Floral Designer Career
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Do flowers feed your soul? Do you enjoy arranging flowers for yourself or friends? If you do, you might have a way to feed your soul and your bank account by becoming a floral designer.
Floral designers, also called florists, cut and arrange flowers and plants in order to create a variety of beautiful displays for numerous occasions like bouquets for weddings, corsages for proms or wreaths for funerals.
The most common places floral designers are employed are:
- Individually owned florist shops
- Grocery stores' floral department
- Internet florists
- Wholesale distributors
Floral designers in a small, independent shop will likely deal with custom orders as well as larger requests for weddings, caterers or interior designers. Other floral designers may work in floral departments of grocery stores or for Internet florists where they will prearrange bouquets and other floral decorations. For a more behind the scenes occupation, a floral designer can work for a wholesale flower distributor, choosing flowers and greenery to sell to retail florists.
Interior designers often employ floral designers to assist in the creation of live or silk flower displays in commercial or private residences.
Skills Required
For the 1 out of 3 floral designers who are self-employed, they must have the skills and knowledge to run a business in addition to the creativity and customer service skills otherwise necessary to succeed in this field.
Work Environment
While most floral designers enjoy pleasant work environments in the warm, bright indoors there are the occasions where making deliveries or working outdoors is necessary. Long, evening and weekend hours and working before and during holidays are also a potential part of the life of the floral designer as they provide for the many special occasions of our culture.
Training
Some good news is that most floral designers learn their skills on the job and there is no postsecondary training required. To find employment, a high school diploma, a creative ability and a desire to learn are the usual prerequisites. Completion of a formal design training at perhaps a private floral school, vocational school or community college is available and useful.
There are associate and bachelor’s degree programs offered at some community colleges and universities in floral design as well as other degrees such as horticulture which can also further one’s career.
Business courses like accounting, marketing or computer technology are a wise investment for those floral designers with designs on owning their own shop.
Related design occupations
Related design occupations are:
Salary
Median annual earnings for floral designers in 2004 were $20,450 with the lowest 10% earning less than $14,360 and the highest 10% earning more than $32,370. Also in 2004, median annual earnings in grocery stores were $22,520 and $20,110 in florists.
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Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-2007 Edition; Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.