Find Your Flower Shop Network had a chance to find out what makes Janet Frye of Glendale Flowers & Gifts in Glendale AZ tick and why she feels the floral industry is a fun and exciting profession.
We asked her a few questions and found some very insightful information.
Flower Shop Network: How long have you been a florist?
Florist: Since August 1975, started in Palm Springs, Ca where I trained on-the-job & practiced on celebrities!
Flower Shop Network: When did open your flower shop in Asheville?
Florist: January 18,1985
Flower Shop Network: What are your floral specialties?
Florist: Creative designs & weddings. “Reading” customers desires & get impressions of what they want even when they’re unable to express it themselves.
Flower Shop Network: What is your favorite flower?
Florist: The one in front of me at any moment! Love boronia heather, hyacinth…. that first dandelion in springtime is a thing of beauty.
Flower Shop Network: What is your favorite wedding bouquet?
Florist: One in which the Bride gives us lots of input and allows us creative license to express her personality with flowers!
Flower Shop Network: What would you say are the top flower trends in Asheville NC?
Florist: Customers are becoming more floral-savvy; requiring & asking for more unusual flowers & designs. An interesting note is that a few are beginning to ask FOR carnations be included in designs, just used in more unusual ways. Our customers love curly willow and geometric, clear-glass vases (cylinder, square, rectangle). They want their designs to have some element of “special flair,” be it botanical, style, container or accent.
Flower Shop Network: How have you used the North Carolina state flower in your designs?
Florist: Dogwood, not unless I have too. Looks more beautiful on the tree.
Flower Shop Network: What has been the best part of being a florist in North Carolina?
Florist: NC is almost like 2 states: Eastern & Western. Being a florist in ASHEVILLE NC is like being a florist in heaven! Western NC is one of the most bio-diverse spots in the world! The biodiversity and natural beauty of this area gives us some many “toys” to play with…florally speaking. Each season has it’s own offerings. There are pussy willow branches, forsythia, bulbs, lily of the valley, viburnum, camellia, spirea, curly willow, peony, glorious locally grown dahlia, celosia, sunflowers, privet and many more. We have branches, mosses, foliages and flowers easily available. Asheville being such a wonderful jewel in the mountains attracts many destination brides so we get to share the area’s abundance of flora with many who’d not experience it otherwise.
Flower Shop Network: Do you have a floral design philosophy?
Florist: Yes, best expressed by a quote of Fredrich Law Olmstead, landscape architect of Biltmore Estate-AVL, NC and Central Park, NYC… “Doing by design what nature might by chance.”
Another favorite quote is “There are no common flowers, there are only common designers” heard at a show 20-some years ago, don’t remember speaker.
Flower Shop Network: What style do you specialize in — modern, traditional, romantic, etc.?
Florist: Being AIFD means I’m good enough to do any style our clients want. What I enjoy doing most is a more natural look: using branches, flowers, moss in a style invoking the spirit of nature.
Flower Shop Network: What makes your arrangements better or different than anybody else’s?
Florist: We strive to use local & natural elements and maintain the integrity & dignity of the flowers….and we’re damned good at what we do! Flowers for me are a passion! I love flowers, the beauty, color, diversity and smell…flowers feed my soul!
Flower Shop Network: Do you remember the first time you received flowers? Tell us about it.
Florist: Spring of 1969, cymbidium orchid wrist corsage at 16 for my first prom….I knew I was special & loved.
First floral memory: laying in a field of Queen Anne’s Lace (then known as chigger-weed) on a Summer day watching the puffy clouds drift by.
Most shudderingly memorable floral experience: testing for AIFD…stressful to the Nth degree!!!
Most recent pleasant experience: helping on crew/team of Bill Schaffer AIFD & Kris Kratt AIFD at the Philadelphia International Flower Show.
Flower Shop Network: How did you get started in the floral business?
Florist: Joined a community theater group (props, sets, bit part) where the director & set designer (who owned 2 flower shops) thought I was creative …..I needed a job & they needed help. Was a great experience, very creative guys with several celebrity clients so many opportunities to learn.
Flower Shop Network: Favorite arrangements or other designs you’ve done?
Florist: Piece for opening reception, AIFD Southern Conference in Chattanooga, TN Mar. 2010. Large hand made “birdnest” basket of recycled holly stems & pussy-willow, with edging of 200 vibrant yellow callas, sitting on “perch” made of re-purposed cd racks woven with flax.
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