this day pass is general admission to detroit flower week's saturday lectures from 9am-2pm at a venue to be determined.
DIANE SZUKOVATHY, JELLO MOLD FARMS
venue TBA, 9–11am
diane szukovathy is a founder and board chair of the seattle wholesale growers market cooperative. she co-owns and operates jello mold farm, a highly diversified, 4-1/2 acre specialty cut flower farm in the skagit river valley of washington state. prior to farming, she made her living as a landscaper, garden designer and stone mason for many years. she is a self admitted "slave to beauty" and a passionate and dedicated advocate for local flower farmers.
started with a grass-roots effort and minimal resources, the seattle wholesale growers market has transitioned under diane szukovathy's leadership from a farmer-run bootstrap operation in 2011 to a blooming business with seven staff members and a self sustaining budget in 2016. diane will tell the story of this remarkable and inspiring journey (no shock absorbers involved) of a farmer-owned cooperative which has helped fuel the "buy local" movement for flowers nationally and re-invigorated small-scale flower farming in the pacific northwest.
HOW TO BUILD A FLORAL BRAND: A CONVERSATION WITH CHRISTINA STEMBEL AND DEBRA PRINZING
venue TBA, 12-2pm
in 2010, christina stembel launched farmgirl flowers in her san francisco apartment kitchen. she invested $50,000 of her own funds and a seemingly endless supply of grit, sweat equity and determination to create a new e-commerce floral model. she built relationships with dozens of flower farms, she streamlined the buying process and she eliminated waste. today, just six years later, farmgirl flowers is on track to hit $10 million in sales for 2016. we've noticed a lot of farmgirl flowers lookalikes and vc-funded startups who have business models suspiciously similar to the farmgirl flowers brand. but despite competition, christina has stayed true to her triple-bottom-line mission. she likes to say "i'd rather be a workhorse than a unicorn." join christina and hear the "next chapter" in her story as she participates in a q&a with debra prinzing. gain real-life insights and specific examples of how she has created, expanded and scaled farmgirl flowers and how those lessons can inspire your own floral brand.
LISA WAUD, FLOWER HOUSE
venue TBA, 3–5pm
based in detroit, michigan, lisa waud is the founder and owner of pot & box, a floral design and horticultural decor studio. pot & box will celebrate its 10th anniversary of being in business in february 2017, and has become a well-known and sought-after design studio for weddings and other special events in the detroit area.
lisa is also the creator of flower house, a contemporary floral installation that took place october 15, 16, 17, 2015 filling an abandoned detroit house with american-grown fresh flowers and living plants. the project received international media attention, including the new york times and vogue portugal. the house the exhibition took place was recently deconstructed to make way for a flower farm for pot & box.
in october 2015, 37 floral designers and over 100 volunteers from across the continent came together to fill an abandoned detroit house with american-grown fresh flowers and living plants. an estimated 3,400 curious visitors explored the house over the 3-day exhibition, the installation hosted 3 weddings, 1 engagement, and dinner for 180, and the project received international media attention—with an estimated 287,000,000+ media impressions. Why did this project touch so many people? flower house creator lisa waud explores her thoughts on beauty, blight, and nostalgia, in regards to the large-scale installation, as well as the planning and execution of the large-scale installation through the themes of risk-taking, logistics, collaboration.
WORKSHOPS ARE TICKETED AND PRICED SEPERATLY