Barbara
Cohen may be the one to work weekends, stay late on holidays and pay
the bills, but she’s ready to share ownership with almost anyone who
walks through the door of Petal and Stems Floral Decorators.
“Once they’ve come into your space, that customer starts owning that
shop with you,” Cohen said. “They think, ‘This is my shop, this is
where I come.’ They now have a personal relationship with the florist.”

An army of “owners” and a safety net of personal relationships are more
critical than ever, and Cohen is using every chance to strengthen those
connections and recruit more supporters of her Monsey, N.Y.-based shop.
The 20-plus-year industry veteran and design instructor is taking her
message that flowers are accessible and necessary indulgences to the
streets.

 

CHECK HER OUT At a local library event, Barbara Cohen demonstrated everyday designs, including a simple carnation bowl, to a crowd of about 15.

“You can’t control (the market),” Cohen
said. “What you can do is get out and spread your name and brand. If we
taught people more about flowers, they would buy and use more flowers.”


Cohen, who has taught college-level design as an adjunct and a
continuing education instructor, runs about two community programs a
month on topics such as design, care and handling and wedding work.
Cohen teaches in a variety of settings, including libraries, community
centers and her shop, during business hours (when her staff members
cover the shop) or in the evenings, usually from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Some
are fee-based, others are free, but Cohen’s goal is the same: promote
flowers and encourage more people to buy from her, their local florist.
(When Cohen charges a group, they usually pay her $100 to $150, which
covers her speaking fee and materials. She waives the fee for groups
with which she has some affiliation. “I go with my heart,” she said.)

Last month, Cohen used a few dozen carnations, roses and mixed
flowers to demonstrate low-cost designs to about 15 residents at a
local library. The crowd included a reporter from The Journal News,
who’d learned of the event through library promotions. Impressed with
Cohen’s presentation, the reporter visited Petals and Stems this week,
bringing a videographer and photographer. The newspaper plans to post
three, 90-second videos showcasing Cohen’s designs on its Web site.
Another attendee ordered flowers shortly after the presentation.

“Promoting flowers through education is my personal mission,” Cohen
said. “When the Food Network came around, who’d ever heard of wasabi?
By teaching people —teaching being the key word — it became a household
ingredient.”

And though “Top Florist” won’t be coming to a cable network next
season, Cohen wants to introduce consumers to the language of flowers
through entertaining education.  

Try this:

• Ready to cast flowers in a recurring role in your customers' lives?
  Tap into numerous studies that show how flowers improve your mood,
  health, creativity and life at www.safnow.org.