How to stand out in a crowded flower market & bouquet design with Youtuber @FloristsonFarms

I sat down with Marie aka ‪@floristsonfarms‬ for a chat. We talk a bit about Marie's background, having grown up in the floral industry and how she ended up as a farmer florist. More importantly, she shares how her design skills help set her apart from a highly competitive floral market where floral prices can reach rock bottom.
3:50: Changes in the commercial floral industry over the past few decades
10:50: Transition from florist to farmer-florist
13:30: Marie's sales outlets/sales model
18:30: Standing out in a crowded floral market through elevated design
21:18: Logistics of how Marie takes orders/customizations/etc
31:08: Becoming a KZbinr!
38:00: Mistakes made in year 1 as a farmer florist
42:43: How important is filler (for a farmer florist)?
44:18: Perceived value & the role of filler
45:46: Growing simplistically by growing fewer colors
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[@lindasowash7054]

Jesse honestly you have the best videos. I was so happy to see this video. I find the designing part of floristry very exciting so to see this is another great learning tool for me. Thanks.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thanks Linda, I appreciate this comment. I was a bit over the place with questions and wish I spent a bit more on design but I think Marie and I may be doing this again in the future 🙂

[@LisaMonique]

I was excited to see Marie on your podcast, she’s one of my favorite KZbinrs ❤

[@lovebelieveachieve]

I was excited to see you were having Marie on your podcast as I love her designs and she is a wealth of knowledge and inspiration as well as a fellow Canadian 😃. I enjoyed this episode so much, thank you Jess!!

[@bareflowerfarm]

She definitely is! Appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and glad you enjoyed the interview!

[@floristsonfarms]

❤ 🇨🇦

[@ElderandOakFarm]

Her story of how she became a flower farmer is very similar to how I became one in 2020! 😂 I was always a home vegetable Grower, that wanted to grow lots of beautiful flowers, but felt like it was too frivolous. I was raised to be very, very frugal. The furthest I went was purchasing 50 cejt packets of Zinnias from the Dollar Store. But I would see the cutflowers that Laura from Garden Answer wpuld grow "just because"... to bring herself joy... just because she loved to play with flowers... & I cpuldnt fathom it. But I found Nicole @ Flower Hill Farms' channel, & I was like "Now THAT I can do! I can grow them & sell them..." & I decided to start a small scale flower farm! The rest of that summer I did a ton of research, & that fall I purchased a small number of Daffodil, Peony roots, & a bunch of seeds to start the next spring! I'm now going into my 4th season. 😁

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you for sharing your story! It's heartwarming to hear how you found your passion through gardening channels!

[@juliematthews5107]

Off to stalk Marie online. Great questions Jess.

[@bareflowerfarm]

lol!! You'll get into a rabbit hole of great content, and thank you! :)

[@mhubertcfi]

Great interview. I'm such a fan of Marie and her style. Love the limitations that she sets both on herself and her customers ❤

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thanks Melissa! And yes, setting boundaries seems to be the theme of my recent interviews 😊

[@EvelynM-vlogs]

Hey Marie, I did not know you started with a handful of dahlia tubers - which is exactly how my flower wagon started. Although my "given to me" handful turned into an investment of $750 worth of dahlia tubers the following year and what an awesome investment that was. Clearly I love your channel and am looking forward to trying out your natural, homemade, eco friendly glue recipe this fall. Jessie, best interview to date.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thanks Evelyn :)

[@thecakepopsistars]

Fantastic interview loved seeing a fellow Canadian sharing her experiences in the business. Thank you so much! 🇨🇦💐👩🏻‍🌾

[@bareflowerfarm]

For sure, it definitely helps give context around just how competitive the Canadian market is. Us Americans sometimes think the world revolves around us and competition is only fierce here 😂

[@lindaknight7052]

Very interesting interview. I've really been enjoying all the interviews you've been doing Jess. When I have a bit of free time in the evenings, it's usually your videos I chose to watch. Thanks for introducing me to Marie; I'm going to go check her out.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you for taking the time to write this, Linda. It means so much. Evenings are precious time for me now and I feel honored that you're spending the little bit of free time you have with my videos :)

[@ValleyViewFlowerFarmVlogs]

I love the narrative of providing a bouquet/design that stands out. I sell at farmers markets and take great pride in my bouquet design, and where better for a first year farmer to be able to practice! Thank you for this differing perspective- there is no “one size fits all”, in flower farming and nor should there be.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Totally agree with the statement, "there is no one size fits all"! When I reflect back on what I've learned so far, I think that many of us under appreciate filler because we actually don't maximize its potential as we haven't learned how to best use them in design!

[@ambethk77]

Marie is so talented. She needs more subscribers!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Amen!! 💯

[@leighanntindle5652]

Yes!! This is exactly what I do. The seasonal days make such a difference. Thank you for explaining it so well!

[@conniegodyn6616]

Having followed Marie it is apparent that she is a gifted designer. She is also a great teacher and generous with her information. Jess, you are also to be commended for all you do..working full-time, the cut flower side hustle and producing all what you share on social media. I don’t know how you do it!! Thanks for sharing and wishing you ongoing success 🎉😊

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you, Connie! Appreciate you taking the time to write this ☺️

[@melissar9254]

I have loved Marie's videos...so educational! She is my top 10 favorite YT'ers.

[@bareflowerfarm]

💯

[@anpe4970]

Yet another hreat interview from you! I just wish they were 2 or 3 hours longer😅

[@bareflowerfarm]

Lol! I'm glad you're enjoying the longer stretches of content! Always so much more we could be talking about too!

[@toniasgarden3550]

Love ❤ Love ❤ Love her! I’ve been following Marie for a while (maybe 1-yr?) and have learned so much from her!! So glad Jessie you chose her…also I Love the interviews with Jordon!! 😀

[@bareflowerfarm]

She is a WEALTH of information and I always wish I had infinite time to watch her videos alongside some other favorite KZbinrs who make stellar bouquets ☺

[@gloriabranch6287]

Jess a ton of information in today's video I will check out Marie ❤

[@bareflowerfarm]

I'm glad you found the video informative! Marie is definitely worth checking out.

[@vivherman2296]

LOVED this! Similar story here. I worked in floral wholesale, then 2 flower shops. Then Floral Design Institute...and freelanced weddings for 11 yrs. All that stress brought me back home, to my original gardens, where it all began..some 38 yrs. ago....to grow my own. Older, but still passionate about flowers. I don't really have recipes.. I just design with what is growing, and try to make the beauty shine thru.No stress.. just use glass jars or whatever I can recycle. I like the bouquets in the sleeves..but I don't want the bouqs. to be carried around out of water at market. Was taught that the stems plug up with air out of water...and you can't be sure that they will cut them when they get it home. Yep..I can really relate to farmer-florists!!!! Great job guys!!!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Your experience definitely makes you such a "stronger" grower, not because you necessarily know the what and the how to grow but because you can be so flexible and versatile in using what you have to the max! Thanks for sharing your story.

[@vivherman2296]

Thanks Jesse!@@bareflowerfarm

[@OregonShearwater]

Super interesting episode! I’ll definitely look up and follow Marie!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you! And yes, definitely check her out!

[@stevo4535]

Great conversation

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you!

[@mmcreads]

Hm having a hard time understanding the no-fillers argument…despite the explanations it still doesn’t seem to make sense to me as flower farmer. Will have to sit on that awhile- interesting 🤷‍♀️

[@bareflowerfarm]

For newer growers, it can be overwhelming and inefficient to grow too many crops. The “specialization” in a few that can make it on their own in a bouquet usually means less labor. Some customers are totally ok with a bouquet full of zinnias and sunflowers or specializing in just ranunculus in the spring. I think this definitely holds weight up to a certain point if that makes sense.