Being a florist requires a certain amount of flair and a lot of attention to detail.
This is how Elsie van den Berg explained her expertise when she spoke to an Addie journalist about her career.
To be a good florist, you can gain a lot of experience on the job, but it recommended that you go on as many flower arranging courses as you can.
“As you learn, you will discover your own techniques,” says van den Berg.
This will give you insight on new and fresh techniques and may even give you some great ideas.
One of the most popular flower arranging courses, The Interflora Conference, takes place in Durban this year at the end of May.
“Basic courses need to be done in the beginning,” says van den Berg.
According to van den Berg, a typical day in the life of a florist begins by visiting the flower market and buying flowers.
“When we get back, we usually start doing the contract work, and then we make deliveries,” says van den Berg.
Sometimes, a florist will need to work long hours, especially if a large function is coming up, for example, a wedding.
Valentine’s Day is usually one of the times when Elsie has to work late to get all of her arrangements finished on time.
“It also depends on how much work you have to do.”
Van den Berg says that times are tough for independent florists, due to the fact that you can buy flowers almost anywhere nowadays.
“We give the arrangements special detail and make it different,” says van den Berg.
She also says that grateful clients make the job worthwhile and make her feel very satisfied.
One of her least favourite things about being a florist is that people don’t always understand how much time goes into an arrangement.
“People will place an order and call back not even 10 minutes later, asking if it is finished,” she says.
Being a florist means that you would have to keep up with trends in the flower world in order to stay ahead of your competition.
You also have to be a friendly person and enjoy working with people, as dealing with customers is imperative.
“You also have to love flowers,” jokes van den Berg.
