Bright And Beautiful…
June 4, 2011 at 8:18 pm 19 comments
..As opposed to Brain-dead And Bleurgh, which is how I’m feeling.
By my standards, this weekend’s wedding was a big one – pedestals, pillars, pew ends, lychgate, steps, garlands for the marquee and field gates, and that’s in addition to all the usual bridal party stuff, of course. The colours were bright and loud, which I love doing, and the clients lovely, co-operative and organised.* You couldn’t ask for more.
But even so, late last night, there was the inevitable anguished cry of ”Why am I doing this?”, shortly followed by the sulky “Why can’t I just get a job in Waitrose?” and, just after everyone had relaxed again, the accusatory “I had a decent desk job, and left! How could you let me do that?!”
Is it just me? What do “normal” florists do? Why don’t you hear weeping and wailing and the clatter of buckets being kicked over coming from the open doors of high-street florists? Is there a special room out the back for this? Or do you just reach a stage – eventually, perhaps before you gamble on opening a shop – when it becomes smooth and easy? God, I hope so.
I did get it all done in time (just) – despite the heat, the unforeseen hiccups, and the leaden fog of tiredness that working 18-hour days brings. Mostly, though, it happened because of the inexhaustible energy, enthusiasm and kindness of Erica and the competence**, goodwill and all-round helpfulness of Amanda. I am feeling a bit slushy from tiredness, so excuse the sentimentality, but I feel SO lucky to have found the people who help me out and really, truly do not know how I’d do it without them.
Anyway, I know you’re really just here for the pics, so a small selection:
*Swatches of all the fabrics used in the bunting and dresses bundled up ready for me – joy!
** She whittles the ends of woody stems into points, where I would hack at it with a blunt pair of secateurs.
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1.
Benjamin Ranyard | June 4, 2011 at 9:05 pm
beautiful. Jolly good work once again young lady. Plenty of howling and swearing here too. However…Calendula is starting to come out…sold half of the small amount of bunches that went out last week…have a feeling they sold out of the ones I delivered Friday….slowly slowly catch the monkey! Have made nearly £29 from my 10,000 hours and gazillion quid investment.
AND have been asked to consider doing some teaching (Laughs madly out loud) …oh…the higgledy blog has a lot to answer for! Glad everything is going well for you. xx
2.
jane piddled ellis | June 4, 2011 at 11:18 pm
Oh Jan, the flowers look fantastic!!! They are really beautiful; I am sure your clients must have been delighted. (I have had a little drink this evening as Becky is clebrating her 21st birthday today, yes that’s my baby, as she won’t be here on 14th which is the actual day. They have all gone out in Exeter leaving me here to carry on drinking!!!) Anyway, as I said, the flowers look gorgeous and I hope you can now sleep for a week and well done Erica and Amanda – I am glad you found them. Woo hoo!!! x
3.
jwblooms | June 5, 2011 at 7:53 am
Hello, Janey! You realise you are now on the worldwide web as Jane Piddled Ellis?! How can a young thing like you possibly have a 21-year-old?! (They are both a credit to you!) x
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jwblooms | June 5, 2011 at 7:51 am
Ben, 29 quid? Took me six months of selling to get that far! Well done, and glad things are starting to move. You should do the teaching – I imagine you’d be really good at it. x
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sandra | June 5, 2011 at 8:47 am
Sounds as if it was gruelling, but hopefully worth it. The photos are fab, as always. And yes, it WAS worth it to give up your desk job. Remember how fed up you were. Some sleep will give you perspective.
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jwblooms | June 5, 2011 at 7:48 pm
Yes, I hated it at the end, you’re right. But I did get to sit down a lot, the luxury of which I am only now appreciating! x
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Martine | June 5, 2011 at 9:46 am
Absolutely beautiful Jan! How many artists can create under pressure without some whingeing and wailing? Many florists are following recipes with delivered flowers, which must make things easier. We grow our own raw materials and create unique arrangements from scratch every time, within the limits of the fragility of our flowers. What’s not to be stressed about?!!
Fab news on your first £29 Ben!
Martine x
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jwblooms | June 5, 2011 at 7:54 pm
Hi, Martine, and thank you. Yes, the main stress does come from the fragility of the flowers compared with your average, sprayed, imported stuff. That and having to find the time to pick and condition the blinkin’ flowers before you can get going with the floristry – something which shops don’t have to find time for. Still, the stress and lack of time to eat mean I always drop a few pounds during big-wedding prep, so it does have its advantages! x
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Katherine @ Florist in the Forest | June 5, 2011 at 11:47 am
Beautiful flowers. Don’t be fooled by the silence coming from florist’s doors a lot of cursing goes on there too, just under their breath and when customers aren’t near by (you hope)!
It is stressful but also very exciting. I did my first farmers market for cut flowers yesterday and it’s great seeing the response but very exhausting trying to pull it all together in time, having been at work all week. Hope to follow in your footsteps one day and go solo. Hope you are feeling rejuvenated today.
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jwblooms | June 5, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Thanks, Katherine. Stalls are SUCH a lot of work. I used to do farmers’ markets and, after a whole day of picking and arranging, I’d look at the guy selling meat, thinking, “All you had to do was get the stuff out of the freezer, and if it doesn’t sell, you just put it back for next week. Perhaps I’m in the wrong game!” I do hope you made a decent profit! x
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Katherine @ Florist in the Forest | June 5, 2011 at 9:06 pm
I did sell out of all my cut flowers so not a bad start, obviously not covered my costs and time involved to grow everything just yet. Do you no longer go to farmers markets? I’m hoping it will also be good advertising for me.
12.
Anja | June 5, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Oh, I love your blog! (and not only the pictures) Martine is so right about all the reasons to be stressed, I often wonder why a controlfreak like me ended up with this. And how stupid I feel when I think about how much I work and how little I earn. How can I be so convinced that this is a good idea? I’m lucky to be crazy enough to do this..
Your arrangements look beautiful, you must have been happy when it was all over and you could send the bill. Do you employ to persons? Full time?
13.
jwblooms | June 5, 2011 at 8:02 pm
So kind – thank you, Anja! We are all crazy to be doing this if you come at it from a financial angle. But those moments in the early-morning haze, picking the most perfect flowers, the provenance of which we know and are proud of – to have created those moments makes us wiser, and more contented, than most…
I don’t employ anybody full-time (I don’t make enough to keep myself yet, let alone anybody else!) but I am blessed to be able to call on Erica, The Other Jan and Amanda to come and rescue me when I am busy. They are all fab and I would love to get to the stage sometime when I could give at least one of them a full-time job – but I fear that’s a long way off! x
14.
Claire | June 6, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Hello Jan, I was in much the same state on Saturday night but hey! a few glasses of wine by the camp fire and all is well again.
It is suuuuch hard work (and very little financial reward) but what else is such good fun and so lovely?
I still dream of working in white linen clothes with a floral garland around my straw hat but in the meantime its wellies and whatever comes to hand at 5am when I blearily rise from my much needed and never long enough sleep!
If its any comfort when I did a course at Paula Prykes in London they told me that they too go to bed stupidly late and rise silly early to cope with weddings and they don’t have the pleasure of growing and picking the flowers – although they do charge considerably more than me! Stick with it and cherish every moment, bestest wishes Claire, The Flower Field
15.
jwblooms | June 6, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Yes, I guess it will always be one of those jobs where you start early. I just wish I’d started 20 years earlier! Jx
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Claire | June 6, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Maybe but I don’t know about you but 20 years ago I had a social life and the energy to party all night, nowadays slippers and pj’s by 9pm is far more acceptable. Claire
17.
Belinda Norrington | June 7, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Absolutely stonkingly lovely flowers Jan, be very proud! You must have nerves of steel. Bxx
18.
jwblooms | June 8, 2011 at 8:23 am
Aw, thanks, Belinda! Was very pleased with the church stuff but, as always, my head is full of ways of doing it better next time… Or, perhaps more importantly, ways of getting it done more quickly! x
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TheFlowerFarmer | June 16, 2011 at 1:05 pm
hi there from wincanton – so great that there are more and more people like us growing and doing and making lovely things with flowers in our own back yards. thanks so much for your encouraging comments on my blog. having read this post it sounds as though you feel the same as i do from time to time – love from georgie aka http://www.commonfarmflowers and @TheFlowerFarmer.
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