Flowers / Florist

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Flowers / Florist

A florist is a craftsman specialized in the sale of flowers and making bouquets and compositions called assemblies. The term is also sometimes used to encompass companies engaged in floristry at either the retail or wholesale level.

Floristry is the production, commerce and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design or flower arranging, merchandising, and display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related supplies to professionals in the trade. Retail florists offer fresh flowers and related products and services to consumers.

Floristry can involve the cultivation of flowers as well as their arrangement, and to the business of selling them. Much of the raw material supplied for the floristry trade comes from the cut flower industry. Florist shops, along with online stores are the main flower-only outlets, but supermarkets, garden supply stores and filling stations also sell flowers.

Floral design or floral arts is the art of creating flower arrangements in vases, bowls, baskets or other containers, or making bouquets and compositions from cut flowers, foliages, herbs, ornamental grasses and other plant materials. Often the terms “floral design” and “floristry” are considered synonymous. Florists are people who work with flowers and plants, generally at the retail level. Floristry differs from floristics, the study of distribution and relationships of plant species over geographic areas. Floristry also differs from horticulture, which more broadly relates to the cultivation of flowers and plants so they will remain fresh as long as possible, and would be desirable for purchase, which also involves knowledge of customers’ requirements and expectations. The ability to create a variety of floral designs such as wreaths, bouquets, corsages, boutonnières/’buttonholes’, permanent arrangements and other more complicated arrangements is also important.

Education, both formal and informal, is another significant segment of the floristry industry. Established floristry designers and artists impart their craft to students interested in floral design as hobby or career. Courses are generally available through community colleges, private post-secondary vocational schools, and professional florist trade associations.

The floristry business has a significant market in the corporate and social event world, as flowers play a large part in the decor of special events and meetings. Centerpieces, entryways, reception tables, bridal bouquets, weddingchuppahs and stage sets are only a few examples of how flowers are used in the business and social event settings. Flowers are also traditionally used in ecclesiastical settings and their arrangement is often done by skilled church volunteers.

Lafayette

Lafayette (/ˌlæfiˈjɛt/; French: [lafajɛt]) is a city located along the Vermilion River in southwestern Louisiana. The city of Lafayette is the fourth-largest in the state, with a population of 127,657 according to 2015 U.S. Census estimates.^[2] It is the principal city of the Lafayette, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, with a 2015 estimated population of 490,488. The larger trade area or Combined Statistical Area of Lafayette-Opelousas-Morgan City CSA was 627,146 in 2015.^[2] Lafayette is the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana.^[3] Its nickname is The Hub City.

The American city was founded as Vermilionville in 1821 by Jean Mouton, a French-speaking man of Acadian descent. In 1884, it was renamed for General Lafayette, who fought with and significantly aided the American Army during the American Revolutionary War.^[4] The city’s economy was primarily based on agriculture until the 1940s, when the petroleum and natural gas industries became dominant.

Lafayette is considered the center of Acadiana, the area of Cajun and Creole culture in Louisiana and the United States. It developed following the relocation of Acadians after their expulsion by the British from eastern Canada in the late 18th century following France’s defeat in the Seven Years’ War. There is also a strong Louisiana Creole influence in the area.^[5]