Creating Ease During The Peaks

^{Image - The Ruby Hatbox from Flower Class}

Ease doesn’t just happen during the busiest weeks of the year. It’s built, carefully and intentionally, long before the first flower order is placed.

Every florist knows the rhythm of the peaks. Valentine’s. Mother’s Day. Festive Holidays. Those big weeks where the shop hums with energy, where you’re surrounded by flowers and movement and lists. They can feel all-consuming. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that those weeks don’t have to be chaotic.

Creating ease during the peaks comes down to preparation. Preparation gives you space. It gives you clarity. It gives you freedom to actually enjoy the work instead of just surviving it.

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Define what you’re offering

I find that a lot of floral designers, especially those still growing their businesses, sometimes wait to be told what to make.  They wait for orders to come in, or for customers to dictate the designs.  But in truth, ease starts when you define your offer yourself.

Take time to decide exactly what you’ll be selling this peak season, and make it a tight, well-considered collection.  Somewhere between five and seven products is often perfect for a small flower shop or studio. More than that, and it starts to become hard work.  Each design should feel aligned with your brand, your audience, and your price point.

It’s not about having something for everyone. It’s about having something that aligns with your brand, your voice and skills that you can make beautifully, again and again, without friction.

And remember the 'florist’s choice' option.  A non-defined offering that offers great value to the customer, whilst giving you control, flexibility, and the ability to use what’s freshest or best value that week.  One good 'florist’s choice' bouquet can save hours of stress later on.

Plan your sales before the rush begins

Ease doesn’t begin when the flowers arrive. It begins the moment you start talking about your offer.

I like to begin my festive campaign on the first of November, right after Halloween.  For Valentine’s and Mother’s Day, the timeline is a little shorter, but the same idea applies. Start early. Talk gently. Build momentum.

Utilise your socials and mailing list to keep customers updated and in the know.  And if you want to encourage pre-orders, consider creating an early bird offer but don’t discount your work. Never reduce the price or throw in something for free.  Offer a premium service or upgrade instead can work wonders.  Personally I like to promise premium early delivery  on the day for customers who order within the first week.  An early delivery time slot is one of a studio's biggest requests, you can use this to your advantage.  It feels special to the customer, it helps me prepare, and it costs almost nothing to provide.  That’s what smart ease looks like.

Structure your production

The best peaks are built on structure.

Pre-order your flowers early. Look back at your order volumes for the past three years and use them as your guide. Add a little buffer for growth, but not too much. This is where ease meets good data.

Do the same with your hard goods. Bring everything in early, vases, ribbon, cellophane, cards, and prepare them.  Pre-print your message cards. Group them by delivery area. Check your stationery and your printer ink.  These small, almost invisible tasks make a huge difference when things get busy.

Once the orders start to flow, rely on batching.  Batch work is your friend.  Instead of making bouquets one by one, create them in groups ... twenty of one design, then twenty of another.  Begin the week with designs in water, which will last longer, and move towards hand-ties and non-water products as the week progresses.

Structure creates calm.

Care for your team

Ease isn’t just about logistics.  It’s about people and it's about communication.

Great production relies on great people, so book your freelancers and extra staff early. Before a peak week begins, hold a team briefing.  Talk through what’s coming, deliveries, timings, new systems, expectations. Let everyone know their role and how they fit into the bigger picture.  When people feel prepared, they work better.

During the week itself, small gestures make all the difference.  Perhaps have snacks, lunches, tea and coffee ready.  Check in with people.  Ask how they’re doing.  The best teams don’t just work hard, they look after one another.

Ease comes from care, not just efficiency.

Review and rest

When the last order leaves the shop or studio and the doors finally close, take a breath but don’t disappear just yet. The work isn’t quite over.

Within a few days, take some time to review the week.  Record how many orders you did each day, what sold best, what ran out early, what could be improved.  Note how your team performed, what systems worked, and what caused friction. These notes will be gold dust next year when the same peak rolls around again.

And then rest.  Really rest.  The ease you build now is the foundation for the next one.

The beauty of calm

Floristry will always have its peaks (and troughs).  The trick is to approach them with intention.  The more you prepare, the more you plan, the more you build structure around your creativity, the freer you’ll be to enjoy it.

When you know your offer, when your orders are mapped, when your team is briefed and your flowers are ready, you get to stand in the middle of it all and actually take it in.

That’s what ease looks like.  Not less work, but better work.

Ease isn’t the absence of effort. It’s the presence of clarity.