Home » Veteran Event Florist Shares Tricks, Tools and Time-Savers
Veteran Event Florist Shares Tricks, Tools and Time-Savers

Have you ever devoted hours to crafting the perfect boutonniere, only to see it crumble on a suit jacket because it wasn’t attached correctly?

“I spent years watching girls headed to prom and well-intentioned wedding coordinators struggle to properly pin on a boutonniere,” said Loann Burke, AAF, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, event specialist at Furst Florist and Greenhouses, and one of the featured experts at the Society of American Florists’ 1-Day Profit Blast in Kansas City, sponsored by Flower Shop Network and Baisch & Skinner, on Sunday, July 21.

“I thought, ‘There’s got to be a way we can create something that looks like a traditional pin, but with a peel-and-stick back,'” she said. Guess what? “Now, we can actually utilize products that create a stickable surface for fabric.”

During “Wedding Designs, Tricks and Tools You’ll Love,Burke will demonstrate exactly this kind of client-pleasing technique and showcase new products that will help you minimize labor and costs while maximizing your customers’ budgets. She’ll also lead the add-on “Hands-On Workshop: Bouquets & Bouts.” Burke’s presentations are sponsored by Smithers-Oasis.

“I’m going to talk about a new and fresh approach to old mechanics,” Burke said. “We’ve almost gone back to an old way of doing things — but I love to teach about building on solid techniques, but with a modern twist.”

“It’s the perfect conversation to have with seasoned veterans of the wedding trade, as well as those who are just entering the field,” she added.

In addition, 1-Day Profit Blast Kansas City participants who sign up for the extra “Hands-On Workshop: Bouquets & Bouts” will construct a loose hand-tied bouquet and hoop arrangement, and peel-and-stick boutonniere. Space is limited to 24 participants for Hands-On Workshop.

The SAF 1-Day Profit Blast in Kansas City lineup also includes:

  • “Eventology: The Science of Profitable Events” presented by Derrick Myers, CPA, CFP, PFCI, of Crockett, Myers & Associates, Inc.
  • “Extraordinary Service in Your Shop Every Day,” sponsored by FloristWare, and presented by Sam Bowles of FloralStrategies
  • “Digital Strategies that Drive Everyday Business,” sponsored by Floriology powered by BloomNet, and presented by Renato Cruz Sogueco, AAF, PFCI
  • Supplier Showcase with vendors of fresh product, hardgoods and technology
  • Continental breakfast and refreshments, and lunch sponsored by Hortica.

SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Kansas City offers a low registration fee ($139 for SAF members by July 12 and $99 for each additional registrant from the same company). The deadline for early-bird registration is July 12.

The cut-off date for guaranteeing the SAF room rate at the 1-Day Profit Blast hotel in Kansas City is June 27.

For details and to register, go to safnow.org/1-day-profit-blast.

Anne Holub is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.

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