"Sometimes, no matter how busy you are, you just have to postpone all your appointments and take a break, which, in my case, was accepting an invitation to join the 'Holland Trip', a week-long tour of the Dutch flower industry for US event and floral professionals. Now, accepting this trip may sound like a no-brainer to some, but this trip was scheduled for November, one of my company's busiest months! May-June and October-December are the most popular wedding months. But something told me that I should take this trip, that I needed to take this trip, and I'm very happy that I did."   

Daily business
"Having seen so many beautiful flowers and designs in Holland, I returned to the States refreshed, inspired and bursting with new ideas! When you get caught up in busyness and bottom-lines of your daily business, it's easy to lose sight of the essential element of our profession: using beautiful flowers to create unforgettable designs and arrangements for our clients. For me, the 'Holland Trip' was simply a chance to recharge, gain new ideas and, of course, see all the finest new flowers under the Dutch sun!"   

Creative eye
"One of the trip's highlights was visiting the international tradeshow, Horti Fair. The Dutch approach to flower design is unique: their designs are wonderfully detailed and often very labor-intensive. For some shops in the US such designs may therefore be too pricey. However, for special event companies like ours, it's exactly that feature – attention to detail - upon which our reputations are based. The designs we saw were stunning and inspiring. I took note of them all, my creative eye working to see how slight alterations or enhancements could make them work better for my clients back home."    

Incorporating flowers
"One especially remarkable design at Horti Fair incorporated groupings of photographs of birthday cakes, with accompanying flowers created to look like cakes. For my business - which provides all decorative elements for events, from tabletop designs to furniture and flowers - interesting new ways of incorporating flowers into the total design are always welcome! This design made one appreciate each flower and how they were used in exactly the right sequence – the same effect we strive for in our business."   

Society weddings
"I've been in the event planning business for 23 years, and you could say that Dutch flowers have been a trusted partner from the start. For our society weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, we use lots of Dutch flowers. As event planners, we need the quality products the Dutch deliver. But we also must spend wisely. Price matters. Unfortunately, quality, beauty and business don't always make perfect bedfellows. For many customers, a flower is a flower and bad flowers are often acceptable if the price is right. We should all work to change that mindset!" 

Quality flowers
"Whether you're an event planer, floral designer or flower shop owner, you should help your customers develop an eye for quality flowers. Some customers have it, but many do not. Top quality Dutch lilies or hydrangeas are not only more beautiful, they also live longer, representing real value for money. For our customers, it shouldn't only be about getting the largest quantity of flowers for the money. It should also be about getting the best quality, most beautiful flowers for their money. This is how Dutch consumers buy their flowers." 

Tasteful details
"On the last day of the 'Holland Trip' we toured various retail flower shops in Amsterdam. This is something I think every US flower shop owner should do too! Call it a working holiday! The approach to selling and displaying flowers in Holland is just so totally different. Sure, it's a different market with different consumer demands. But again, there's much to learn from simply soaking in the impressions and tasteful details of a Dutch flower shop's total presentation."   

Color schemes
"I especially love how Dutch florists display their flowers in monochromatic color schemes, which creates a strong visual impact. US flower shops are often too chaotic – too many clashing colors and piles of plastic gift-shop type items obscuring the natural beauty and selling-power of the flowers themselves. Arranging and displaying monochromatically – flowers, candles, vases, everything inside the shop – is much more pleasing, helping to simplify and highlight the beautiful flowers the customer really wants to buy!"