This blog tells the story of an extraordinary 'old school' flower shop Schöwerlingin in Halle, Germany. This unique flower shop has been around since 1977. The current owner's mother started a flower shop back then, although it was actually more of a hobby. Current owner Dietmar took over the shop in 1981 and has been among the flowers every day for 41 years. In this blog, you can read all about him.
What do you think of the profession of florist?
"The special thing about being a florist is the stories I hear from the people who come for a bouquet. When there is something to celebrate, or when there are memorable emotional moments where flowers offer support. Or when people express themselves by giving flowers. I also really enjoy the contact with people. That's what I really about being a florist. The less fun side of being a florist is finding staff. It's very difficult to get good flower arrangers. I also don't like the fact that everything keeps getting more expensive. As a result, I have to keep raising my prices."
Has much changed for you as a florist?
" The profession itself hasn't changed much in the past 40 years. Tying the flowers is actually still exactly the same as 40 years ago. The business around it does change all the time. Van der Plas used to come by with the truck to show me everything. Now I buy everything through the webshop, and it is delivered ready-made, right in front of my shop."
Why do your customers buy from you?
" I don't have to make much effort to contact my customers. An advantage of a shop that has been around for a long time. My shop is in a sales center that attracts a lot of people. That makes that I always have traffic and people know how to find my shop. In addition, the flowers are of fantastic quality because I buy them from Van der Plas. That keeps people coming back. Fresh flowers are the best flowers.
The funny thing is that the contact with Van der Plas started the other way around. I had sold a lot of flowers to the Dutchman. I was looking for transport and thus came into contact with Gerrit, the then salesman at Van der Plas. Then the contact was made, and I decided to start buying from Van der Plas. First, from the truck. But now completely up-to-date: via the webshop."
How do you envision the future as a florist?
" That's hard to say. I don't really think about that." Laughs:" In 10 years or so, I hope to stop working."
For more information:
Van der Plas
www.vdplas.com