Floral designer brings the big-city flower trend to Alaska
Ever grab a bundle of those grocery store flowers, take them home, put them vase and — well — they just don’t look right?
Robin Philips has a solution for that. The hand-tied bouquet.
Robin took a colorful bundle of grocery store flowers and dumped them into a vase.
“See? They just don’t look good,” she told her hand-tied bouquet class on Saturday afternoon. “Today I’m going to teach you how to make them look nice in a vase.”
Three other women and I attended her class at the Alaska Wholesale Flower Market on Old Seward Hwy.
The place has a warehouse feel, stacks of boxes with vases, only a few on display. Stainless steel worktables, a couple of canisters of flowers sit out waiting to be picked up for a party, other examples from previous classes. Drawing boards hang on one wall. A large chalk board lists by-the-stem prices for flowers. In the corner, two beautiful French doors leading the way to a cold-storage room bursting with bright, beautiful flowers. Everything smells fresh and lovely.
Robin opened the new Alaska Wholesale Flower Market in October because she wants to teach the everyday flower enthusiasts how to properly arrange and care for flowers, no matter where they bought them.
“People tend to think of flowers as a luxury,” she said. “I want to make that luxury more affordable.”
“Less than 30 percent of people ever buy flowers in their lifetime.”
The former longtime owner of MyLords Floral says you don’t have to spend a bunch of money or be a professional floral designer to bring fresh, beautiful color into your home. She sold MyLords Floral to her daughters a couple years ago to retire, but decided she wasn’t ready for retirement after all.
During the one-hour class Robin heaped a dozen roses, a couple snap dragons, a few lilies, baby’s breath, fresh greens and more on our work tables. Then she walked us through the art of the hand-tied bouquet. This is a bouquet specially arranged and tied at the center in a way that holds all the flowers in the desired arrangement in place.
She animatedly explained how to hold the bouquet with one hand and angle the stems a specific direction. She demonstrated how to trim the leaves, how much to trim and how to accomplish the look we were learning. She drew pictures on the white erase board to explain the more visual aspects and constantly added little information tidbits throughout the class.
“Make sure your vase is sparkling clean,” Robin said. “Any of that filmy scum at the bottom of a vase is bacteria that will clog your stems and shorten your flower’s lifespan.”
“You don’t want to drink out of a dirty glass, and your flowers don’t want to drink out of a dirty vase.”
Robin teaches three classes on Saturdays. A changing theme at 11 a.m., and two sessions of hand-tied bouquets at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Changing themes include subjects such as boutonnieres, wrist corsages and bring your-own-vase to help you arrange flowers in that awkward shaped vase sitting unused.
She also hosts private group parties. Lots of brides come in with their wedding party to learn how to make centerpieces or arrange wedding flowers. Others just want to learn how to make flowers beautiful or spend some quality time with friends. One woman called to book a margarita and flower class. Another group recently did a wine and flowers class. She encourages those throwing private parties to bring their own snacks and make it fun.
Buying Flowers:
But classes aren’t the only service Robin offers. Anyone can come in and buy wholesale flowers by the stem for weddings, parties, gifts or the kitchen table at home. Shoppers can drop by on weekdays to build their own bouquet.
A wholesale flower market is new to Alaska, but not a new concept. Shops like this one are popping up in big cities across the nation, so Robin wanted to bring a little of the big city to Anchorage. Some shoppers pop in thinking she’s a traditional florist and want to pick up a quick bouquet on the way to a dinner or event.
Recently she said a man came into the store with his three teenage daughters. He wanted to grab a bouquet to take to his grandmother and they were on their way to see her. Robin showed them how to pick a vase and choose the flowers. The father was flustered that she didn’t have anything arranged and ready to buy. But then all three girls followed Robin’s lead and quickly and quietly assembled a beautiful bouquet for their great-grandmother. Everyone was pleased with the result.
Another young man who came in was tickled to choose and arrange flowers for his girlfriend with Robin’s guidance. It adds a little meaning to the gift.
The Importance of Flowers
Robin said she once read a statistic that Alaskans buy more flowers per capita than people in any other state. She presumes it’s because Alaska has a short growing season and such long winters.
“We appreciate (flowers) more, because we don’t have them most of the year,” she said. “It’s one of the bright spots of life. Beauty is important — it makes life more enjoyable.”
Entrepreneur Advice:
“Don’t get discouraged,” she said.
It takes years to really establish a business. Don’t think you’ll find success in three months, Robin warned. Give it a good long try.
Alaska Wholesale Flower Market:
OPEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday – Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
LOCATION: 7437 Old Seward Highway Anchorage, AK 99518
PHONE: (907) 349-1277
ONLINE: alaskawholesaleflowermarket.com
All Photos by Annette Potter
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