3 Ways To Scale Sustainably

Here at the Joseph Massie Studio, we have always dreamed bigger, gone for bigger and achieved bigger.  And our passion for sustainability has helped us do all of that just a little better too.  Sustainability within floristry encompasses many facets, from the environment itself to the people involved at every step of the process.  One myth we would love to de-bunk though is that when it comes to big scale, show stopping, epic floral design, you are a slave to floral foam and waste.  We want to challenge your beliefs about just how far you can really go with sustainable techniques in floral design.

 Let's take a look at 3 ways we achieve big results holding our sustainability ethos at heart.

1.Floral Foam, Friend or Foe?  For the past few decades the use of floral foam has been common practice.  It's convenient for creating large scale designs because of both its provision of structure and a water source.  But this convenience comes at a cost.  It's made of microplastics that don't fully degrade despite its crumbly facade and it can have a toxic effect within the environment when it's not disposed of correctly.  How do we go big without it though?  Quite simply, there are so many better techniques available today, innovation has gifted us a wealth of alternatives.  At our studio, one of our favourites is a natural foam alternative called Agra Wool which allows you to create and build in a similar way to traditional floral foam.  We pride ourselves on only teaching foam free techniques and we prove this is possible on a big scale with not a single block of foam used in any of the thirteen epic projects from our Installations Masterclass.

2. Use, Re-Use, Repeat.  One of the biggest challenges in floristry is waste.  Both the utilisation of single use plastics and the disposal of materials after an event.  Joseph Massie Flowers has been recycling our waste for over 5 years, and we estimate 60% of our waste is green waste which is compostable.  One of our biggest sustainability practices though is re-use.  We are keen to re-use as many floristry by products as possible such as chicken wire, or plastic water tubes which we store carefully and re-use over and over and over again.  As a company we always endeavour to use our props, fresh, dried and preserved product as many times as possible.  In installation design, silks, foliages and plants are excellent ways to manage budgets and offer fantastic re-use opportunities.  Re-using your props and materials also allows you to build a custom portfolio of your offerings.  Capture images of your work and use that content to sell a design over and over again.  Learn more about how installations can transform your business in our Installations Masterclass, on sale until October 4th.

3. Playing The Long Game.  One of the biggest concerns we hear about sustainability is the increased cost upfront.  Buying local, sourcing seasonal, purchasing alternative props and materials that have a higher cost than cheaper, disposable items, all adds up.  Firstly we want to acknowledge that working sustainably also encompasses you and your business making a profit.  There can be a culture of demonising anywhere perfection isn't observed and an air of superiority from a sector that has ample resources.  Our greatest advice we can offer and advocate for is, start from, and do, where and what you can.  If it's within your means, we're going to share one of our greatest wins ... Re-usable structures!  For the creation of show stoppers like statement wedding arches and moment creating flower walls we've invested in frameworks that we can use time and time again.  This is one of our best investments for our studio and the environment because it eliminates the need for floral foam, reduces waste AND allows us to become specialists in our services.  

Don't be afraid to charge a premium for what you are great at and share with your customers your sustainability ethos and practices.  When you invest in your self and the environment, you'll discover customers willing to invest in you too!  

Discover 13 epic installation designs, all created with sustainable techniques inside our Installations Masterclass. 

Team Joseph Massie.