Sarah Bagle, chief creative officer at Accent Decor; Trent Harshman, director of product and purchasing at Syndicate Sales; and Laura Walsh, director of marketing at Smithers-Oasis, will discuss how floral hard goods are conceptualized and manufactured during a session at Next Gen LIVE!
Hard goods, from vases to pots and even mechanics like foam and plastic pillows, play a big part in making beautiful arrangements — but how much do you really know about how they are conceptualized, designed and manufactured?
“As florists, I think we tend to get narrow-minded because we are the ones who work directly with the customer,” says Grace Winters, the lead wedding designer at George’s Flowers in Roanoke, Virginia. “We focus on getting product in and making the customer happy, and we often forget everything that is behind getting the product to us.”
Winters got a behind the scenes look at the floral supply chain when she attended the Society of American Florists’ Next Gen LIVE! event last year, which included a session on the life of a flower from breeder to distributor. “I learned so much, which allows me to share that knowledge with our customers — and our customers love learning new things,” she says.
Attendees of this year’s Next Gen LIVE!, happening June 11-13 in Miami, will have another opportunity to gain insight on a different part of the supply chain. A panel of professionals from the industry’s leading manufactures will describe the process of creating new products during the session, “From Conception to Customer: The Journey of Floral Hard Goods.” The session will detail how products are made — and how sustainability fits into that journey.
Production: Lengthy and Expensive
Whether a product is made domestically or overseas, the production timeline can be lengthy — and in some cases, it can take well over a year from conception to availability. During that time, the costs can really add up, says Laura Walsh, director of marketing at Smithers-Oasis, who is one of the panelists.
“People don’t really have an understanding on the cost to develop products — especially anything innovative or anything that requires a mold,” says Walsh. “And then, they often don’t think about the length of time it takes from the time you start developing until the time it actually ends up on your shelves or design bench.”
Worldwide Artisan Influence
Florists work hard to create the perfect arrangement, but what they may not know is that there may be another artisan before them working hard to craft the perfect product for floral designers to use.
“It’s important to know that a large majority of products are made by hand by artisans in regions of the world that have honed skill sets that lend themselves to the creation of these products,” says co-panelist Sarah Bagle, chief creative officer at Accent Decor. “For example, Poland specializes in large-scale mouth-blown glass, India specializes in cast aluminum and metal, and there is a region of Vietnam that is known for hand painting ceramics. It’s important to know the value of the products you are working with each day and that someone put time, attention, and love into creating them.”
Sustainability is Top of Mind
Sustainability is a huge concern for many industries, so it’s not surprising that floral manufacturers also make it part of their decision-making process when developing products. However, florists and consumers alike may not be aware of the role sustainability plays in manufacturing hard goods, and how it can impact pricing.
“We all need to find better ways to educate not only the retailers that utilize the product, but also the consumer who receives the product,” says co-panelist Trent Harshman, director of product and purchasing at Syndicate Sales. “ That is not always an easy task since there are multiple layers— manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to end consumer. As manufacturers and distributors, we are doing our best to control cost, but when it is more, the responsibility shifts to the retailer to also stand behind the sustainability efforts and pass the additional cost and tell the story.”
For more information about Next Gen LIVE! and to register, click here.
Kenya McCullum is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
