegrown flowers for your wedding please get in touch as I can now order and buy with confidence from my wholesalers.
If nothing else was learnt on Sunday (and oh boy, I have a list!!) then this in itself was worth the long trip to Crewe and sitting indoors on such a glorious day!
Keep an eye out on here and Facebook (Sandras Flower Studio) for the latest developments and varieties in stock.
Sandra x
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