Just like hairdressers and newsagents, florists remain one of the fixtures of the high street. Put simply, there’s always a time for flowers. Whether it’s to commemorate a special occasion or a token of appreciation for a special person, it’s unlikely that will ever change.
What clearly has changed though is the way we buy flowers. Florists today have to compete in a highly competitive landscape, battling it out online and on the high street with big-name national brands as well as other independent floristry businesses. Despite those challenges, there’s no doubting it’s an extremely satisfying line of work. It’s a career that involves the joy of crafting beautiful bouquets and adorning wedding venues in fabulous arrangements, bringing colour and happiness into lives at every turn.
One such joy-bringer is the family-owned independent florist Wild About Flowers. We caught up with the aptly-named Ivy Jean, who manages the shop, to find out more about life running a floristry business.
How would you sum up Wild About Flowers in a sentence?
We are established creatives working from a retail flower shop to bring timeless bespoke designs to life with heart, soul and a wild flair.
Can you briefly summarise the background to Wild About Flowers and what you did before?
Wild About Flowers was born in the year 2000 when a trio of qualified florists left their professional careers and ventured out to establish a distinctively different floristry business on Keynsham High Street in Bristol.
What was the inspiration behind Wild About Flowers? Was there a lightbulb moment when it came to you?
There was no lightbulb moment, but more of a slow burning desire and years of peering through flower shop windows like a kid in a sweet shop! Always imagining a shop of our own one day.
Growing up, inspiration came from family members always having flowers and plants in homes and gardens, and that’s what we wanted to bring to many others.
The opportunity of Wild About Flowers hit us in the face as a take it or leave it moment so we went for it and haven’t looked back!
Instagram: @wildaboutflowers33
Thinking about social media and marketing, what are your tips for boosting brand awareness and ultimately sales?
We are very lucky within our family business that we all have valuable assets within different fields, and have a dedicated job role to cover social media and marketing.
Top tips would include not underestimating the importance of social media as many business owners fail to see the full benefits if not kept up to date with its functions; therefore a second tip would be to look at releasing budget to hire someone to help manage your social media and marketing if you personally find it challenging or lack the time.
Be as active as you can online and engage with your audience. If you are going to market your brand online be sure to check who you are aiming your content at and ensure it is appealing to your target audience.
Use social media as a tool to connect with other like-minded businesses that you may want to collaborate with. You may not get the opportunity to network within your normal working schedule and social platforms offer a creative space to discover new brands.
