British Florist Association

🔊 Get Ready for a Special Christmas Bloom Room!

On Monday November 11th, join us for this month’s Bloom Room where Ronald van den Burg from Florismartdirect will be sharing expert tips and insider insights on buying online—just in time for the busy Christmas season!

Whether you’re planning your festive inventory or want advice on navigating online purchasing with confidence, Ronald will cover key strategies and practical advice to make your Christmas buying a breeze. With Christmas being one of the busiest times for florists, this session is packed with timely tips to help you shop smart and stay ahead of the holiday rush.

Plus, there’s lots of opportunities to ask Ronald your own questions to maximise your Christmas buying game!

🗓️ When: November 11th at 7pm via Zoom
⭐ BFA/IPF Members only
🔗 Registration details will be landing in inboxes soon!

📸 With the busiest time of year upon us, eye-catching photography can help you stand out 📸

Here are six top tips to make your festive images shine this Christmas:

1️⃣ Have a Strategy – Start with your marketing plan to make sure you’re capturing exactly what images you need. You will be more efficient with your time AND your marketing will be more effective as a result.

2️⃣ Plan Ahead – List where you'll use each shot so you’re not scrambling later! Different platforms need different dimensions, so a little prep goes a long way.

3️⃣ Capture Freshness – Snap photos when arrangements are just made. Show off details, unique angles, and maybe a florist in action!

4️⃣ Perfect with Props – Use pinecones, baubles, and ribbons to add seasonal charm and evoke the festive spirit.

5️⃣ Mind Your Background - Whether it’s in-store or a cosy home setting, a well-chosen backdrop sets the mood and reinforces your brand.

6️⃣ Stay Consistent - Stick to one style to create a cohesive look across your social feed. It’s like giving your brand a recognisable ‘signature.’

Tell us - what’s your go-to photography prop for the season? 👇

Running a floristry business is nonstop, especially in the run-up to Christmas, and sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day - or night!

But getting good sleep isn’t just a luxury; it’s essential for managing stress and staying at your best. Poor sleep can amplify feelings of stress, making it harder to handle daily challenges and keep a clear mind in the busiest season.

Our partner, Perennial - Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society, has a free Health & Wellbeing app packed with helpful resources to promote better sleep and reduce stress. In the app, you’ll find calming audio, meditations to help you unwind, and soothing sound baths to settle you back to sleep if you wake in the night.

This Stress Awareness Day, why not take a moment to explore Perennial’s app and see if these tools can help you find a little more rest and resilience? Discover more here https://perennial.org.uk/ways-we-help/your-health/health-wellbeing-app/

How many hours of sleep did you get last night?? 👇

BFA Chair Nikki and Vice Chair Kate are on an exciting trip to Holland, where they’ll be visiting not one, but two key events for the floriculture industry: the International Floriculture Trade Fair (IFTF) and Trade Fair Aalsmeer at Royal FloraHolland.

Over the next 4 days, they’ll be immersing themselves in the heart of floriculture, connecting with international industry leaders, making new contacts and exploring the latest innovations in flower cultivation and trade.

A key highlight of the trip will be meeting with International Florist Organisation FLORINT.ORG to discuss preparations for the World Cup and visiting the venue. They'll also be teaming up with UK Florist of the Year, Joseph Massie, and sponsors Florismartdirect.

It’s a busy few days filled with valuable insights and connections, all to support and strengthen our industry back home!

Stay tuned over on Stories for updates as Nikki and Kate bring back insights and inspiration from the global stage of floral excellence and behind the scenes action from the World Cup.

Did you know...

If you're a BFA or IPF member then you have access to a host of useful documents for you and your floristry business in the Members' Area.

From guides like Revamp & Bloom: A 12-Month Journey to Transform Your Flower Shop to essential tools like Industry Standard Rates of Pay, GDPR Advice, and a Harmful Plants Policy, there’s a wealth of information ready to support you and your floristry business.

Plus, the Resources section is packed with exclusive member discounts and offers you won’t want to miss!

Simply go to the website, click on Members' Area and log in to access all the good stuff!

Have you taken a look yet? 👀 > https://britishfloristassociation.org/members-area/

🌸 Did you get your bumper edition of the BFA magazine last month? 🌸

Our Editor, Emma, had the chance to interview master florist Björn Kroner-Salié whose career in floral design has taken him across the globe, winning awards and creating breath-taking designs along the way. From his early days as an apprentice to his recent ventures in international competitions, book-writing, and TV, Björn has gathered a wealth of experience that he shared with us!

Björn describes his style as airy and playful, with flowers that seem to “fly.” His work spans every season, and he draws inspiration from the natural rhythms of tulips, dahlias, garden roses, and more.

His advice for budding florists? “Find your unique style, explore the world, and enjoy every moment in this inspiring industry.”

If you'd love to read more then BFA Members get their copy for free, but you can also subscribe for £23 per year via the Shop on our website.

You're already out there promoting your Christmas workshops and, in a blink of an eye, you'll be prepping your pre-orders!

So, whilst you're turning your attention to your festive promotion we're saving you a job by sharing our top picks for Instagram's 2024 Christmas hashtags!

We understand that promoting wreath workshops or sorting your website may be a higher priority right now, but we’re here to remind you not to forget them if you use Instagram. Hashtags are a useful tool to help ensure that your social content is being found beyond the audience already following you.

Here's some of the best general ones to support your social media activity over the coming weeks.

We also recommend using location hashtags, relevant to your local area and product specific hashtags relevant to what you're sharing such as . When selecting hashtags choose a mix of high (popular), medium and lesser-used hashtags to ensure you aren’t being drowned by the HUGE amount of festive retail noise.

These are our recommendations, but please share and comment below 👇 with any others that have worked for you and could be helpful to other florists.

Today is which sparked a conversation about how values influence your work and how you present yourself and your business or organisation to the outside world. In a marketplace that is increasingly noisy and crowded, values can be the thing that makes you stand out from the crowd.

Here at the BFA we have five key values that underpin everything we do as your trade association:

💐 CHAMPION – we advocate for all our members and champion the floral industry at every opportunity.

💐 EXPERIENCED – we each have a wealth of florist industry experience and bring this insight to help our members manage the challenges of our sector.

💐 KNOWLEDGEABLE – we are passionate about keeping our members informed and updated in order to benefit their business.

💐 RELEVANT – we're on top of the ever-changing developments within floristry to ensure that we’re at the forefront of our industry.

💐 SUPPORTIVE – we're always here to provide advice, resources, contacts and much more to support you and your team within your floral business.

How about you? What makes you tick and helps you to mark your business out from the rest?

If the BFA values resonate with you and you would like to know more about becoming a member, head to our website https://britishfloristassociation.org/member-benefits/

🌟 October Corporate Spotlight: Floralbox Packaging 🌟

This month, we’re thrilled to feature Floral Box, a long-standing corporate member with a passion for helping florists enrich their business with stunning and practical packaging solutions.

From high-quality flower boxes and vases to elegant wraps and accessories, Floral Box offers everything you need to present your arrangements beautifully.

But what really sets Floral Box apart? Their commitment to sustainable innovation in the floristry industry. They’ve developed a range of eco-friendly options designed with both aesthetics and the environment in mind. Their biodegradable flower boxes and recyclable materials allow you to create memorable floral experiences while reducing your environmental impact - a win-win for florists and nature alike. 🌍

Floral Box also understands that running a floral business can be demanding, which is why they focus on products that combine durability, quality, and elegance. Whether it’s a special event, everyday bouquets, or high-volume orders, their products help florists deliver beauty with confidence.

💰 And don’t forget - BFA members enjoy exclusive discounts on Floral Box products! Head to the Members Area for the latest discount code 💰

👉 Follow Floralbox Packaging for updates, inspiration, and the latest in packaging!

We know it’s only October...but now’s the perfect time to start planning your Christmas marketing! 🎄

And, with time ticking, AI platforms like ChatGPT, can be a great launch pad to spark ideas and help you create a streamlined plan for the coming months that’ll get you one step ahead!

From a blog post plan and social media content calendar to email strategies and festive marketing hooks, AI can make Christmas prep simpler and fun. Take a peek at our carousel to get started with prompts designed for you.

✨ Start planning now and you'll thank yourself come November!

We'd love to know if you use AI and any recommendations you might have for other florists - share your successes 👇

What did you LOVE most and what could we IMPROVE on?

There was sooooo much to see and do at FleurEx this year:

👉 The Exhibition Hall
👉 The Flower Lab
👉 Masterclasses
👉 Demonstrations
👉 Learning with the Drop-In sessions
👉 The Competitions
👉 UK Florist of the Year
👉 The BFA Awards!
👉 Meeting your fellow florists, suppliers and partners

We’ve loved hearing some of your positive feedback so far, but we know there’s always room to grow! 🌱 Your ideas and insights are invaluable, and they’ll help us make future events even more inspiring, engaging, and memorable.

PLEASE take a few minutes to fill out our survey > https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KFGS7V3

Take the Time to Talk

Talking about what’s going on in our day-to-day lives and how we’re feeling can help us cope better with life’s ups and downs. This is not only true with friends and family, but it’s just as important with the
people we work with.

So why not take 5 minutes to check in with those around you today? You never know, simply asking ‘How are you?’ might just make all the difference.

Here are some tips from our Industry Partner Perennial - Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society to help get the conversation started:

🍵 Tea & Talk
Sometimes simply offering a cuppa and having a catch-up chat can work wonders, whether it’s one-on-one or you make it more of an event in your workplace.

🗨️ Don’t just ask once - ask twice
Don’t take ‘I’m fine’ for an answer. Asking ‘How are you?’ a second time shows you’re genuinely interested and can encourage people to open up.

💬 Choose specific topics
Ask about things like, ‘How’s the family?’ or ‘How’s work going?’ Sometimes, starting with specific questions makes it easier for someone to share.

🤔 Don’t worry about getting it wrong
You don’t have to have all the answers. Just showing you care is a wonderful first step.

If you or a colleague would benefit from further support, visit: https://perennial.org.uk/ways-we-help/your-health/mental-health/

Meet Donna, our Retail Director ✨

Donna joined the BFA Board a year ago, but many of you will know her as the face behind award winning florist shop Flowers by Donna Cornish (yep, she won UK Retail Florist Shop of the Year twice in a row!) and you may have even met her at FleurEx last month as she brought us 🌸 The Flower Lab 🌸 an interactive demo area which was a hit among attendees!

Donna loves a challenge and bringing fresh ideas to our floristry world! With a career that started at just 15 in a local florist shop, her passion for flowers has only grown.

Her vision for the industry? A united community, where retail, event, studio, and wedding florists work together to make floristry accessible and stronger for all. 💪

When Donna isn’t at the shop or championing new initiatives, she’s enjoying family time ❤️

👉 Did you join in with The Flower Lab this year? Tell Donna what you thought in the comments below 👇

Exciting news! The UK Floristry Judges Guild held a summer-themed photographic competition, and the medal winners have just been announced!

Including Rachel Kennedy who secured Best Overall Design and Silver-Gilt award!

Head over to the Top Stories on our website 👇 to check out the stunning winning designs and celebrate the incredible talent of all the competitors.

Congratulations to everyone involved! 🎉🌷

https://britishfloristassociation.org/for-the-industry/uk-floristry-judges-guild-photographic-competition-lazy-days-of-summer/

Our Volunteers 👏

They’re the heartbeat of our events, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary and infusing it with energy and floral magic! 🌸✨

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who dedicated their time to FleurEx and this year’s BFA Awards.

If you’re interested in helping us with future BFA events, we’d love to hear from you! 💖

Email Kathryn [email protected]

Drum roll please! 🥁

Meet your FleurEx 2024 Competition winners! 🥇

Floral Collar - Abby McGuire - sponsored by UK Floristry Judges Guild
Column - Abby McGuire - sponsored by Howden Insurance
Funeral - Tina Parkes - sponsored by Direct2florist
Student - Megan Deakin - sponsored by The Floristry School, Sheffield

A special mention to Tina who also secured the Jimmy Nuttall Cup for Innovation because of her excellent workmanship and innovative design.

Huge kudos to everyone that entered this ‘bring ready-made’ competition, the judges were blown away by the remarkable standard of work on display. So a totally deserving 👏👏 to those that secured first place. What an achievement! 🌟

Scroll to see each category ➡️ and read more via the link below: https://britishfloristassociation.org/for-the-industry/fleurex-2024-sunday-competition-entries-and-winners/

🥇Meet your winners! 🥇

Retail Florist of the Year - Flowers by Karen Kilmarnock
Wedding/Event Florist of the Year - C Taylor's Floristry
Local Flower Wholesaler of the Year - Westflor UK Ltd
Flower Supplier of the Year - Florismartdirect
Sundries Supplier of the Year - OASIS® Floral Products (UK)
Floristry Servicer Provider of the Year - Direct2florist
Grower of the Year - Crosslands Flower Nursery
Floristry Training Provider of the Year - Bicton College
Floristry Tutor of the Year - Abby McGuire The Floristry School, Sheffield
IPF Floristry Student of the Year - Oliver Low

Educational awards:
Jane Sked-Connop - Floristry at Moreton Morrell College
Catherine Burn - Floristry at Moreton Morrell College
Kirsty Noble - The Floristry School, Sheffield
Hannah Beckley - Floristry at Moreton Morrell College
Alexandra Bolton - Floristry at Moreton Morrell College

The bar was set higher than ever, making it a real challenge for the judges, but surely leaving the winners feeling immensely proud.

WELL DONE! 👏👏👏

https://britishfloristassociation.org/for-the-industry/bfa-industry-awards-2024-the-winners/