Try Garrett's great prom flowers idea: floral chandelier earrings

If you’re looking for new ways to attract prom flower customers, Garrett Skupinski CF, CFD has a suggestion. Offer floral jewelry designs, like chandelier earrings, to these trend-savvy teens. Prom flowers are the first floral purchase for many teens. Innovative florists like Garrett make it fun and easy to buy flowers that stand out in a crowd in the hopes of grooming future customers.

Inspirational floral earrings

Garrett created an elegant pair of chandelier earrings to submit to the OASIS Floral Products Inspire Floral Design Showcase 2016 to share this idea. The St. Louis, Missouri, designer’s eye-catching earrings were chosen as the Most Inspirational Prom Design. Smithers-Oasis Floral Design Director Kevin Ylvisaker recreated the design for OASIS Floral Products print advertising to run in North America during 2017. You can see the finished ad at the end of this article.

Chandelier earrings

Garrett’s flower chandelier earrings make a fashion statement and are comfortable to wear since they’re made with lightweight techniques and materials that won't pull down on the ears like heavier chandelier earrings can. They can be time saving for florists as well. “This design isn’t just cost effective in materials but also in time, which is the most valuable commodity of our industry,” explains Garrett. “Most floral jewelry can be prepped to near completion weeks ahead of time.”

Advance prep is the key

[rev_slider alias="create-customers-for-life-1"] Prepping forms in advance and gluing blooms in later saves labor during the busiest pre-prom design days when overhead costs are at a premium. These delicate designs may need fewer flowers, but the forms can require more design time. Adjust labor charges to cover the investment of time, concept and design skill. To make these earrings, Garrett can create in advance the small frames of OASIS™ Aluminum Wire, OASIS™ Beaded Wire and small crystals. OASIS™ Jewelry Pliers and OASIS™ Wire Cutters can be helpful when creating the artistic forms. Garrett can then use OASIS® Floral Adhesive to quickly apply three green hypericum berries and a White Ornithogalum bloom to each earring at prom time.

Why floral jewelry for prom?

Why expand your design collection to include new offerings like floral jewelry? Let’s compare the average total cost of a prom night out versus the average cost of prom flowers.

The average cost of prom (and promposals!)

According to Visa’s annual Prom Spending Survey, the average teenager spent $919 on prom in 2015. That’s 6 percent less than the 2014 average of $978. But wait! Before suggesting prom parents take those savings to the bank, consider the added cost of the latest trend—a ‘promposal’. This elaborate prom invitation runs an average of $324. We’ll talk more about that later. Which area teenagers live in may also influence how much they spend on prom and a promposal. The Northeast leads the charge(s) followed by the West and then the South with the Midwest trailing. In all parts of the country, flowers are one of the least expensive prom costs.

The average cost of prom flowers

Sadly, the average cost of a boutonnière is suggested to be $10 to $20 and a wristlet $20. These items are about 2 percent of average prom costs. That’s much less than the average price of a bag and jewelry, listed at $100 per girl. What can florists do to increase their prom sales?

Push the limits with style

[rev_slider alias="create-customers-for-life-2"] Florists can follow Garrett’s example of adding a sales category and pushing the limits with new styles. It’s up to resourceful florists to provide trendsetting designs to bring their young customers back. “We always push ourselves to show something different and one of a kind. Whether it’s earrings, necklaces or corsages, as a floral designer I am here to inspire the customer that the sky’s the limits when it comes to prom florals,” says Garrett. In addition to selling a traditional gift of flowers from the prom date, extend your design menu to include floral jewelry girls can purchase for themselves as accessories. Create jewelry forms in advance. Showcase them in displays reminiscent of jewelry store settings. Encourage prom girls to choose their accessories and select flower blooms to be added later.

Offer Promposal Packages

Are you offering 'Promposal Packages' in your flower business? It’s an idea worth looking into, creating additional sales in the months leading up to prom. Google “promposal” to find out what other industries are doing to promote add-on sales. Brainstorm with your staff to come up with some clever ideas of your own. Act quickly as promposal season starts now!

Why focus on prom flowers?

When young customers are thrilled with their prom flowers, they have the potential to become long-term customers. Think about it—prom kids grow up to plan weddings, buy and accessorize homes and create their own families, which celebrate life events that can be enhanced by flowers. Make the most of this opportunity to connect by exceeding their expectations. Create a fun flower buying experience that encourages these teens to return to your store again in the future. What trend-savvy styles of floral jewelry will you offer to your prom customers?