Laura Daluga, AIFD, Department of Floristry
The Society of American Florists has tapped Laura Daluga, AIFD, to headline SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Philadelphia on Saturday, March 25.
A fourth generation florist, Daluga grew up in her parent’s flower shop and honed her design style for 10 years in the highly competitive Chicago event market before opening the Department of Floristry in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She specializes in one-off special events and corporate designs, floral sculpture and fleur couture (clothing made of flowers).
SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Philadelphia, underwritten by DVFlora, offers a low registration fee of $139 early-bird for members and $99 for each additional registrant from the same company. The event packs design, sales, technology and management education along with a Supplier Showcase into its 8-hour program.
During “Exceeding the Design Demands of Today’s Gift Givers,” Daluga will showcase five key consumer movements: sustainable design, co-creation, “made for me,” fighting for a cause and subscription-based products. Sponsored by Smithers-Oasis, Daluga will show attendees specific ways to design and promote sustainable floral arrangements, embrace the DYO (design your own) movement, interpret personal style in designs, attract millennials through cause-based design and much more.
Inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers in 2015, Daluga has coordinated the Art of Floral Exhibit at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, designed at the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Art In Bloom show and the fleur couture runway show Fleurotica at Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory, and won People’s Choice in the Iron Designers Americas Competition at the 2016 International Floral Expo.
A hallmark of SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blasts is designs presented by a top-notch floral designer. Cyleste Mackey of Fassler Florist Floral & Event Designers in Fort Wright, Kentucky, gets a closer look at designs created at one of the events last year.
“We are excited to have this rising industry star share her expertise and signature sculptural design style with our Profit Blast attendees,” said Kate Penn, SAF’s Chief Content and Publishing Officer.
In addition to Dalugua’s design presentation, SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Philadelphia includes programs covering technology, sales and money management:
- “ABCs of Social Media Advertising” by Crystal Vilkaitis, owner of Crystal Media and one of Floral Management’s newest monthly contributors.
- “Build the Perfect Sales Script” by Tim Huckabee, president of FloralStrategies, LLC
- “Treasure Hunt: Finding Your Hidden Profits”by Derrick Myers, CPA, CFP, PFCI, president of Crockett, Myers & Associates, Inc.
Attendees also will have opportunities to network and peruse the Supplier Showcase, where floral industry vendors share their newest products. SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Philadelphia is underwritten by DVFlora.
The cut-off date for guaranteeing the SAF room rate at the Profit Blast hotel is Feb. 20. Early registration ends March 8, and saves you $60. For details and to register, visit safnow.org/1-day–profit–blast.
Save the Date: Another SAF 1-Day Profit Blast, underwritten by Jacobson Floral Supply, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23 in Boston.