The History of Jems Floral Studio

So here is my journey, (I would just like to say that, before Jem’s Floral Studio was born I started Floristry in May 2016. I spent a year at college at an elite academy called The Covent Garden Academy of Flowers. I worked in Floristry shops for over a year beforehand).

I created Jem’s Floral Studio back in September 2017 (my sister actually came up with the name as I couldn’t choose) I completely started from scratch. I had a small room which was connected to my sisters Funeral home, Jukes Funeral Services in Lichfield. Where I would create funeral flowers for the loved ones and their families. It was a very modest time of my life with a few orders here and there, but I was making ends meet.
I didn’t really have the confidence to branch out into other aspects of Floristry considering there was a fully established Florist 2 doors down from me and other Floristry shops in Lichfield and thought why would I even try. I was just happy and grateful at the time with my little funeral flower business.
It wasn’t until a lovely lady came into the funeral home one day and asked to spend £80 on a gift bouquet for her friend.. full blown light bulb moment here. Because this was my first ever official bouquet in my business, it had to be PERFECT! So I made it massive and so extra… this was when the GIANT bouquet was born. I put the photo of this bouquet on my Facebook business page and it got HUNDREDS of likes. I got SO many messages from new customers! How was this happening?! Why did I not do this earlier? Why did I not believe in myself for so long?
Next thing I knew, I was getting up-to 17 orders a day for bouquets and would go downstairs to my sister to say I was just going out on deliveries and this was such a proud statement I would make every time.
Although this was a dream come true and I was so busy for a very long time. I was undercutting myself to compete with the “big guys” in town at this period of time. But at this point I had branched out to weddings, events, corporate work etc, so it wasn’t a huge issue with the cheaper bouquets.
Then BAM!! Fast forward to the dreaded month of March 2020, LOCKDOWN. My newly thriving business had to be put on hold, the suppliers weren’t open (of course) the growers weren’t able to sell any of their flowers, thousands of flowers had to be put to waste and not only that the whole world was suffering in all aspects of life. In June though I was back up and running (sort of) I was only able to do non contact deliveries and I could do funeral flowers also, just making sure I was social distancing etc. Unfortunately, people couldn’t go out and buy gifts for their loved ones so people turned to non contact flower deliveries and there was a huge influx of funerals. So in these months my business just grew bigger and bigger, busier and busier.
When the world turned back to normal, my business luckily didn’t take that much of a dip. Although the orders were decreasing I had luckily gained the confidence to increase my prices and price them at what they should be and what myself and my work is worth and I’m now not afraid to say it, my work is different and stands out.
Putting my prices up didn’t scare me. It made my business what it is today, I have my perfect customer base where I can thrive in my standards. It’s quality over quantity Every time! Every bouquet is of top level quality, I have the time to check over everything. I know exactly what my customers want and expect and I always go beyond the call of duty because I have priced my worth and time right.
If there is anything I have learned it’s to not be afraid to be more expensive than others, there is a reason for this! If you’re taking 17 orders a day at a cheaper price, you do not have the time to fully utilise your expertise and skills. You won’t be able to fully check over the quantity of your work and you will not be able to put all your heart into it. You’re more likely to get more disappointed customers for the same price as if you were making 5 bouquets with all the customers happy? Which one would you pick?

I now dedicate 1/4 of my time to teaching other florists at different stages of their journey. I’m trying to make an impact in the floristry community to be able to help, learn and grow together and create a safe, friendly space for anyone. I wish I had this when I was learning, I wouldn’t have made so many mistakes. I have gone through it all! So you can learn from me and ask away with anything you would like to know.