Monday 11th November
When you live on an island it is very expensive to take your car on the ferry so whenever we are on the mainland we have long lists to fulfil in order to make it worthwhile. After the loveliest of days with Molly, Pete and I headed off to glasgow to a hotel so we could have a full day working through our list before the last ferry home today.
Top of our list today was a visit to the wholesale flower market in Glasgow. I want to open my order book for weddings as of January 2014 but we still won't be at full capacity as growers. Even when we are we can't grow everything that brides might want. So a little trip to the flower market and a little chat was required. When we did weddings in Derbyshire we were completely spoilt by our lovely Paul who was our wholesale contact. He picked the best of the best for us and we were never disappointed with the flowers he supplied. We wanted to find another Paul but didn't hold out much hope. We were wrong because a ten minute chat with Derek and the deal was struck. His flowers were in truly amazing condition and I immediately felt confident in the service he could offer. I take my wedding work desperately seriously and I could see that Derek understood that and we were on the same page.
Heading back to the car I was so lifted by the prospect of getting back into weddings. When I work with flowers I am at my most content and, I think, at my best. So now we just have to set up the name and get the website up before popping adverts in local press and letting the hotels know we are in business. I already take on quite a lot of flower orders so word will soon spread.
The rest of the day was spent in florist sundries wholesalers and then Christmas shopping. As I blog while waiting for the ferry my little pins are struggling a bit. In less than a week I have travelled to Southampton for a memorial service, travelled to London for a 21st celebration, travelled onto Lincoln and then walked miles in and around Glasgow. It would be fair to say I am looking forward to getting back on the island. Granted, I then only have 4 days to get ready for my first Christmas market but I am quietly confident I will be ready by Saturday.
The car is full to bursting but we managed our entire list so we can not grumble. Travelling gives us time to chat and 2014 does look quite busy but we are very clear about our priorities so we find ourselves in a good place. The challenge is always to make island living work and we feel that we are continuing to achieve that. The addition of wedding flowers increases our options for 2014 and beyond. It feels right to be getting back into this as it is probably our natural home. Harry is fully trained in conditioning flowers but we will miss Molly as she is trained in buttonholes and corsages. I do have a local girl that would be able to help in school holidays but I am going to need to find someone else to train. It has also been important for me to train the people that work with us as I have a distinctive style and that needs to be reflected through all the people who work on the wedding. I bring my years of growing to floristry and love to create naturalistic arrangement. That might sound simple but, in fact, it is quite challenging. So, you can see I have some preparation to do if we are to be ready for the beginning of the year.
The ferry has just made quite a dramatic arrival making us think that the swell is quite high but I shall close my eyes and try not to think about that. It is time to return to my beloved Arran and for life to get back to normal.
Until tomorrow. Xx
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment