Interview with Ellie LaFever: Lessons learned growing up in the flower shop and beyond

#008: Vonda and Lori talk with Ellie LaFever about her floral journey, from growing up in the flower shop to lessons learned at the design school at Iowa State University, from her travels, to a clear vision of the focus needed for a flower shop to bloom in today's marketplace. 

Check out additional information at https://www.thebusinessandpleasureofflowers.com/ and watch for additional episodes with Ellie in upcoming weeks. 

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

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:10

[ music plays ]

Vonda 0:10

from your perspective, where do you think the retail flower shop fits into shopping and purchasing for young professionals?

Ellie 0:17

So that's a big loaded question there , mom

Speaker 3 0:26

[ Music plays ]

Vonda 0:27

today Lori and I talk with Ellie LaFever about her experience growing up in a flower shop and how that experience and other outside influences have brought her to the role of creative director of Flower Clique. She also shares her insight on what a shop needs to do to stay relevant in the market today.

Speaker 1 0:52

[ music plays ]

Vonda 0:52

welcome to The Business and Pleasure of Flowers. I'm Vonda LaFever.

Lori 0:56

and I'm Lori Wilson .

Vonda 0:57

We often get wrapped up into the day to day operations of our business and forget the pleasure flowers bring to everyone.

Lori 1:05

including us! Join us each week as we touch on important subjects that will help lead you to a more successful business and at the same time remind you that pleasure or just downright fun, needs to be part of your everyday life. So thanks for stopping in today. We're so glad you're here

Vonda 1:27

Today we have a special guest joining us on our podcast. We have Ellie LaFever and yes, it's not a coincidence that we have the same last name. She is my daughter.

Lori 1:38

Well she's your daughter but she's my friend. Hi Ellie. Good afternoon.

Ellie 1:43

Hi guys. Good to hear your voices.

Lori 1:46

Yes. How are you?

Ellie 1:48

I'm doing well.

Lori 1:49

You are in a whole different time zone than your mom and I. So I never know what time it is when I want to talk to you. I feel bad. I feel like I've texted you at like five in the morning your time cause you're out in California.

Ellie 2:03

Yeah, out in sunny LA.

Lori 2:06

So we are so excited to have you here for the podcast but I, I really feel like we your mom and I owe you more than that because if it wasn't for you we probably, or let me rephrase that, If it weren't for you, your mom probably wouldn't have said, you know what, I'm doing this. So we are very appreciative of your encouragement and a little bit of your guidance. You do all the behind the scenes stuff for us for the podcast.

Ellie 2:36

And you guys are rocking it.

Lori 2:37

Well we'll thank you. Thank you. We're excited. So your mom's gonna start asking you some questions, but before she does, I just want to say on a personal note, I want people to know that I absolutely adore you. What's funny is I'm much older than you. I'm much closer to your mom's age than you, but we're friends. We have a lot of the same things in common, we're very, very opposite in so many ways. That's why we get along. Right?

Ellie 3:04

Totally. Yeah.

Lori 3:06

So , for people that follow self help books like you and I do, if they're familiar with the Enneagram, I am a seven and you're a four and one day I was reading an additional book about it and they said in the business world a seven needs to find a four and the two of you together can change the world.

Ellie 3:26

Wow. Amazing.

Lori 3:27

Didn't I screenshot that and send it too you? Wow the two of us changing the world!

Vonda 3:32

Yeah, the two of you are. That's awesome. I'd love that.

Lori 3:35

So we have that in common. We also have the love of trader Joe's. Oh yes . And we spend alot of time sending pictures of our favorite trader Joe's items to each other. We should totally do a trader Joe's podcast.

Ellie 3:49

We should! That would be so fun. All the best snacks, all the best, all of the things that are discontinued now that we wish they would bring back.

Lori 3:58

And you know, do you follow that Instagram?

Ellie 4:02

Well you showed me. Now I do.

Lori 4:05

So anyway , that's , that's another story. That's another podcast.

Vonda 4:09

Whenever the two of you guys get together. I always have to kind of go, okay, let's bring you back in . Let's bring you back in.

Lori 4:15

Oh, I know, I know you do,

Vonda 4:18

So this podcast is all about Ellie and I really want our listeners to get to know her a little better. So let's just start with Ellie . Why don't you share your story? Your life has really revolved all around flowers .

Ellie 4:31

It has, it has. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, Dixon, Illinois. And I've been told that I've been in the flower shop since I was two days old.

Vonda 4:41

You have.

Ellie 4:42

I even had my own room with a bed for nap time. So I really got into it. I slowly started to learn different roles. They would put me on the task of washing the buckets and then I would go out on deliveries and deliver with the driver and then do f ree C arnation s pace. So slowly working my way into different roles. I have a vivid memory of trying to learn to design probably when I was about eight years old and I was getting so frustrated just that feeling of just I couldn't do it and Vonda, my mother walked over and she was so calm and started to give me like criticism but like positive and just like m aybe move this Rose over here. And she taught me and that i t was kind of the beginning of teaching design the entire time. I just thought to myself, how d oes this woman have so much patience? Like I just thought t here's no end to learning this. So that was kind of my first.

Vonda 5:37

I just have to interject here, and that arrangement, those three carnations space, we put in the cooler and then some customer came and bought them . So we were like proud mama going woo hoo she sold something, and you are so happy. It was just kind of a cool moment. Okay. Sorry, I just had to interject. That was fun.

Ellie 5:53

There we go.

Lori 5:54

I want to interject too because talking about Vonda being a good teacher. The three of us were just together doing the Flower Clique prep school and I was her, and I keep saying victim, but I mean student and she is, she's a phenomenal teacher as I know the stuff I was doing was not great but you were encouraging. You gave me a lot of constructive feedback.

Vonda 6:19

Thank you .

Lori 6:19

And you remained calm throughout the whole thing.

Ellie 6:21

Yeah, that was bringing it back. Those memories I saw you when you're getting a little frustrated or frazzled and she would just come over and give you a little help and that's all you needed.

Lori 6:30

It ain't easy.

Ellie 6:30

So back to the story, I split my time between, you know, helping in the design room like I was saying and then learning how to merchandise displays. Really loved doing that on the sales floor. And then I was learning the cash register and answering the phones and all of that. So, I really got immersed in the shop day by day after school , all of that. And then a big turning point was in about 2000 when computers and the internet was really blowing up and my dad gave me my own computer and a desk in the back office and so that really, I felt like I was at work on another level. I was interested in learning more.

Lori 7:13

You were a big deal then.

Ellie 7:14

yeah, pretty much the synthesis between the hands on design work and then the computer stuff. It just was a good balance for me between designing a physical product, you know, like the arrangements , interacting with customers and then naturally being drawn to technology. So it kind of all makes sense now in a way things were sculpted from me. I got to pursue those interests from a young age and then jumping ahead to high school, I jumped into bigger roles like learning, sympathy, work, doing payrolls, doing managing. But at the end of the day, the flower shop was, you know, second nature to me. So I wanted to go to college for something else. I was ready to get out of the small town. I was ready for a change.

Vonda 7:56

And you did, you changed, you went from Dixon, Illinois to Iowa state university. You moved on over to Ames, Iowa. You were a long way away, but you're still driving distance. So it was all good.

Ellie 8:06

Yes, so I went to Iowa state and I applied to design school and I was one of 50 accepted and then I graduated with a BFA in interior design during my college years. I think there are a couple of things that helped along the path. One is that I studied in Rome, which really gave me that global perspective and taking inspiration from other places and using that in my own work. A number two was that I interned in New York city for a summer at a big corporate design firm that designed hotels, which was what I thought I wanted to do. And it was amazing. But it taught me that I , I really didn't want to work for a big corporation, just not my style. You know, I was raised in a little tiny flower shop with a family mentality and you know, that was just too much of an extreme, I think. And then the third thing was that I interned and then worked as the assistant for a couple of photographers that did commercial work, editorial work. So I got to be on the set of better homes and gardens when they were doing shoots and really learned so much about photography and lighting and styling. Just to circle back, I think the common theme is that I'd never really could just pick one thing and do it for the rest of my life. I never believed that I had to do that or that I had to have that straight path that helped me become more open to learning new things and led me to where I am now.

Vonda 9:33

It's always interesting for me as a mother to hear that from a different perspective. You know, I know what you've gone through, but what you've learned from that I think is so interesting and so makes me proud. Really. The other thing that I think you've learned so differently is how to balance your work and your life. It's kind of a generational thing, right? Me, I've just always been in the flower shop, always worked. Seems like in any way, but you found that balance. How have you been able to do that?

Ellie 10:04

I mean I'm , I'm still pretty young but I think I've learned a lot from the experience. Thinking back to design school, there was no balance. It was all studio all day and night and I think I learned some lessons on burnout there quickly. And then when I interned again in New York, no one had balance. Everyone was expected to devote their life to their work. One small tidbit that I took away from that was after we had a , we had a really long week of deadlines that we were trying to hit and we were just in the office constantly got very little sleep and by that Friday night I actually cut my finger really bad and next thing I knew I was on fifth Avenue trying to hail a taxi at rush hour with some coworkers trying to get to the emergency room. That just really kind of summed it up. And I think those little moments you can learn a lot from, I learned quickly like slowing down is worth it and having that balance is worth it. Recently a shift has happened in, in the work world where people see value in taking the breaks. Mental health is becoming more protected and openly talked about. People are feeling less guilty for shutting it off after work.

Lori 11:15

You know the other thing as I'm listening to you because I agree with your mom as far as growing up the, when we did it was kind of more all or nothing and your generation like my son and my daughter, they have a much better balance. And I wonder you mentioned in 2000 and you got the computer right? I still didn't really know how to use computers weld in the year 2000 but you guys have always been or people your age, your generation, you've been able to multitask maybe a little bit better than people like me because you maybe, you have three or four different tabs open on a computer and you've applied that to your life. When I first met you, you actually were kind of working for three different people as like freelancer or you know contractor and you were able to balance that as opposed to someone like me. I don't think I'm good at balancing. I think the word that I use in my life more is to be more centered. Maybe not balanced because I'm never balanced. I am such an all or nothing.

Vonda 12:22

Oh yes, Lori, that makes sense. And I think that's a whole nother podcast about balance and center . Let's do that another time how's that sound?

Ellie 12:33

Sounds good.

Vonda 12:34

So I'm going to move along. Here we are with Vonda, refocusing. Ellie, you graduated from Iowa state in design. You told us that interior design, how does that fit into what you're doing now though?

Ellie 12:45

So I think an interior design, you're learning to create space. You learn to design spaces that have a mood and a look and functionality and all the details that influence the way that a person lives, how they feel. And ultimately the goal is to impact their life in a positive way. This isn't very different than designing flowers even. You take a little idea, a vision in your head, and you create a physical product that alters a person's mood. And again, so now when I'm designing websites and online courses and brands and photography and videography, everything that I'm doing now, all of those things take up space. Everything in our world is designed and I think we need better design out there. Design is fluid . So once you know those basic principles and elements and you develop that eye , it's easy to apply it to different mediums. So that's kind of where my journey from working in the flower shop and then into interior design school and then graphic design and everything that I'm doing now, it's all kind of fluid.

Vonda 13:46

Yeah. You've learned so much that you've taken all those and brought them together and from the beginning when we thought about working together in a new venture, you were ready. It's because of all of those experiences you had from the name, which you really came up with on our our list, Flower Clique to that vision of the new company. A different perspective. You know, you were so in touch with what's happening out there and your input in all things creative from the branding to the marketing, to the styling of the photography to those online classes. Man, there's so much that you learned at such a young age that have been able to bring this to the forefront and it's been really exciting.

Lori 14:26

Yeah. I don't think there was ever a question in our mind that Ellie would not be the creative director of Flower Clique. We were throwing out ideas that she's the one that put a clear vision to it.

Vonda 14:37

Right, exactly. Brought it all together. That being said about the next generation of flower buyers, from your perspective, where do you think the retail flower shop fits into shopping and purchasing for young professionals?

Ellie 14:48

So that's a big loaded question there mom. I know, I think ordering flowers from a retail shop applies when we need to gift for a special occasion when we really need to make that impact. Our generation is very resourceful so you can't get mad at us when we buy flowers for ourselves at trader Joe's, you just can't. And I think that's a reality that's really hard for retail florists to accept. Knowing the importance of flowers, you know, there's still a huge tradition. They still hold a very necessary time and place. At the same time, we don't want to be disappointed that our hundred dollars didn't turn out like we expected. Am I right Lori ?

Lori 15:29

Yes, yes, totally good .

Ellie 15:30

So I think, you know, managing those expectations and just really being the best at care and handling, being the best at offering unique flowers and arrangements that are going to make an impression is super important for our generation.

Vonda 15:46

Importance would be, besides gifting flowers to someone else, is there a special occasion that young professionals would be purchasing for obviously weddings, if they're not doing them themselves. Cause we know there's some DIYs.

Ellie 15:58

Weddings, new babies, I think birthdays, mother's day, Valentine's day, kind of the big hitters still really important. They need to be even bigger and better than, than before.

Lori 16:13

Ellie, I was reading , an article about customer service the other day in one of these things that I read and they were talking about the M word, millennials, and they were saying, here's the thing, you cannot pull the wool over their eyes. Like they only like authenticity. Don't try to be salesy to them. Just be real. Just hear what they need. They want to be heard and they don't want the BS. Honestly. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, that is Ellie LaFever. That is her. You know what, that should free a lot of us up going we don't have to be fake. They just want us to be real. You know, and here's what we can do for you and if we can't help you, maybe we can find someone that can. But I kinda liked that.

Ellie 17:04

I love that Lori .

Vonda 17:05

So what would make your friends come into a local flower shop? Like what could draw them in.

Ellie 17:12

Experiences. I think it's the same thing you said a couple of years ago at AIFD we want to learn, we want to feel like we are a part of it and workshops are great for this, so teaching us what you know and making it fun, making it personal. It's all about the perks, you know, outlining expectations. So telling us what we get to go home with, including wine and cheese in the experience, giving a 10% off promo for the next class to really build the momentum. I think that's what will draw you into the flower shop, giving you that foot traffic. For sure.

Vonda 17:46

So I want you to answer this because I, a lot of flower shops have this thought. If I have a workshop and I teach you how to do it , you're not going to want to buy my product anymore. They feel, I think threatened because I'm going to teach you how to do it now. You're going to go to trader Joe's, you're going to do it yourself, and now I've lost the business.

Ellie 18:05

I think it's two different scenarios there. One sure we want to learn because we want to enjoy flowers on our own at our home, but or it's a wreath or you know, it doesn't have to be traditional flower arranging . You can make it fun, make us make flower crowns or different special occasions. But also the thing about the millennials, the millennials, we want it all and we want it delivered. We don't want to do all the work all the time, so when we do have that occasion, we want to have that appreciation. Right? You're teaching us the appreciation when you do the workshops, but then at the end of the day, we're still going to call you because we trust you because you've taught us how to do it so we know you can do it. You're delivering that experience, you know, flowers are an experience that are enjoyed, so you're delivering that to somebody else. I think that's more where workshops can fit in.

Vonda 18:52

Yeah. I think that really helps. I think alleviate some of that year. I do think there are fear in some traditional flower shops to do that and that really helps define why they should do it and it really is to their benefit all the way around.

Lori 19:06

You know, Vonda and Ellie do you guys remember when we were together a couple of weeks ago with Julie, I was asking her about my friend's wedding, who you know, the girls , she's 27 years old, shes getting married, she's asking about flowers and they're going to try to do some of it on their own. But I thought Julie had such a great idea as far as work with the local flower shop and host like an after hours where each girl comes in and makes her own arrangement. Not every time, but I thought that was a really good way to build into a bride that maybe doesn't have a huge budget, that they're still using your flowers and you make that experience right. You make it an amazing memory. They're going to be faithful clients of that shop from there on out because of the experience.

Ellie 19:53

Yup. Totally.

Vonda 19:54

So let's move on to the next question. What is your vision on elevating the flower shop of today to keep them growing and thriving in the marketplace today?

Ellie 20:05

Back to Lori's comment just now, I think adaptability is the huge takeaway here. You have to adapt. You can't expect everyone to cater to the way that it's always been done to you. I think there's a couple other things. First, brick and mortar stores need to be updated. It's a double edged sword because most shops have a long history. They've been around a long, long time. Allocating money towards renovations just doesn't seem doable. It doesn't seem possible. I think if you want to bring people in, you got to start with even just small updates, fresh coat of paint, updated rugs, updated little things and then work your way, but it might be the one thing that saves you, you have to adapt and then number two is having a cool factor. It's important to be interesting. It's , it's important to educate and reframe who you are. Don't be afraid to rebrand yourself and don't be afraid to show your personality. I think you have to be cool and relatable and the shops that are doing that are killing it. Adapting to 2020 and beyond is, it's a slow process that you need to chip away at, but I think it's a necessary requirement for survival.

Vonda 21:14

Very well said. Adaptability flower shops of yesterday are not the flower shops up today. Right? We've been saying that for ever, but it's so true. Find your niche and find the authenticity which you said Lori earlier. It's like bringing, being adaptable and authentic at the same time is going to really help drive your business forward.

Lori 21:36

Right. Vonda, we were working on another podcast we're going to be doing about like funny stuff. One of the things that I was looking at are funny flower shop signs, Ellie , you talk about humanizing yourself. Like people want to know your story and that's what would draw me. I'm not even a millennial, but someone has a sign outside that is hilarious. It doesn't even really have to do anything with flowers. One of the ones that we saw with something like we've got great customer service, everyone loves us. And then in parentheses it put like, except Earl J apparently he hates us. Check Yelp. That's hilarious. Like they own that . That's the kind of stuff we shouldn't be scared to do cause it's relatable. Right. What shop owner can't relate to a bad review?

Vonda 22:25

True, Lori, is there anything else that we want to cover today with Ellie ? While she's here or are you ready for your question?

Lori 22:32

I'm ready for my question Ellie, do you have anything before I ask you my , deep deep question that I ask everybody.

Ellie 22:39

I don't think so. This was fun. Went too fast. We'll have to do another one.

Lori 22:43

Well we will and we're going to do our trader Joe's one and then we're going to do one on centered and balanced. What's the difference? Right . Okay Ellie, what is giving you life right now? What are you loving?

Vonda 22:56

And we're talking about not your heart, not air, we got into this before and you know it's something beyond.

Ellie 23:04

I have two, number one, I just got Invisalign a couple of days ago . So ibuprofen is literally giving me life and helping me work through the day. And number two? Yes . Number two is that I've been eating more meat recently, not more just just some. And so I've been making these spicy Turkey meatballs. I've been making them like every week. They're healthy, they're spicy, they're really good.

Lori 23:30

Okay, well we would appreciate you share the recipes.

Ellie 23:35

I have to write it down first, but.

Lori 23:37

we can post it on our podcast page.

Ellie 23:42

Love it. I'll do it.

Lori 23:43

And now my stomach is growling, so thanks for that. Vonda I'm going to you. What is giving you life right now?

Vonda 23:51

Oh, well mine is not quite as exciting, but it is beautiful. I have an gorgeous failing Opsis orchid plant on my desk. I'm enjoying the beauty of that, just looking at it and thinking, I actually got that in the middle of December. It's been almost two months, which is pretty amazing. And so it's giving me life. And Lori, how about you?

Lori 24:13

Well, ironically yet not because Ellie and I always have the same thing going on in our lives. I too have mouth issues and so what's giving me life right now are my muscle relaxers that I've been thinking at night because I have TMJ, you know, every once in a while it rears its ugly head and then I take it, but I can't take em in the day time because I have function and they have me on the smallest dose but I'm just a big baby.

Ellie 24:40

and now my jaw hurts.

Lori 24:43

We have sympathy pains for each other. So I'm living on the Advil right now too in the daytime. I'm trying not to take them , but I will say it really did help me last night.

Vonda 24:53

Okay, that's great. Well Ellie , we really appreciate you joining us today and we'll look forward to another podcast with you in the near future.

Ellie 25:02

Thanks guys. See ya.

Lori 25:03

Thank you. We have certainly enjoyed our time together today and we look forward to being with you guys. Again, if you have any questions, concerns, comments, anything we would love to hear from you, you can always email lori @ flowerclique .com . Also, if you enjoy our little podcast, go ahead and click that subscribe button. That's very helpful for us. And you can even leave a review and we hope you join us next week.

25:31

Yes. 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.