Give carnations a modern look with a few design techniques. Create Valentine’s Day arrangements with high impact and minimal product. Use AI to identify which products deserve a more prominent spot on your website.
The Society of American Florists’ 1-Day Profit Blast Dec. 6 at National Floral Supply in Milford, Connecticut, combines three design programs with two business sessions to help retailers get more value from their flowers, staff time and business information. Attendees will learn practical ways to protect profit margins, deliver designs customers want and make better purchasing and merchandising decisions — with ideas they can put to work as soon as they return to their shops.
The event, sponsored by National Floral Supply and Flower Shop Network, also includes lunch, time for networking and a supplier showcase where attendees can explore products and services.
Give Everyday Flowers More Selling Power
Familiar flowers such as carnations, alstroemeria and chrysanthemums can deliver fresh style and strong value. Theresa Colucci, AIFD, PFCI, of Meadowscent in Gardiner, New York, will demonstrate how in “Everyday Blooms, Extraordinary Profits.”
Attendees will see techniques for adding perceived value without substantially increasing material costs, including using line, decorative touches and one-sided arrangements to make flowers go further. Colucci will also connect design decisions to pricing that accounts for each shop’s expenses.
Put Your Numbers to Work
Molly Meulenbroek of Studley’s Flower Garden in Rochester, New Hampshire, will demonstrate how to use AI to turn business data into practical decisions in “From Hunch to Action.” By combining sales reports with website data, she identified tracking issues and moved popular products into more prominent positions online.
“It didn’t feel like I was quite getting the full picture until I put them all together,” she says.
Attendees will learn how to start with one question and one report, then add data to uncover opportunities to improve merchandising, marketing and purchasing — without advanced Excel or AI skills.
Create High-Impact Valentine’s Day Designs
Floral designer and educator Patience Pickner, AIFD, PFCI, SDCF, will demonstrate time-saving techniques for creating arrangements with high impact and minimal product in “Fast, Profitable — and Sustainable — Valentine’s Day Designs.”
Attendees will learn how to design with the latest foundation media and use earth-friendly materials to create profitable holiday offerings. Pickner will also share ways to reduce waste and offer multiple price points, helping retailers balance customer appeal with labor and material costs.
Plan for Profit and Cash Needs
Certified public accountant Derrick Myers, PFCI, of Crockett, Myers & Associates, will explain how to manage expenses and plan ahead in “Controlling COGS and Forecasting Sales and Cash Flow.” Retailers will learn ways to control cost of goods sold, project sales and anticipate cash shortages, giving them more time to adjust purchasing and other business plans.
Buy Into Trends with Intention
In “Trends: On Brand,” floral designer and educator Kelsey Thompson, AIFD, PFCI, will explore color palettes for 2027 and 2028, emerging design styles and products that help bring those looks to life. Attendees will learn how to translate trends into purchasing, design and merchandising decisions that support sales.
Her approach emphasizes flexibility: Recipes that accommodate substitutions and purchases that work beyond a single look can help retailers respond to trends while managing inventory risk.
Learn more and register here.
Amanda Jedlinsky is the senior director of content and communications for the Society of American Florists.
