Can you tell us a little about your background and what inspired you to become a florist?
Petal to The Metal Florist: I was blessed to be raised by an aunt florist in Miami, Florida and though floristry was not my first choice for a life path, the flowers knew otherwise. In my mid twenties I felt like I could do something in flowers if I just focused on a market of my own outside the family business which led me to the DMV in 2008 where Petals To The Metal Florist plan began for me if you will.
How did you go about starting your own floral business? What were the initial challenges you faced?
Petal to The Metal Florist: The realization that I already had so much experience under my belt really was the push I needed to go out and do it for myself. Our main and first focus was start up capital and having to start our family business from home. We eliminated our kids play room, turning it into a full service florist for our first three month of PTTM’s inception. Starting any business with minimal capital is tough specially in the floral business where you’re paying farmers for low shelf life perishables. Farms like to be paid on delivery which is tough w minimal capital or credit to start.
Why did you decide to start a floral business specifically, and what about the industry appealed to you the most?
Petal to The Metal Florist: I have been around the florist atmosphere for over 25 years so at some point it becomes second nature, you begin to understand the buying, art form, business side of acquiring new long term clients to payroll, etc. I got to an age with a family where it just made sense for me to jump ship from my comfortable 6 figure local florist contract I was under. The most appealing thing about the industry is that as long as your product is fresh and you stick to delivering good flowers then anyone over 18 years old is allowed to spend money in flowers.
How have your personal tastes and style influenced the direction of your floral business?
Petal to The Metal Florist: I allow each client to dictate how their flowers should look first, my true love sits in mechanics and structure design so if allowed I will always do something out of the norm and very modern. But I’m good with being very flexible and do not like to believe that any florist should think so highly of themselves that they cant bend a little to conform with a clients floral needs. If you want me to copy and paste off of google we got you, if you want PTTM whimsical we have that too.
What do you think sets your floral business apart from others in the industry?
Petal to The Metal Florist: We really are farm flowers to table, PTTM tries to always be available with flowers that we import into the USA ourselves, we buy very little from local wholesaler to avoid a large profit margin from going to them. This allows us to pass on some savings to each customer. I am also a second generation florist so If I do right now then my kids will have themselves a full service floral studio that’s become a brand and a well known house hold name for flowers onto a third generation. I’m basically a dad on a florally mission to give them a great future, I want to believe that this drive combined with very freshly imported flowers and great design is a combo that keeps our customer service efforts working as we maintain new and existing clientele coming back for more flowers when appropriate.
How have you seen the floral industry change since you first started, and what trends do you think are driving those changes?
Petal to The Metal Florist: DYI has been nipping at our industry for a long time so it’s hard for new florist to start a wedding business of their own when every bride or friend is on DYI wedding flowers. Then there are the amazon of flowers like FTD, Teleflora and 1800 Flowers, Uber and Doordash which keep up to 38% of a customers money to keep for themselves. This leaves florist 72% of customers value to fulfill an order someone sees online. If onlines resellers we’re regulated somehow this would allow for actual brick and mortar shops to get local business instead of local business finding FTD who’s in another state to then resend those flower orders to MD florist for a 72% of value. This hurts the client, the florist but not so much the floral amazons.
In your opinion, what role does sustainability play in the floral industry, and how have you incorporated sustainable practices into your business?
Petal to The Metal Florist: Sustainability is key, we need bees, we need the sun, water, earth and then unfortunately planes, trucks, delivery vans to make it all happen. We recycle everything we can and do a good job of servicing about 20 local funerals homes and churches which allows us to use flowers in bloom that would normally not find a home after their peak bloom stage.
How do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends and techniques in floral design, and how do you use that knowledge to innovate within your own business?
Petal to The Metal Florist: I have a good source of national and global event companies that i follow online and I’m always in and around big cities visiting flower conventions etc. Also, the client always comes with ideas and that to me is rewarding when you know you can execute a clients want.
What do you think the future of the floral industry looks like, and how do you plan to adapt and grow your business to keep up with these changes?
Petal to The Metal Florist: Covid was a good example of how important flowers are specially at the end stage of someone’s life, i like to think that as long as we position PTTM in a place in the DMV to have multiple point of sales then we can be sure to be busy for some time to come. The DMV is a true tri-state area market which allows us to be in so many places in one day. We service a 35 mile delivery radius which drives us into 3 states, we’re having a great time in the DMV.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own floral business or enter the floral industry?
Petal to The Metal Florist: Have some money saved up to make mistakes and product and mistakes, have a strong mental/physical backbone because it’s not all roses and daisies. Those same roses and daisies need to be unloaded off of trucks, cut, processed to cut flowers to be stored in coolers, then change the water in a few days, recut and maybe design and make a successful delivery. If you do everything right, the client does have a 7 day expectation of your flowers. It’s very rewarding work but you also can’t come into this w dreamy eyes. You will be tired and then someone might not like your design, you can or not take that personally. As an artist you can take your floristry to heart and be upset at someone’s opinion of your design but as a florist owner you have to roll with each punch w a smile as the customer is always right.
It's clear from our conversation with this local florist that there's so much more to the world of flowers than meets the eye. From the challenges of starting a business to the rewards of seeing a customer's face light up when they receive a beautiful bouquet, the life of a florist is full of hard work, creativity, and joy. Whether you're an aspiring florist or simply someone who loves flowers, we hope this interview has given you a deeper appreciation for the art of floral design. Thanks for joining us, and happy blooming!
Florist : Petal to the Metal Florist
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petalstothemetalfloristdc/
Website: https://www.districtpetals.com/