Floral Guild Radio

Today we're getting to know Jackie Newns of Red Seeds Floral, a spiritual director/conselor turned event florist based in Wyncote PA, right outside of Philadelphia.  Jackie brings a unique approach to her work, one where creating spaces of reverence and reflection are as equally important as the flowers themselves.  Over the past three years in business, Jackie has strived to make her clients feel seen and supported as they gather their family and friends together for celebrations. Her work is full of texture and thoughtful gestures.  Be sure to follow Jackie on Instagram @redseedsfloral.   This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region selling together to florist and other wholesale buyers. We help you elevate your design work and manifest a better tomorrow with locally-grown stems.  Visit philadelphiafloralguild.com to learn more and follow us on Instagram  @phillyfloralguild for regular inspiration.  Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what's in season, tips and tricks for design, and the latest episodes. 

In this episode, we sit down with Liz and Tim Shea of Grow Wild Studios at their beautiful design space in Malvern PA.  This sibling duo likes to joke that they accidently started a floral studio on purpose.  Liz, the artistic arm of the operation, had been working in a traditional flower shop and found herself bristling against the unsustainable practices and imports there.  She drew her brother Tim into her budding plans to launch a studio grounded in community, sustainability and locally-sourced materials so that he could be the logistics and spreadsheet guy.  Together they've built an impressive portfolio and business model in just three short years.  They see flowers as a media for telling rich and emotional stories as well as drawing people together for supportive community.   If you'd like to get a glimpse at Grow Wild's designs, find them on Instagram @growwildstudios.   This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region selling together to florist and other wholesale buyers. We help you elevate your design work and manifest a better tomorrow with locally-grown stems.  Visit philadelphiafloralguild.com to learn more and follow us on Instagram  @phillyfloralguild for regular inspiration.  Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what's in season, tips and tricks for design, and the latest episodes. 

Today we're getting to know Annie Pertes of Wildbird Flowers, a farmer florist in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Annie gives us a candid look at what it's like to be in Year 5 of building a floral brand.  She's found her groove and is pursuing luxury events with a sustainable approach.  And she expects to get paid well, as she should!  Lots of golden nuggets in this conversation.  Enjoy!  And be sure to follow Annie on Instagram @wildbird_flowers.   This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region selling together to florist and other wholesale buyers. We help you elevate your design work and manifest a better tomorrow with locally-grown stems.  Visit philadelphiafloralguild.com to learn more and follow us on Instagram  @phillyfloralguild for regular inspiration.  Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what's in season, tips and tricks for design, and the latest episodes. 

In this episode you'll get to know one of the talented and dedicated farm members of the Philadelphia Floral Guild.  Elise Hanks owns and operates Terra Luna Herbals, a microfarm located in the very urban Norris Square neighborhood of Philadelphia.  Elise has been working in flowers for over a decade, both in florist shops and at farms.  In fact, she was an employee at my flower farm all the way back in 2012 so this conversation and the way we work together now as peers feels beautifully full circle to me.  Elise launched Terra Luna out of a small community garden space in 2015, at first focusing on homegrown, value-added herbal products.  There are several crossover crops between herbal medicine and floristry, so Elise soon found herself selling bouquets to Riverwards Produce, a local, independent grocery store.  Today her focus has shifted considerably to growing high-quality, specialty stems for wholesale to florists.  She joined PFG in 2024 and has proven the old adage "small but mighty" is true.  While Elise grows on a very small footprint, her unique offerings, high quality, and reliability have made her a standout at PFG.  I'm excited for you to get to know Elise a little bit better through this chat!  You can also find Elise on Instagram where she frequently posts very real glimpses into the highs and lows of flower farming and small business ownership.  Her handle is @terralunaherbals. ---- This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region selling together to florist and other wholesale buyers. We help you elevate your design work and manifest a better tomorrow with locally-grown stems.  Visit philadelphiafloralguild.com to learn more and follow us on Instagram @phillyfloralguild for regular inspiration.  Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what's in season, tips and tricks for design, and the latest episodes.  Not near Philadelphia but would like to source local flowers for your business?  Check out localflowers.org and rootedfarmers.com to find a flower farm near you.   What Can Locally Grown Stems Do For Your Floral Business? Less Shrink: Without the stress of a long ride in the global supply chain, our stems are superior in quality with much less breakage and far better hydration. Less Labor: Our growers do all the work of a studio assistant, stripping stems and making fresh cuts on stems that go directly into water and never leave a water source. This means you do not have to process anything! Less Trash: There are no boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, box straps, plastic sleeves, and all the other usual trash that comes with a flower delivery from the traditional wholesaler. More Inspiration:  Designing with the seasons sparks creativity.  No two weeks are the same.  More Community:  Workign with local growers is a very personal connection.  You'll grow your community every time you buy local. 

This episode is all about quality control in the local flower supply chain.  To share some insight on this topic, Katy Beene, market manager for the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market joins us. Founded in 2011, the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market is really a frontrunner in the local wholesale cooperative model that has inspired so many flower collectives like the Philadelphia Floral Guild.  With 18 growers, thousands of florist customers, and an annual sales volume topping 2.5 million, the SWGM is moving a lot of stems!  To help educate their growers and foster consistent quality across all their products, they compiled and published a Floral Standards book.  You can purchase that book here from SWGM or we have it for sale at the Philadelphia Floral Guild.  Right now there's lots of buzz in the industry about tariffs.  Florists may be wondering if they can really trust local growers to provide the quality and the volume they are used to with imports. We feel strongly that product from the Philadelphia Floral Guild is higher quality than most imports. And, as you'll hear in this conversation with Katy, local farmers are working hard to meet demand for more volume.  Local is growing and we are excited to serve you! -- This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region selling together to florist and other wholesale buyers. We help you elevate your design work and manifest a better tomorrow with locally-grown stems.  Visit philadelphiafloralguild.com to learn more and follow us on Instagram @phillyfloralguild for regular inspiration.  Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what's in season, tips and tricks for design, and the latest episodes.  Not near Philadelphia but would like to source local flowers for your business?  Check out localflowers.org and rootedfarmers.com to find a flower farm near you.   What Can Locally Grown Stems Do For Your Floral Business? Less Shrink: Without the stress of a long ride in the global supply chain, our stems are superior in quality with much less breakage and far better hydration. Less Labor: Our growers do all the work of a studio assistant, stripping stems and making fresh cuts on stems that go directly into water and never leave a water source. This means you do not have to process anything! Less Trash: There are no boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, box straps, plastic sleeves, and all the other usual trash that comes with a flower delivery from the traditional wholesaler. More Inspiration:  Designing with the seasons sparks creativity.  No two weeks are the same.  More Community:  Workign with local growers is a very personal connection.  You'll grow your community every time you buy local. 

Today we are hearing the story of how Jessica Cummings built her floral event business, We Are Wildflowers.  Jess has had a unique approach to growing her business slowly through friendships and now does 80+ weddings a year with a merry band of floral freelancing friends.  The We Are Wildflowers crew is committed to sustainable floristry that highlights locally-grown stems and uses zero floral foam.  Lots of great tips for event design workflow in this episode!  Jess is also a musician and finds being in a band (Boozewa) a great way to release stress from flowers and recharge her creativity.     This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region selling together to florist and other wholesale buyers. We help you elevate your design work and manifest a better tomorrow with locally-grown stems.  Visit philadelphiafloralguild.com to learn more and follow us on Instagram @phillyfloralguild for regular inspiration.  Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what's in season, tips and tricks for design, and the latest episodes.  Not near Philadelphia but would like to source local flowers for your business?  Check out localflowers.org and rootedfarmers.com to find a flower farm near you.   What Can Locally Grown Stems Do For Your Floral Business? Less Shrink: Without the stress of a long ride in the global supply chain, our stems are superior in quality with much less breakage and far better hydration. Less Labor: Our growers do all the work of a studio assistant, stripping stems and making fresh cuts on stems that go directly into water and never leave a water source. This means you do not have to process anything! Less Trash: There are no boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, box straps, plastic sleeves, and all the other usual trash that comes with a flower delivery from the traditional wholesaler. More Inspiration:  Designing with the seasons sparks creativity.  No two weeks are the same.  More Community:  Workign with local growers is a very personal connection.  You'll grow your community every time you buy local. 

Attention Florists! We're back with another episode on how to sell local flowers, this time with a closer look at building a retail customer base who understands what local is and helps you tell the story of the stems.  Unlike events, retail is all about building a relationship that lasts for life.  A handful of dedicated customers evangelizing about how awesome your business are what you need.  Not droves of social media followers.  Guest Ellen Frost, owner of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, has a YouTube channel and a valuable weekly education email.  Check them out! This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, where we're building community around sustainable local flowers.  If you're a florist in the Philadelphia area, we'd love to have you shop with us!  Click here to learn how.  Sign up for PFG's newsletter to get regular updates about what's in season.   Not a Philadelphia area florist? Look for flower farms near you on the Rooted Farmers website or through localflowers.org.  Why use local flowers?  In addition to give your shop or studio a unique value proposition that will galvanize and inspire your customer base, local stems mean:  Less Shrink: Without the stress of a long ride in the global supply chain, our stems are superior in quality with much less breakage and far better hydration. Less Labor: Our growers do all the work of a studio assistant, stripping stems and making fresh cuts on stems that go directly into water and never leave a water source. This means you do not have to process anything! Less Trash: There are no boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, box straps, plastic sleeves, and all the other usual trash that comes with a flower delivery from the traditional wholesaler. Less Carbon Burned: Imported flowers in the US typically travel 2,500 or more miles in refrigerated planes, trucks and boats to reach you.

Ellen Frost, owner of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, joins host Jennie Love for a lively chat about how to "sell local".  As a florist working exclusively with locally grown stems for the past 17 years, Ellen has valuable insights into how to find the right customers and get their buy-in.   In this episode, the conversation is focused on selling local to event clients, namely weddings and corporate.  Come back again soon to listen to the next episode coming out, which will be about how to sell local to retail customers.   Ellen and Jennie both teach online courses that may be valuable to your floral business.  Here is a link to Ellen's course and here is a link to Jennie's courses.   Ellen also has a YouTube channel and a valuable weekly education email.   This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, where we're building community around sustainable local flowers.  If you're a florist in the Philadelphia area, we'd love to have you shop with us!  Click here to learn how.  Sign up for our newsletter to get regular updates about what's in season.   Not a Philadelphia area florist? Look for flower farms near you on the Rooted Farmers website or through localflowers.org.  Why use local stems?  In addition to give your shop or studio a unique value proposition that will galvanize and inspire your customer base, local stems mean:  Less Shrink: Without the stress of a long ride in the global supply chain, our stems are superior in quality with much less breakage and far better hydration. Less Labor: Our growers do all the work of a studio assistant, stripping stems and making fresh cuts on stems that go directly into water and never leave a water source. This means you do not have to process anything! Less Trash: There are no boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, box straps, plastic sleeves, and all the other usual trash that comes with a flower delivery from the traditional wholesaler. Less Carbon Burned: Imported flowers in the US typically travel 2,500 or more miles in refrigerated planes, trucks and boats to reach you.

In this episode, I'm chatting with Grace McDonald from Flower Clvb, a fun little floral studio in West Philly.  Grace is a builder of strong community and an advocate for the earth.  She's put a unique spin on educating the next generation about flowers and nature.  This episode is packed full of gems to apply to your own business! Be sure to check out Grace's Instagram feed @flowerclvb.  It's a great spot to see all-local designs and get inspiration.   This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region selling together to florist and other wholesale buyers. We help you elevate your design work and manifest a better tomorrow with locally-grown stems.  Visit philadelphiafloralguild.com to learn more and follow us on Instagram @phillyfloralguild for regular inspiration.  Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what's in season, tips and tricks for design, and the latest episodes.  Not near Philadelphia but would like to source local flowers for your business?  Check out localflowers.org and rootedfarmers.com to find a flower farm near you.   What Can Locally Grown Stems Do For Your Floral Business? Less Shrink: Without the stress of a long ride in the global supply chain, our stems are superior in quality with much less breakage and far better hydration. Less Labor: Our growers do all the work of a studio assistant, stripping stems and making fresh cuts on stems that go directly into water and never leave a water source. This means you do not have to process anything! Less Trash: There are no boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, box straps, plastic sleeves, and all the other usual trash that comes with a flower delivery from the traditional wholesaler. More Inspiration:  Designing with the seasons sparks creativity.  No two weeks are the same.  More Community:  Workign with local growers is a very personal connection.  You'll grow your community every time you buy local.     

In this episode, I'm chatting with Rose Oland from Mullica Hill Floral Co, a florist shop that has been in business for 37 years.  Rose and her mom who founded the shop are dedicated to supporting local flower farms and approaching floristry with sustainability at the forefront.  Rose's perspective of the industry is unique in that she literally grew up in the flower shop and has seen just about everything in the past three decades, including how the industry has shifted from guarded competitiveness to supportive collaboration.  Be sure to check out Rose's Instagram feed @mullicahillfloralco. It's a great spot to see all-local designs and get some inspiration for color blending and floral photography. Mentioned in this episode is Phoam Labs, creators of a compostable alternative to traditional floral foam.  This podcast is brought to you by the Philadelphia Floral Guild, a collective of flower farms in the mid-Atlantic region selling together to florist and other wholesale buyers. We help you elevate your design work and manifest a better tomorrow with locally-grown stems.  Visit philadelphiafloralguild.com to learn more and follow us on Instagram @phillyfloralguild for regular inspiration.  Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on what's in season, tips and tricks for design, and the latest episodes.  Not near Philadelphia but would like to source local flowers for your business?  Check out localflowers.org and rootedfarmers.com to find a flower farm near you.   What Can Locally Grown Stems Do For Your Floral Business? Less Shrink: Without the stress of a long ride in the global supply chain, our stems are superior in quality with much less breakage and far better hydration. Less Labor: Our growers do all the work of a studio assistant, stripping stems and making fresh cuts on stems that go directly into water and never leave a water source. This means you do not have to process anything! Less Trash: There are no boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, box straps, plastic sleeves, and all the other usual trash that comes with a flower delivery from the traditional wholesaler. More Inspiration:  Designing with the seasons sparks creativity.  No two weeks are the same.  More Community:  Workign with local growers is a very personal connection.  You'll grow your community every time you buy local.