We Asked: What's Inspiring You? (Live! from AIFD Symposium 2022)

Episode 133: It was a great week at AIFD National Symposium! Vonda, Lori and Ellie were joined by Julie Poeltler to represent Flower Clique at the Partners Showcase, as well as to reconnect with their floral family. Vonda and Julie also presented on the Main Stage alongside fellow Teleflora Education Specialists for the emotional design program "PULSE".

In this episode, Lori and Ellie took the opportunity to pull attendees of AIFD aside and ask them Lori's famous podcast question, "what's inspiring you right now?" We loved hearing everyone's responses and we think you will too.

Our participants were: Helen Miller AIFD; Heather Towne AIFD; Jodi McShan AIFD; Jim DelPrince AIFD, Joyce Mason-Monheim AIFD; Julie Poeltler AIFD; Kelly Mace; Kevin Ylvisaker AIFD; Lottie McKinnon; Marisa Guerrero AIFD; Michelle Peters AIFD; Monica Michelle; Pat Scace AIFD; Renee Tucci AIFD; Talmage McLaurin AIFD; Theresa Colucci AIFD; Tim Farrell AIFD; Tom Bowling AIFD; and Trent Harshman

Our Sponsors:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep Schools

Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Well, I have had the chance to be in the workroom this past week and just being around such incredible artists has really inspired me. It's kind of created a new lease on life for me in my creative world because I do, you know, deal a lot with the corporate side of things, but being able to be an artist as well. I've just been inspired to be me.

SPEAKER_07 0:26

Welcome to the Business and Pleasure of Flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever and Lori Wilson.

SPEAKER_08 0:31

And we believe that business and fun are a perfect combination. Kind of like us, Vonda.

SPEAKER_06 0:39

Oh my gosh, Lori, what an amazing week last week, huh? It really was, Vonda. It was so much fun.

SPEAKER_08 0:46

And you know, usually I feel out of my element when I have gone to AI FT in the past, because I'm not a designer, right? Right. But because I had my little sidekick, Ellie, and she's not a designer either. We had so much fun. Just so much fun.

SPEAKER_06 1:05

I could tell. And it was great to watch the two of you in action, like pulling people off the street, so to speak. Right. And walking by and getting their opinion on what was inspiring them. Right. So our plan was, because you were, you know, with the other uh teleflora education specialists.

SPEAKER_08 1:24

And so all Ellie and I were gonna do was go sit down in the atrium of the convention for one hour. And as we see people go by, we were gonna grab them and say, What's inspiring you right now? Like being here, what's the one thing? I'm just super short. Well, you know, our one hour turned into four hours because we were having so much fun. And then you guys, you and Julie came and Tim Farrell. It was just, it was just really fun. And I think it caught people off guard. Like, wait, what? What is this happening? But after they did it, I think they were really happy they did it.

SPEAKER_06 2:03

Oh, I think they were too. I think it was just a fun thing for everybody who was involved. And yeah, so we have several of them, and that's what this whole podcast is. It's just one person after the other, yeah talking about what's inspiring them. Right. And if you have never been to AIFD, um, listen to these people, right?

SPEAKER_08 2:21

I mean, if you're listening, listen to them and think about going next year. Um, there are all levels of designers there. Don't you think? I mean, there's whether I met people that were brand new, just learning how to design, and then all of you guys that have been around for a while.

SPEAKER_06 2:42

We're seasoned. Seasoned.

SPEAKER_08 2:44

That's what Julie kept calling you. Season, season. So anyway, I hope everyone enjoys it. So I am here at AIFD with Miss Monica Michelle from Bloom TV. Is that right? That's right. Okay, Monica, here's the question I ask everyone that ever comes on the podcast. What is inspiring you right now?

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Oh my God. I think it's the willingness for everybody to work together and want to help each other. I'm seeing that so much across multiple industries where people truly want to help each other grow their businesses and grow as a person. So that's been really inspiring to me.

SPEAKER_08 3:23

Right. And this is your first time. This is my first time at AIFD. Yes. My first time. So all right. Thanks for stopping in. Thank you.

SPEAKER_10 3:30

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your full name, where you're from. Jody McShan. I'm from Dallas, Texas. I'm a third generation florist and loving time here at AIFD. Go Texas. I'm Houston. All right, here's my question. What's inspiring you right now? I would have to say the people that I'm seeing here at Symposium, especially like Ann Jordan and Hintomi, the time they put into this and the effort and energy, they're just amazing. And between them and all the wonderful worldwide renowned designers here, it's really inspiring for all of us.

SPEAKER_08 4:03

Renee Tucci. Hello.

SPEAKER_14 4:06

Hello, Lori.

SPEAKER_08 4:07

What is inspiring you here at AIFD right now?

SPEAKER_14 4:11

Well, of course, the flowers are amazing, but it's all about the flower family.

unknown 4:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_14 4:16

Uh the coming together, the supporting of each other. You just can't beat it.

SPEAKER_08 4:22

I want to say I watched your group, your little teleflora group, do the presentation yesterday, and I cried, cried a little bit, and you danced.

SPEAKER_14 4:32

I did dance. It was very outside my comfort zone, but it was a good time, and I'm glad I did it.

SPEAKER_08 4:38

I'm quite sure the minute you started dancing, I was sitting next to Ellie and I was like, this is so I'm, you know, so out of her comfort zone. I'm so proud of her. So you did great.

SPEAKER_14 4:48

Thank you very much. Thanks for being here and supporting us.

SPEAKER_08 4:52

For the people out there that don't know who the famous Heather Town is, tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from, what your shop name is, all the good stuff.

SPEAKER_09 5:01

I am from Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, uh, which is just north of Philadelphia.

SPEAKER_08 5:07

You are also one of our clickers in the world, so we love and adore you very much. So here's my question. Here at AIFD Symposium, what is inspiring you right now?

SPEAKER_09 5:20

Well, first of all, all the designs on stage and off stage in the breakout room have just been beautiful, inspiring. I've taken close-ups, I've taken back shots, I've taken pictures with designers. It's just been great. But there's another little something that has me all aflutter. Yes, and what might that be, Heathertown? I am being inducted in a couple hours and I just can't stand myself anymore.

SPEAKER_08 5:46

I can stand you, and I am so excited too.

SPEAKER_09 5:50

This is awesome. Super awesome. I have been wanting to do this for years and things got in the way, but this is my time.

SPEAKER_08 5:58

So I'm really proud of you. We all are, and uh hope everything goes well tonight. Don't don't get up there and be so nervous you faint.

unknown 6:06

Or fall.

SPEAKER_08 6:07

Or fall. Picture everyone in their underwear, and you will do fine.

SPEAKER_09 6:10

Well, I'm the second to the last person, so I've got a lot of time to hold it together.

SPEAKER_08 6:15

Please state your first and last name and what you do in the floral industry.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

Oh gosh, that's a hard one. Okay, my name I know my name. My name is Marisa Guerrero, but in the floral industry I do a lot of things. I own a flower shop called Debbie's Bloomers in El Paso, Texas, but I also am the president of the South Central Region of AIFD, and I sit on the AIFD Foundation board, and I'm on the board for the Texas State Florist Association. So I keep busy.

SPEAKER_08 6:45

You do. And you also attend SAF. You're you support SAF. So you you're a very busy little beaver. So, all right, here's my question for you. What's inspiring you this week?

SPEAKER_02 6:56

Well, you know, we're here at AIFD Symposium, and it's all beautiful and amazing, and getting to see friends is great. But one of the things that I've noticed that is just really um uplifting is that so many people are being so generous. So, you know, as part of the foundation, there's a lot of scholarships and education grants and things like that that we do, and people are just giving and giving and giving to those funds so that other people can learn. And that's really amazing.

SPEAKER_08 7:23

Oh my gosh. Yeah, that is very amazing. I was talking to um someone earlier, and we were saying how important it is for first-timers, right, to come and not be feel intimidated or not feel, you know, and some people can't might think it's financially unattainable. All you gotta do is ask, right, write in. Hey, I'd love to go. Can I get any help with the price?

SPEAKER_02 7:50

Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, there are so many resources from so many floral organizations that offer scholarships to things, and so many of them go unused because people don't apply. So if you don't know where to apply, start asking around. You know, the AIFD Foundation, SAF, your state organizations, all of those have really wonderful scholarships and grants available. That's really good. I'm so glad you mentioned that.

SPEAKER_21 8:14

My name is Helen Miller and I'm from Adrian, Michigan. And it is very hor very warm here in Las Vegas, so uh a little bit different than than uh than Michigan. Um so what inspires me? There are so many things, the European designers and the different techniques and and um combinations of colors that we're not used to as much here in the United States. Um, but I have to mention this. One thing that truly hit home and to my heart was being part of our teleflora program and all of that whole team, the individual design styles and the inspiration that they gave me from that program and the emotions, the emotions that they were able to convey was just to me amazing. It was so wonderful to be part of that.

SPEAKER_08 9:13

I want to say two things. Number one, I could tell when you and your partner, and I'm sorry, I can't remember Cindy Toll were up there talking, and the way you were talking about one another kind of gave me a lump in my throat because I feel you guys were so impressed by the other one. Um, all the partners did up there. And number two, I want you to know when it was over behind me. Someone said, This was the best show so far. So good job.

SPEAKER_13 9:46

Pat Scace, and I'm from Columbia, Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri.

SPEAKER_08 9:51

Okay, what is inspiring you right now? Cool plants. Nice! There are a lot of cool plants around here. Anything else?

SPEAKER_13 10:00

Well, and how they're used. I mean, people don't know the names of those plants. They know the names of people, but they don't know the names of plants, and we're hearing a lot about that this time around.

SPEAKER_08 10:09

I would be one of those people, but I want to educate myself more. So I have a question. Please tell me your top three favorite plants. If you were to have favorites, I bet you don't play favorites when it comes to plants, but what would be your top three? Nepenthes.

SPEAKER_13 10:33

Probably Gloriosa. Come see, come saw. And the other one would be probably something along the lines of on Sidium. Tetrostigma. Something like that.

SPEAKER_08 10:50

Fascinating. I would like for you to send me images of those and so I can learn them. Would you do that? Oh, love to, sure. Thank you. Hello, Miss Julie. I would like for you to introduce yourself, say where you're from, and what's inspiring you right now.

SPEAKER_03 11:12

Well, thank you very much, Lori. My name is Julie Poetler, and I'm from Iowa. And here at Las Vegas at the at this wonderful convention of flower people, the one thing that I have found that is truly inspiring this whole time are water tubes. Do you realize how many water tubes are being used at this convention? I really like to know than total the number. I have pictures of all these beautiful designs, and the flowers are laying on top, and and then the water tube is going through uh some kind of structure, and the flower is placed in there for it to survive. And then you have all there are thousands of water tubes.

SPEAKER_08 11:57

Two questions. Number one, would you send me that picture? I would love to see it. Five, six, fifteen pictures, I could say. Great. Well, send me. I don't need fifteen. I would like one or two. Uh my second question truly is does every flower require a water tube or just certain types of flowers?

SPEAKER_03 12:22

The creative artistry that is being uh designed at this conference is impeccable. And when they're designing it, that's coming from their heart. So some are designed in water, floral foam, but some of it are designed for the cleared tube. And the cleared tube is comes a part of the design.

SPEAKER_08 12:40

Oh wow. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 12:42

So it's just giving you a different uh um aspect or a different look, and it's it's this artistry that they're bringing to you. That's fascinating. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 12:52

All right. Going through a museum. It is like a museum walking through all of the things that they keep putting out. So thank you. Yes, you're welcome. Hello, Talmadge. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_19 13:03

I'm doing great.

SPEAKER_08 13:05

I want you to tell people a little bit about yourself for those that may not know who you are in this industry.

SPEAKER_19 13:11

Okay. Um Talmadge, who is Talmadge? Um, he was the publisher for Florist Review magazine for 24 years, started as a creative director, and uh past that little stint in publishing, I now work for um growers in South America, um, particularly Esmeralda Farms and Sunshine Bouquet.

SPEAKER_08 13:33

Very impressive. What is inspiring you right now being here at uh Symposium?

SPEAKER_19 13:39

Um well, I guess it's it's just getting to see everybody um again, uh old friends, new friends, and just sort of seeing what um the zeitgeist is, or or at least what what the uh American viewpoint is as far as as design is concerned, because I think most of my inspiration recently is from things that are online, uh particularly uh people that I follow on Instagram. And um so it's nice to see see real-world designers, you know, doing their thing.

SPEAKER_08 14:12

I agree. Hello, Tim Farrell. How are you?

SPEAKER_18 14:16

I'm doing great, Lori. Hi.

SPEAKER_08 14:18

Okay, for the people out there, the minority that don't know who you are, tell them where you're from.

SPEAKER_18 14:25

I'm a retailer from the Philadelphia area in Pennsylvania.

SPEAKER_08 14:28

All right, so I'm gonna ask you a question that I ask everyone on the podcast. What is inspiring you right now?

SPEAKER_18 14:35

So, right now, I am still thinking about the opportunity I had to work with the Teleflower team on our program and to be among that group of creative, wonderful people is just absolutely inspiring, both as an artist and as a human.

SPEAKER_08 14:50

I love that answer. I interviewed Helen earlier, and she said something kind of similar. Um, and I want you to know that as soon as it was over, Ellie and I both commented that you were born to be an MC. So if your day job doesn't work out, you've got a great background.

SPEAKER_18 15:12

Let's find the game show and make it happen, huh?

SPEAKER_08 15:14

There you go. Thanks, Tim.

SPEAKER_17 15:17

I'm Tom Bowling. I'm from Fairfield, Ohio, and I've been involved with AIFD. This is my 33rd year to be here.

SPEAKER_08 15:25

Holy crap. That's a lot of years! Yes, it is. And you're only, what, 40? Tom, tell us what's inspiring you right now.

SPEAKER_17 15:36

Right now, I think we have to look globally to what's being happening in the world, and as far as as color and and textures and all the elements that come into play, we have to look beyond our own self and our own little cosmic world to what's happening again globally to gain inspiration, to gain usage of what we've already learned and what we're going to learn because of that. So when we say history repeats itself, it really does in our industry, and especially since we've gone through the COVID years and we've had some challenges on the on the supply end, and we have learned to be better, to be cleaner, and to be more succinct in our operation.

SPEAKER_08 16:23

I love that question, that answer, but it also brought up a question: if I'm a listener of this podcast, and maybe I'm a little fairly new to the industry and I'm wanting to find that inspiration internationally, do you have any advice on like where someone should look for that? Like clearly coming to AIFD is a big part, but is there any other advice you can give them on where to start looking for that type of inspiration outside of just your little bubble?

SPEAKER_17 16:53

Well, as an educator, we look, first of all, what's happening in our own market. And in our own market, what is selling? What colors are selling, what what patterns are selling, what's the look? And just because somebody embraces this as a wonderful new inspiration, it can be, however, does it sell in your market area? And and trends are slow to introduce, so it's important to be trend forward, and depending on how much you want to be there and how far you want to put yourself out. But I think it's really important that you go to um like giftware markets and you know see what's out there and and assess just because somebody else is buying it doesn't mean it's right for you. But do your homework and figure out what's happening in your own market and then broaden a little, a little bit, a little bit more and learn and really pay attention to your market.

SPEAKER_08 17:52

Thank you. That's great advice. Thanks, Tom.

SPEAKER_17 17:54

Thank you.

SPEAKER_12 17:56

I am Trent Harshman. I work for Syndicate Sales. I've been with them for 32 years. I'm in charge of their product development and their purchasing.

SPEAKER_08 18:05

Very impressive, Trent. Here's my question. What's inspiring you this week?

SPEAKER_12 18:11

There's all kinds of things that are inspiring me. Um actually I'm thrilled that this is going back on again. I mean, everybody has been out of commission for many years, and it's great to see everybody back in the fold and getting their education and experience back out in the fold. And just watching the shows and watching what's going on, just sat through the Sue McCleary one. It's phenomenal. I mean, the inspiration that everybody's doing and has had to adapt through the uh trying times of the last few years, they they just continue to shine.

SPEAKER_08 18:47

I would agree. So, Trent, I have a comment about Syndicate Sales. When Vonda and I were in Albany, we did a profit blast for SAF, and Syndicate Sales was there, and one of your employees, Derek Woodruff, who makes me laugh, he's been on our podcast actually. He gave me one of those cool little pillows. Is that what it's called? That you put yeah. Tell us a little bit about that product.

SPEAKER_12 19:14

All right. Well, this was a collaboration, first of all. We had a uh outside source, Holly Chapel. You guys have heard her heard of her. Uh she came in and uh worked with us on a concept of taking a ball of chicken wire and trying to turn it into a useful mechanic that was easy to repeat, reusable. So uh we Syndicate um You Well we Syndicate Um designed the uh the eggs and the pillows and made them in a variety of sizes to adapt to any kind of arranger that you want to do. And then we started accenting some floral containers to go along with them so they match up very nicely.

SPEAKER_08 20:01

Well, I'm very impressed. I'm gonna tell you one thing. I am not a designer. Anyone that knows me could tell you that, but I have used your I don't know if it's a pillow or an egg, which one what it was, but I've used it. Yeah, it's round. It is a pillow. It's a pillow. I've used it twice in a little cylinder container, and I will tell you, it made me feel like I could actually make pretty arrangements. So it's very cool.

SPEAKER_12 20:27

It allows you to lock in the designs and the installation base, which we just introduced. We didn't really we introduced it about a year and a half ago, but a lot of people really haven't heard about it yet. We featured it at the Partners Expo uh with our arches. Okay. And uh if you haven't had a chance to check that one out, you need to because it's very cool.

SPEAKER_08 20:46

All right, thanks, Trent.

SPEAKER_04 20:48

Tell us your first and last name and where you're from. Sure. My name is Kelly Mace, and I'm from Stowe, Ohio. Because we're old neighbors and we just found out that we are neighbors.

SPEAKER_08 21:00

This is incredible. Former neighbors. Yes, I used to go to basketball tournaments every weekend.

SPEAKER_04 21:07

So, Kelly, tell us real quick, what do you do in the industry? Yes, so I'm the marketing manager for Smithers Oasis, and I have been with the company for 28 years. So, like my full adult life, pretty much.

SPEAKER_08 21:19

So you know that character named Kevin? Uh that uh Kevin Yulvasaker, yes, I do.

SPEAKER_04 21:26

Yeah, okay. That's great. He's our uh design director team, and we've known each other for um, gosh, over 10 years, probably 20 years.

SPEAKER_08 21:34

Okay, here's my question, Kelly.

SPEAKER_04 21:36

What's inspiring you this week? Oh my gosh, all of this floral and everything that we're seeing and being back together again, and I'm sure a lot of people have said the same thing, but we have been living in a Zoom world, and it is just great to like see people, to hug people, to interact with everybody again and just have that, you know, that connection with people. So do you recommend?

SPEAKER_08 22:00

People, if they have never come to an event, if you're they're in our industry and maybe they've never really come to an AIFD or an SAF or anything. Do you recommend this being maybe their first go-around with something like this?

SPEAKER_04 22:14

Absolutely. We have a new person that just started, and he is here, and we started off the week in processing. And so we have been here all week and we started off at processing. And so he is getting fully entrenched into what this is all about. And he came back and he said, I never knew. I never knew this is what we did. I never knew where our products went. I never knew this. So anybody who is um new to the industry, I um I recommend that they volunteer. I welcome, you know, recommend that they come and they can, you know, work in the workroom, work in processing. There's always something to do. There's always, there's always, you know, a job that can be done.

SPEAKER_08 22:54

I agree. The first year I came, Vonda was doing a maiden stage. I'm not a designer. I don't do things, but I helped out in the workroom. And so even if you're not a high-end designer, they can use you. They needed gophers. I was super good at that. Thanks for stopping by. Thank you very much. I want you to state your first and last name, where you're from, and what's inspiring you right now at Symposium.

SPEAKER_16 23:25

Sure. Kevin Yolvasacer from McGuanago, Wisconsin. And I think I'm being inspired by, first of all, by seeing everyone I haven't seen in three years, and a lot of the people that we didn't even see three years ago. So we're getting together, we're talking, you know, talking about old times. And so it just inspired me, you know, that way to see friends. And I know flowers would inspire me as well on the main stage, which they do, but I really have to think that it's the uh seeing friends that I haven't seen in ages.

SPEAKER_08 23:53

I agree. And I got we got to talk to you last night because your company, Smithers Oasis, hosted a little happy hour and it was really fun.

SPEAKER_16 24:02

Yes, they did. It's not my company, but I why I design I designed for Smithers Oasis. It was. It was so much fun and and just everybody needed to let loose. And as you know, that happened.

SPEAKER_08 24:14

Yes, it did. All right, thanks for stopping by.

SPEAKER_16 24:16

All right, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 24:18

My name is Lottie McKinnon. I am the program director for Teleflora for education, and so I get to be around all these incredible designers and um, you know, create magic across the country. It's amazing. Right, and you're very good at your job.

SPEAKER_08 24:32

I love, I love listening to you. I love when you're on whether it's on Zoom or on main stage, you do a fabulous job. My question is what's inspiring you this week?

SPEAKER_00 24:44

Well, I have had the chance to be in the workroom today, um, uh this past week, and um just being around such incredible artists um has really inspired me. It's um kind of created a new lease on life for me um in my creative world because I do, you know, deal a lot with the corporate side of things, but being able to be an artist as well. Um I've I've just been inspired to be me.

SPEAKER_08 25:08

Oh, I love that. And I just want to commend you on your main stage presentation yesterday, you and all of the education specialists. I probably started to cry at least four different times because it was so heartfelt. And I was just so proud of everyone up there. Like you guys really knocked it out of the park. And then I heard today I mean, no one ever got together until this week.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

Exactly. Yeah, we did um a lot of it on Zoom, thankfully for Zoom, but um, yeah, and but I think you know, part of the genuine emotions that people not only in the audience but on the stage got to feel was that very reason. And you know, just being able to pull it all together, you know, I I see it as a as a pie. And everybody had their own little um piece of the pie, and together we made one beautiful, delicious, amazing pie.

SPEAKER_08 26:00

Oh, so good. And I also want to point out your husband got to be a part of your world this week in a really cool way. Tell us just a little bit about that because I think it's such a sweet story.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

Oh, thank you. Well, um, you know, uh I had the idea for live music, and um so I went to a composer friend of ours um who very accomplished and has been friends with my husband for many, many years, and um, so you know, I kind of gave him some ideas of where we went, and then we got into the studio, and so I got to see that that you know creative side of it, but then I managed to persuade my husband to actually get on a plane and come over here along with the other musicians. So um, yeah, he he gets to see this part of my life, which is kind of really amazing. It's very cool that you guys could share in that. So thanks for stopping by. Thank you so much. It's so amazing to see you both.

SPEAKER_08 26:55

I am here with Jim from Biloxi, Mississippi. Jim, tell me your full name and what you do.

SPEAKER_20 27:02

My name is Jim Delprince, and I am an extension horticulture specialist with Mississippi State University Extension.

SPEAKER_08 27:09

That's very fancy. A lot of words and very fancy. Okay, Jim, I'm gonna ask you the question that I ask every single person that comes on our podcast. What's inspiring you right now?

SPEAKER_20 27:21

What is inspiring me right now are huge heads of orange salosha that are in the field that needed to be harvested like July 1st, and I need to go home to cut those, get them into water, get some things dried, and get some things ready for fall because it's time to start thinking about fall floral design.

SPEAKER_08 27:50

Okay, so by I don't know what that word is, but by all your context clues, I'm assuming it's a flower.

SPEAKER_20 27:57

It's a flower, it's a big, beautiful crested salosha flower. And we grew them at our um uh at our research farm in Poplarville, Mississippi, along with some other flowers in um the fourth year of our floriculture production, but the first year that we've moved it from our Biloxi facility to rural Poplarville, and um it's been a good year for cut flowers.

SPEAKER_08 28:25

That's exciting! Yeah, yeah. I want you to state your first and last name, where you're from.

SPEAKER_11 28:32

Michelle Peters, Albany, New York.

SPEAKER_08 28:34

Ooh, okay, nice to meet you, Michelle. My question is what's inspiring you right now at AIFD Symposium?

SPEAKER_11 28:42

The best thing I heard about this was anybody can buy flowers anywhere, but when they go to a flower shop, they're buying artwork. And that totally inspired me. I was feeling very burnt out. It's been a hard 27 months, and when I heard that, everything changed. It's like I'm all pumped up again. Wow, that is so good.

SPEAKER_08 29:04

You gave me goosebumps. Thank you, Michelle.

SPEAKER_22 29:09

My name is Joyce Mason-Monheim, and I'm a freelance floral designer and also a floral educator.

SPEAKER_08 29:16

Wonderful. What is inspiring you this week while we are all here face to face at AIFD Symposium?

SPEAKER_22 29:25

I think the biggest thing that inspires me is being in a room with like-minded people. Just having people that you don't have to explain yourself. Everybody gets excited about the same thing, and there's no words. It's just emotion.

SPEAKER_08 29:39

Yeah, and speaking of emotion, did you get emotional watching the education specialists yesterday?

SPEAKER_22 29:45

Of course. I was part of that. It was yeah, you know, it really was. I think the coolest thing was that we have never done that before together, and everybody's interpretation and everybody's own creative design style, just it was amazing. It was absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_08 30:00

It really was. We've interviewed Tim, Julie, Helen, not Vonda, because Vonda will talk about it, but they all said the same thing. And what I've shared with them is, you know, Ellie and I were sitting there watching it from the audience. It was so obvious to us the the love you guys have between yourselves. A lot of times, I think people assume, oh, I'm a design. There's it's always about competition. But you guys really complemented each other's emotion up there.

SPEAKER_22 30:39

You know, it it's like it's great camaraderie within that team itself because everybody gets along really well, and it's they're our best friends. That's what it is.

SPEAKER_08 30:49

I also think it's amazing. That was really like you guys have been planning this for uh a year, but you haven't physically been together with your partner until just this week, right?

SPEAKER_22 31:00

That's exactly right. So we did a lot of Zoom calls, but you know, just taking taking each other's word for it, and this is what's gonna happen, and everybody does their job, and that was what was really cool.

SPEAKER_08 31:12

It was it was a wonderful program. I've said this to everyone else when it was over. We overheard the people in the behind us saying, This was has been the best uh main stage yet. This was so good. Yeah, yeah. And I'm making out with the Jenga. I that was my I loved the Jenga. It's like, oh my god, I yes, I think we were like anticipating, you know, if it falls over, and and you kept making the the one side that was like stop, it's gonna fall. Not gonna fall. No, that was very cool. And for those of you guys listening, if this is online, I think it is, and that you can pay for it to watch. It is so worth watching, it's so inspirational. So uh thanks for stopping by and thanks for doing what you did yesterday.

SPEAKER_22 32:00

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_08 32:02

Hello, Teresa. How are you doing? I'm doing great. Thank you. All right. For the audience listening, tell them your full name and what you do in the floral industry.

SPEAKER_05 32:15

So my name is Teresa Callucci and I own Meadow Scent in Gardener, New York. Um, but I am here at the AIFD convention as the hard good procurement chair. So I procured all of the hard goods for everything that's going on at Symposium.

SPEAKER_08 32:34

You did that and also ran a flower shop full-time.

SPEAKER_05 32:40

It was fun. Was it though? Was it? Procurement was very challenging this year. I've done it before. This year was very challenging, but I have to tell you, designers were awesome. If I had to, you know, go back to them and tell them that there wasn't something available. Everybody was so forgiving and just kind of figured a new way out to work with something.

SPEAKER_08 33:02

I will tell you one thing Vonda and I've learned through the last two years in talking with designers and flowers shop owners is our industry, the majority of people are very adaptable and flexible. So it probably made your job a little bit easier. Um, all right, I'm gonna ask you the important question: what's inspiring you this week?

SPEAKER_05 33:23

Well, I'm in the workroom a lot, so I get to see behind the scenes, which is super inspiring because I get to go up to all the individual designers and see their programs before they go out on stage. So I'm looking a little at a lot of mechanics, a lot of techniques, everything they're doing behind the scenes. And that is gives you so much knowledge. Love it, love it. And um, watching them, they're from everywhere. You know, we've got Australia, we've got the UK, we've got the Netherlands, and then all these great people from the US, these awesome designers. So being able to see what they're doing is super inspiring.

SPEAKER_08 34:03

Yeah, I have one more question. What would you say to people that are maybe just now entering the art industry and they listen to our podcast and they really don't know much about AIFD? Um, what would be a great first step for them to start learning more?

SPEAKER_05 34:24

I would say come definitely come to a convention. Way back, I came come from this little town. I was reading all the trade magazines, and I just was so curious as to what does that mean behind somebody's name? And then I started researching it. And I went to my first convention scared. Oh my God, I didn't know anybody. Introduced myself to a couple people and then got in the workroom and then it just took off. And the first time I went, I just thought when I saw these people on stage, oh my God, they have the same feeling about flowers that I have. And that was it. It took off, and I just started coming every year after that.

SPEAKER_08 35:04

I love that story. One thing that I think is really cool that AIFD did, I don't know, maybe you've done this every year. I've only been a couple of times, but you have the app we've been using. And I was talking to someone here a few days ago, actually, two people, and I thought they came together, and they said no, one was from London and one was here, and they said we connected on the app and they just have palled around the whole week. So you can come by yourself and meet up with a new friend, and it's a wonderful experience.

SPEAKER_05 35:37

Yeah, because you all have the same common goal here. You all want to learn, you want to get educated in flowers, and you all love flowers. So you've got something to talk about right off the top. Exactly.

SPEAKER_06 35:47

Thanks for stopping by.

SPEAKER_05 35:48

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_06 35:51

Well, Lori, this one was so much fun to edit, as you can imagine. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 35:56

Well, you you had to you had to edit a lot because there was a lot of laughter. We started kind of having a crowd at one point, you know, everyone hanging out and people were laughing and talking in the background. But um, it really was. It was so fun to hear each person. And I was a little concerned, thinking everyone's gonna say the same thing, which to me the obvious is being face-to-face, but they really didn't. They didn't at all, which was very surprising. Yeah, it was great. One that I kind of want to touch on, and then I know you want to is Marisa. Um, she is on the board for scholarships, and she says a lot of people don't know. We have all of these scholarships out there, and so if people want to come to AIFD and you think you can't afford it, please reach out.

SPEAKER_06 36:48

Please agree. And it's next year, it's in Chicago. Okay, so 2023 in Chicago, July 1st through the 6th, somewhere in there. Chris Norwood is the symposium chair and program coordinator is Jacob McCaw. So it'll just be really great. And so mark your calendar for those days. And also, like you said, reach out for a scholarship. It's if it's something you really want to do and you can't afford it, you know, or if it's a challenge for you, make sure you apply for a scholarship.

SPEAKER_08 37:17

Yep. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoyed spending time with us because we enjoy spending time with you. If you did, make sure you hit that subscribe button or add the business and pleasure of flowers to your Google morning routine or your flash briefing on Alexa. We look forward to seeing you next week.

SPEAKER_07 37:39

So please come back and join us and discover how a bit of knowledge and one small change in your mindset can take you to new levels in your life and business.