In-store arrangements give customers an example of your work and should accentuate your versatility as an artist. Displays that reflect the changing seasons in creative ways can also encourage impulsive, unplanned purchases and lead to a boost in revenue.

Due to their limited availability and the warm emotions seasonal items can inspire, they are a logical choice for creating updated displays designed to grab attention and get your customers in the mood to make purchases.

Principles of Designing Versatile In-Store Arrangements

The designs you create for in-store arrangements should be mid or economically priced. You can always add more, but you can’t always take elements away without compromising the design. Create adaptable arrangements that you can modify according to your client’s budget. You can easily add high-end flowers when working with a larger budget. For smaller budgets, use expensive blooms sparingly and mix them with inexpensive blooms.

Color is a great way to interpret the seasons. When creating an arrangement, start with color then you can select your flowers. Combine the different shapes and textures to create depth, balance and celebrate the beauty that nature inspires.

Let your creativity guide you. Be playful and experiment with shapes in flowers if they have a similar shade. You have the unique ability to shape the living world and impose order on what would otherwise be tangled, meandering wildflowers and greenery.

Having a good mix of containers including metal, ceramics, baskets and novelty containers is another way to make your arrangements change according to season. A container can add more depth to a simple arrangement or unbalance a very structured arrangement.

If you are strategic about the designs you create, there are always ways to adjust an arrangement. Our staff at Hardin's Wholesale in Liberty, NC can help you find the perfect accessories that will allow you to upgrade, update and upsell your designs.

Choose flowers and foliage that reflect the seasons. In this way, nature does know best. Your seasonal arrangements create interest, attract customers to your store and create a pleasant atmosphere to encourage purchasing.

Placement of Seasonal Displays

Seasonal arrangements and holiday items should be displayed at the front of the store within their season. Since they are only available during that season, these items are great for impulse buys. Also, placing seasonal arrangements in the front of the store will help sell these designs before the season ends without the need to mark down or discount the items.

Studies about shopper behavior show that the movement patterns of shoppers may mimic the driving patterns where they live. For instance, in countries like Australia, Japan and the UK, people drive on the left side of the road and explore stores in a clockwise direction, but consumers in right-side driving countries usually turn right when they enter a shop and proceed in a counterclockwise pattern.

The best way to know for sure is to watch the movements of your customers and set up your shop to maximize your sales. If you do see your customers walking through your shop in a pattern similar to how they would drive, park your seasonal merchandise in the front of the store to the right and display your seasonal in-store arrangements at the ends of aisles where they can be seen. Seasonal designs serve as a reminder that tis the season to buy something scary or merry, depending on which season is upon you.

Fall and Winter, What’s in Store

As the leaves change and the temperature drops, people are in the mood to celebrate the shift in season. Create your versatile in-store arrangements to inspire the feelings of excitement that the approaching holidays accompany.

For the fall, draw your inspiration from nature and interpret the season with color and material selection. Florals in unexpected, vivacious colors amid dark-hued foliage and berries placed in dark bamboo baskets or metallic containers can bring out the best of the season’s beauty.

Fall can also be a great time to make use of holiday-inspired containers like pumpkins. Dark blooms like dahlias and roses or vibrant chrysanthemums and sunflowers and other yellow, orange or brown colors look stunning when paired with a white or metallic pumpkin container. If you are designing with Halloween in mind, you need not sacrifice style. Stretch cobwebs across lively blooms and any other additional trinkets like spiders or eyeballs to go from fall to Halloween with no hassle.

Once fall steps aside for the cold months of winter, designs build upon bold colors to contrast with the season’s appearance or white to replicate the delicate, cold and tingly surroundings of winter.

For winter, wreaths and garlands get everyone in the spirit and can be made with berries and evergreens. For an updated take on red and green colors for Christmas, consider combining dahlias and roses with succulents and berries.

Poinsettias are the standard holiday flower. The bright red color certainly has become synonymous with Christmas, but for a trendier use of this classic plant, consider white poinsettias combined with other white flowers with smaller blooms. Some buds to consider are roses, hydrangeas, jasmine and similar flowers in various shades of white.

When it comes to adding texture to winter arrangements, consider red carnations for a long-lasting flower that adds dimension. Baby’s breath can be a gorgeous filler and can even create a stunning winter display on its own.

Tastes Vary, Design Accordingly

Preferences for designs and certain flowers vary. Each person develops tastes based upon experiences, influences, culture and environment, among other things. It is important to keep this in mind when designing in-store displays.

Create displays that accentuate your flexibility. Don’t limit your designs to what you find appealing. Every customer is different, so your designs should celebrate that diversity.

Don’t recreate the recipe to suit different generations. Instead, recreate the style to fit your customer’s preference. To keep your store stocked and ready for any design request, choose a mix of fresh and permanent botanicals, and don’t forget the plants. Plants are trendy and useful for many designs. You can always clip pieces or sections from potted plants, wandering vines and flowering branches or trees to add texture to your arrangements.

How to Buy

When visiting our wholesalers to consider new or updated display and cooler props, consider buying in bulk. This will help you save money and give you more options for displaying multiple versions of in-store designs.

Along with buying in bulk, you can take advantage of discounts and closeouts. Remember that seasonal products change and are normally available a season ahead. By staying ahead of these seasonal shifts and selecting corresponding products early, you can be a trendsetter instead of a trend follower.

By changing and updating the arrangements in your store, you add visual interest. Combining newer, strategically placed in-store arrangements with the right atmosphere to coincide with the season can encourage shoppers to return to your shop and perhaps even impulsively buy something to celebrate the season with style.

Styles for homecoming flowers vary greatly depending on location. In some areas, the old traditions of homecoming are celebrated with as much enthusiasm as prom. In other places, homecoming is less formal, and traditions have been modified, repurposed or changed entirely.

Occurring sometime in September or October, homecoming presents a special opportunity to increase your sales and extend your reach beyond your usual audience. If you can secure a following of young people with your homecoming designs, this can also lead to a very profitable prom season and a loyal customer base as these young people transition to adulthood.

Petals That Persevere

No matter where you are located, if you want your customer’s homecoming to be a blast, the flowers have to last. When creating homecoming florals with fresh floral products, longevity without a water source is essential.

According to Jackie Lacey, AAF, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, “Any floral product used for homecoming needs to be able to hold up for a couple of days with no water source.”

Keep homecoming looks fresh by using one of the many anti-transpirants that are available. Remember that there are differences between anti-transpirants. Some are more of a sealant and seal moisture in while others slow the moisture yet still allow some moisture to escape.

Anti-transpirants should be sprayed after your creation is complete, and no matter what type of anti-transpirant you decide to use, let it dry completely before refrigerating.

For popular and long-lived florals, chrysanthemums, roses, orchids and alstroemeria are all versatile flowers that can withstand the festivities.

Chrysanthemums

The star of homecoming florals is the chrysanthemum. These large, bright flowers are one of the most rugged and vigorous of all cut flowers, and this makes them perfect for homecoming. In the United States, the chrysanthemum is the largest commercially produced flower due to its ease of cultivation, ability to bloom on schedule, variety of colors and longevity.

Roses

Roses are a traditional favorite for corsages, bouquets and more with good reason. Roses have a soft, lovely fragrance and a sophisticated, recognizable appearance. The buds open slowly, and if they are cared for properly, roses are very long-lasting flowers.

Orchids

Elegant and exotic, orchids put a more unique twist on classic homecoming flowers and are another durable option. They maintain their fresh, elegant appearance when cut and can even withstand being out of water for the entire evening.

Alstroemeria

Available in a variety of colors, Alstroemeria sometimes features bright petals with contrasting colors or even little flecks. It is prized by florists for its beauty, versatility and endurance. Once picked, it can last a good two weeks in water and can withstand the demands of homecoming out of water.

It must be mentioned that Alstroemeria should be handled with gloves as a precaution. It can cause an allergic reaction with skin contact.

Creation by Location

Much in the way clothing and hairstyles differ in different locations, homecoming looks are influenced by location.

The Best for Texas and the Midwest

In Texas and some Midwest states, the phrase, “Go big or go home,” is an understatement when it comes to homecoming designs. In Texas, homecoming corsages are known as Mums, and the size and complexity of these designs can be so great that some schools place restrictions on them to avoid distractions. Some mums even incorporate cowbells, so the distraction is not only visual.

Texas corsages or homecoming mums are fun and personal. Mums began as a single fresh chrysanthemum that evolved to become much elaborate. Prices for these designs vary according to style and location, but personalization can greatly increase profit when it comes to these designs.

When it comes to mums, if a girl is popular, she may accumulate many mums. The boys are given homecoming garters that are smaller versions of the girls’ mums, often with the same trinkets and are designed on an elastic wedding garter to be worn on the young man’s arm.

To design homecoming mums, stock up on an assortment of ribbon, flowers, permanent botanicals, charms and trinkets. If you desire making grand, show-stopping mums, you can also carry plush animals.

To Appreciate a Southern State

Southern homecoming style typically is football-themed and favors carnations. The flowers can be sprayed with floral spray to match school colors.

The Best for the Northeast, Northwest and Southwest

In these areas, more contemporary options are requested. To achieve a contemporary style, it is important to note that this is a clean and sometimes architectural style that usually requires more advanced techniques with a special focus on trends. As a result, it is a good idea to include today’s trends when advertising for homecoming in these regions. To keep up with the trends, design scepters and floral hair accessories. Roses can be used for big displays.

Toast of the West Coast

On the west coast, there is a more easy-going approach that leans to bohemian styles and more natural blooms. For a creation that is a bohemian rhapsody, create a piece that is eclectic and not as structured as the other styles with a bounty of blooms and other floral products.

Don’t Think Twice Floral Advice

When designing for homecoming, focus on schools in your area. Always have those school colors available in flowers, accessories and trinkets. Add-ons like plastic footballs, megaphones, team mascot charms and even mini stuffed animals help personalize your homecoming creations.

No matter what your needs may be, our staff at Hardin's Wholesale Florist, Inc. in Liberty, NC is here to meet your homecoming needs.

There are a few considerations regarding homecoming designs. With larger, more elaborate designs, transporting them can be difficult, and certain schools may have restrictions. Also, in some places, homecoming is no longer as popular as it once was, and some schools have canceled dances due to lack of interest. It is worthwhile to research local schools because schools that have canceled the dances will not be profitable to target for homecoming advertisements, but for some schools, homecoming is a miniature prom with plenty of opportunity for profit.

For those in areas where homecoming is still celebrated, these festivities can give you a glimpse of styles that are popular to forecast trends for prom. To reach potential customers in the younger population, social media is a great way to get your looks seen without spending a fortune on advertising.

A great way to get your looks viewed on social media is to offer a discount to young people if they tag you on social media. Encouraging liking/following on Instagram and Facebook is worth the discount for the potential advertising reach, especially if you get an influential young person to do this for you.

For those wearing homecoming florals, the party will be more of a blast if the florals last. By using either permanent botanicals or florals known for their longevity combined with anti-transpirants, your homecoming design can become part of a memorable evening that has the potential to be viewed and appreciated on social media long after the dance has ended.

A lot has changed when it comes to Halloween-inspired design techniques. The goal is to be more fun and less creepy. However, the biggest change isn’t found in the design itself, rather the audience you will be designing for.

What once was a holiday based on traveling from house to house, collecting candy and dressing up to the fullest extent of your parent’s wallet has now turned into more of an adult holiday. Sure, the traditions remain relatively consistent. However, adults have adopted their own Halloween traditions.

Florists are given a more fun than frightful platform to base their Halloween designs off. Our consumers seem to have a natural tendency to be drawn to fall design with a little fun and fright thrown in, which is great for us. Today’s Halloween-inspired design style is easily traditioned into fall months, so stocking up on these products will prove beneficial as nothing should go to waste.

Essential Containers

While the new Halloween design style is important, the container you choose for your Halloween designs can be just as, if not more, important.

Work with the rising trends. Pumpkins and sugar skull containers are gaining popularity for more personalized designs. This remains a bonus for their easy transition into your fall designs. There is no worry when it comes to overstock. Pumpkins, sugar skulls and fall colored containers are versatile options that last beyond Halloween and into the fall season.

Solid, fall-colored containers offer a plain (festive) platform, so adding the creepy and crawly accents is easy and less limited to a certain design. Halloween flower arrangements have a longer demand when designed to fit the season overall. These container choices help transition the flower arrangements in your shop. You can take out the “spooky” accessories like creepy crawlies and add in a few extra fall colored ribbons to give your Halloween arrangements in the cooler a second chance at finding a home.

Floral and Supply Options

You can never go wrong with staying stocked up on your traditional fall-colored florals. Sunflowers and orange and red roses will remain relevant and popular options. They can easily be manipulated to fit the spookier designs or stay simple for a fall arrangement.

Accent pieces are going to be what truly sways your designs in the direction you want them to go. Cattails and dried products are going to add in its own unique flair to Halloween-inspired designs. They remain consistently popular. If you are handy with wirework, let the creative juices flow and add a personal touch that only you can as a designer. Our variety of wire color options help give you that option. Whether it is the rustic wire options or the traditional fall wire shades, wire can really elevate a design when used properly. You can even incorporate a fun critter of out of it.

Many of today’s Halloween-styled design techniques are incorporating cobwebs and sticks. These prove appropriate Halloween accents for their creepy and dreary feel. With adults throwing more and more Halloween parties, they have become a florist’s audience for designs. With that being said, Halloween flower designs are in high demand. They are requested as décor or as hostess gifts. Among the more popular choices for accents are comical bugs, spiders and bats. They are fun with just a tad frightful thrown in.

Among these essential accents for your Halloween design are pods, berries and sponge mushrooms. They work great for this design inspiration, but they also lend well to holiday design style. The products florists use for Halloween-inspired design haven’t changed much. What has changed is how they are used. More of this and less of that- every design is going to be personalized to the audience it is for. Just as millennials often prefer a more minimalistic, green design, our modern-day Halloween designs should reflect that fun party look.

It is important to consider these accessories along with your flower and container choices to ensure you are getting the most bang for your buck, but don’t stop there. There are some important must-haves for the Halloween design season.

MUST Haves

It is time to get creative. Halloween and fall are the jumpstart to the roller coaster that is known as holiday designing. Halloween is the holiday for creativity. With that creativity comes costumes and characters. Manipulate what is given to us in nature by adding color and texture. Tints and sprays give us a platform for creative license. This makes them essential for Halloween design styles. They open the door for florists to design freely and create the vision they aspire to.

Design Master Colortool Paints and Sprays are a main tool for a florist to keep on hand. Stay stocked for any occasion and every holiday. They are offered in a variety of different colors opening the door for design expansion. These tools allow you to stay festive and work with the product you have. Sometimes it is exactly what a designer needs to finish off a design, allowing you to go where flowers may limit.

Along with the Design Master paints and sprays are Smithers Oasis accessories and products. As always, Midnight Floral Foam is a dark option for any design and a go-to product for those Halloween design styles. This, along with various other floral foams, are created to work with you, so the design you picture in your head can become a reality.

If you are looking to incorporate candles into your Halloween designs, Smithers Oasis Candle Stake options can be incorporated. Candles exude an ambiance. This ambiance is relevant to Halloween as a whole. For the dark and spookier Halloween parties, candles may be the exact thing your customer needs to set the mood for the night.

Popular Choices

Think outside of the box of products you just opened in your shop. Tis’ the season for creative thinking. In addition to the traditional Halloween arrangement (that is cute and spooky) for those adult Halloween parties are the arrangements requested from that stay-at-home mom looking to accent her door or her kitchen table. Fill a pumpkin with flowers for a fun look she’ll love. It is important to meet the floral needs of our consumers, so they don’t turn to shopping at their local big box stores. A florist’s job is to offer something unique that can’t just be picked up anywhere.

We offer Smithers Oasis products that create a base for those Halloween styled wreaths or accessories for your standard designs. It is important to recognize the audience you are designing for all year round. The Halloween season is no exception.

As a florist, it is important to be flexible and work with what we have but stay stocked with what is needed and popular. Having versatile products and accessories in stock keeps your shop better prepared and ready for whatever the season’s floral design trends bring. Our wholesalers at Hardin's Wholesale Florist, Inc. in Liberty, NC are here to help you stay relevant and trendy for your audience when it comes to Halloween-inspired design techniques.

The wedding arch is not only a focal point of the ceremony. The arch represents the home and family that the couple will build together. If a couple has big dreams of an altar for the big day, we have some new ideas for this old tradition.

Popular Arch Mechanics

Regardless of what style of archway is chosen, the choice should be given plenty of thought. One thing to remember is that larger, grandiose archways often can’t be moved, so the location of the archway is also incredibly important.

To avoid having an archway with only the one use, use a simple archway and make sure your floral mechanics are secure. Some archways can be moved and repurposed to massage the couple’s budget.

Consider a simple arch that can be used for the ceremony then moved for the reception. It could be placed by the cake or even by the bride and groom table as a stunning photo op.

Most archways must be bolted or screwed together, and many have multiple pieces. If the intent is to reuse the archway in several different locations both for the ceremony and reception, you may have to relocate multiple pieces.

When designing your arch, concentrate on florals that either hold up well with no water source or use Oasis products.

When selecting florals, orchids can give you a lot of bang for your buck. Roses are always a popular selection. Hydrangeas, when tubed or in a water source are a great fan favorite.

Ribbons, crystals, pearls and other accessories can add drama and texture.

Ideas on Arches

For some ideas, we spoke to Jackie Lacey, AAF, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, the newly elected National President of American Institute of Floral Designers.

For the bride with a smaller budget whose heart is set on an arch, Lacey said that two potted Areca palms can be bound together with string or ribbon and even be accented with pearls to create a dramatic arch.

These palms can reach heights of 15 to 20 feet. You may be able to rent them from a local plant rental or your favorite big box home improvement store.

For an intermediate budget, you can create an arch by using tall glass cylinders with curly willow. Curly willow, called such for the loosely curling shape of the branches, can grow to 9 feet tall. This arch can be created the same way as the Areca palms arch with its branches bound together at the top, or a wooden dowel can be used to have the branches horizontally stretched over the top in more of a rectangular shape.

To expand on the idea above, flowers can be placed in the cylinders with the curly willow. Hydrangeas and orchids can be used in this situation because they will be in a water source. Streamers of wired orchid blooms or Wisteria flowers can be suspended overhead for a breathtaking, romantic archway leading to forever.

It All Depends on Trends

Dangling delicate flowers from overhead can turn your archway into a fairytale. The trailing stems of Devil’s Ivy carry heart-shaped leaves with tiny splashes of gold that can accentuate metallics, which are popular.

If you would like a more structured arch, a pergola can form the foundation of the arch, and they are available in a variety of materials, designs and finishes including bamboo and cedar.

Adding lush greens to an arch lends a bohemian appeal. Having greenery on hand for times when you need more options for texture is a good idea, and foliage is more long-lasting than florals.

A new trend that gives more options for texture without having to go green is the amazing Japanese Bleached Fern.

Infusing an archway with textured grasses like pampas, wheat and proteas adds interest. Grasses are chic, unfussy, ecofriendly and capable of elevating the scene and adding depth and interest. Overflowing greenery arches create a gorgeous frame for the big moment.

Loose, organic florals have been popular for quite some time, but now, there is a minimalist approach to petals. Dripping, linear designs allow you to stretch the florals and the budget as they will take up as much space but with less density.

Speaking of minimalism, minimalistic designs and eco-friendliness are top trends. Combining the two ideas by using wedding greenery and a white arch can create an atmosphere of elegance. Joining the elements of eggshell or alabaster white with forest or fern green is a stylish way to make the most of this trend.

Framing

Acrylic arches are a trend that is surprisingly versatile. Paired with fluffy florals, an acrylic arch has a romantic appeal while it can also go glam with metallic details, and paired with wood accents and simple neutral florals, acrylic can even look minimalist and Scandinavian.

If you aren’t using trees, branches or palms as the structure of the arch, the frame can be as simple or elaborate as you need when you consider your florals, the greenery and whether you will be draping any fabric and the shape you hope to achieve.

A simple wooden frame for an arch can come in the shape of a rectangle, circle or even a hexagon, which will influence the placement as well as the design of the florals. Incorporating grasses into a circular arch can bulk it up and make the most of the shape.

Rectangular shapes are where you can make the most of suspending flowers overhead, especially if you are creating a romantic style with more delicate blooms and colors.

Fluffy florals dripping with hydrangeas create the backdrop for a lush and lavish oasis of beautifully blush-colored blooms, regardless of whether your wedding is taking place.

Focusing on Fabrics

When using fabrics, this year has shown a resurgence toward vibrant colors. Bold color selections range from brooding and introspective colors like burgundy and emerald green to cheerful hues like coral and yellow. The latest approach to picking wedding colors shows the interesting possibilities when using various shades of one color.

Fabrics are also more luxurious and less airy and gauzy. Non-traditional fabrics like velvet and cashmere add richness and more dimension.

Whether designing for an outdoor wedding surrounded by greenery or a blank slate indoor warehouse-style wedding, the arch is a way to either expand on natural elements or incorporate nature into a very urban environment.

Creating a dream arch requires collaboration with your client on both the vision and the budget. Although many couples look to Pinterest for inspiration, it is also important to convey to your client that creating an arch with personal meaning is more important than trying to replicate a trend.

No matter what your needs may be, our staff at Hardin's Wholesale Florist, Inc. in Liberty, NC are here with the products you’ll need to make the dream arch a reality.