Learn How To Play With Flowers For A Living

Do you ever have those days where you wish you could just play with flowers all day and make art? Yeah, me too… OH WAIT! I DO! AND YOU CAN TOO! Here is your guide to turning you favorite new craft into a real business.

I fell in love with resin art, specifically jewelry with real flowers, during the pandemic shut down. It was a craft that i used to find peace in a mental health crisis after losing my whole world, like everyone else. This journey of falling in love with a new craft and eventually turning it into a 6-figure business has been the most rewarding experience in my lifetime and I would love to help you experience that transformation as well. A transformation into a life filled with love and creativity and purpose. Never in a million years did I think my hand made craft would end up at NYFW, but here we are! Iconic life experience checked off the bucket list. 

So where do we start?

Starting Your Own Flower Preservation Business: A Comprehensive Guide for Artists

Starting a flower preservation business allows you to combine artistry with entrepreneurship while creating meaningful, personalized keepsakes for clients. Whether you plan to preserve wedding bouquets, commemorate milestones, or create art pieces, this guide will walk you through the essential steps needed to build and launch your own flower preservation business. For more personalized help, check out other coaching options available to you with Blossom into Love Academy. CLICK HERE to learn more.

Define Your Niche and Service Offerings

A successful flower preservation business requires a clear niche. While the flower preservation market is broad, focusing on specific types of services can set you apart. Some ideas include:

  • Wedding Flower Preservation: Specializing in preserving wedding bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, or the entire floral arrangement. Maybe you niche so far down that people only have to send you 1 flower from their wedding.
  • Personalized Keepsakes: Offering unique items like framed artwork, bookmarks, or jewelry made from preserved flowers. Maybe you only work with birth stones or birth flowers.
  • Seasonal or Local Flower Preservation: Providing preservation services for flowers tied to specific seasons or holidays, like spring bouquets or Christmas wreaths. If you live in an area with flowers that are well known to grow nearby, showcase your local influences.
  • Pet Memorials: Creating lasting tributes from flowers associated with pets (e.g., pet memorial frames or resin keepsakes).
  • Fashion: Create accessories or jewelry in your own style. The key for this is to either design it in a way that hasn’t been done before or to style it in a way that inspires people to want to feel or look the same way. Try to fill a void in the market current and OWN that lane as yours!

Action Steps:

  • Identify Your Target Market: Consider what types of clients you're most passionate about serving (e.g., brides, pet owners, eco-conscious consumers).
  • Develop Service Packages/Products: Create clear, compelling packages/products that detail what clients will receive. For example, a "Wedding Bouquet Preservation Package" could include pressing, framing, and an optional resin keepsake. Check out the Blossom into Love Workbook for more guidance on how to develop these products and create identifiable branding for your business.

Business Planning and Market Research

Once you’ve identified your niche and services, you need a business plan. This plan will help you set goals, identify challenges, and track your progress. This part of the process works WONDERS for manifesting your dreams! It puts an action plan in place for you to follow. We all have visions about our dream lives/businesses, but a dream without actions stays a dream and never becomes reality. Putting the work in, inch by inch, is the most important part.

Key Areas to Address in Your Business Plan:

  • Mission Statement: What motivates you? Why did you start this business?
  • Market Research: Who are your competitors? What services do they offer? What’s their pricing structure?
  • Pricing Structure: How will you charge clients (e.g., per flower, per project, or based on complexity)?
  • Revenue Streams: Beyond direct flower preservation services, consider selling related products like custom frames, resin kits, or dried flower arrangements.

Action Steps:

  • Research Competitors: Look at other flower preservation businesses online. Note their services, pricing, and client feedback.
  • Create a Business Plan: Outline your vision, pricing, target market, and marketing strategies. Keep it simple but focused. Working backwards is helpful. If I want to make $10,000 per month, how many pairs of earrings do I need to sell a month to hit that? How much time would it take to make those earrings? How many hours a week will I need to be working to achieve that? Don't forget taxes and expenses. You may want to make $10,000 a month, but realistically, does that actually cover everything plus paying taxes and all business costs? Maybe you need to think BIGGER! 
  • Click HERE for a blank outline of a business plan to fill in.

Legal Requirements and Business Setup

Setting up your business legally is an essential step in protecting yourself and ensuring you operate within the law.

  • Register Your Business: Choose a business name and register it with your local government. Depending on your location, you may need to register for a sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation. I always tell people to treat themselves as the business owner they want to be tomorrow, today. What does that mean? If the level of success you strive to have means that you need to spend a little more money on an LLC rather than just sole proprietorship, do it. You KNOW that you will need it, because you already ARE that person capable of creating the business of your dreams.
  • Obtain Permits and Licenses: Check with local authorities about required permits. Some regions may require a general business license, while others may need a specific permit for your city. These can be necessary to do local markets. Go to your state and city business license websites for more information. Click here to read this document for a state by state breakdown and for FREE local resources.
  • Taxes: Ensure that you have an understanding of your tax obligations, including sales tax and income tax. It’s advisable to hire an accountant or use accounting software to manage this. I’ve been using Rocket Money (this is not an ad, just a review of my experience) and I absolutely love it! I can create custom buckets for spending, rules, so that every time you buy something from your wholesaler, it automatically gets marked as “supplies expense” and such. Quick books is another easy one to learn. Trust me though… don’t learn the hard way and not keep track of this stuff. Its always easier in the end not to retroactively go back and add up lost receipts.

Action Steps:

  • Register Your Business: File the necessary paperwork to legally establish your company. A great resource for this is Tailor Brands. I used them my first year in business. If you don't mind spending an extra $200, they will organize all of this for you and keep you organized. Take the guessing out of it.
  • Set Up a Bank Account: Open a business bank account for financial transactions and to maintain a clear separation from personal finances. THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT! Find a local bank or credit union you trust that you can talk to in person and walk inside and ask to set up a business bank account. Oftentimes they will waive fees and have better benefits if you build a relationship with your banker.

Build Your Brand and Online Presence

Creating a recognizable brand and an online presence is crucial in reaching potential clients and showcasing your artistry. Dive deeper into all of these topics with Blossom into Love Academy! Schedule a consultation with me to see if you would be a good fit for this accelerated branding and marketing program.  

  • Develop a Brand Identity: Choose a name, logo, and color scheme that represents your business. The branding should reflect your values and energy. What do you want people to feel when they see your brand?
  • Create a Website: Build a simple, user-friendly website that showcases your work, explains your services, and offers easy contact methods. Include a portfolio of past work, client testimonials, and pricing information. Etsy is an easy first start, but WILL take more of your money over time… 
  • Social Media Marketing: Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are ideal for visually-driven businesses like flower preservation. Regularly post images of your preserved flowers, behind-the-scenes looks at your process, and customer reviews. When i say regularly, i mean like every day… You’re not being annoying if you're making good content!
  • SEO and Local Listings: Optimize your website with SEO keywords related to flower preservation services, and list your business on Google My Business to increase local visibility. This is a whole animal in itself and a whole other training. Don’t worry too much about this yet until you establish everything else and pick your niche.

Action Steps:

  • Create Social Media Accounts: Set up accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to showcase your work.
  • Develop a Website: Either build it yourself using platforms like Wix or Squarespace or hire a professional web designer. My personal favorite is Shopify! Best prices for what's available to use. Super easy to build and learn. Just start with the basic version. Switch to the middle level when you’re planning on making over 6-figures. The cost benefit analysis starts to work in your favor ( for example spend $1000 on premium to save $2000+ on shipping costs).
  • Start Building a Portfolio: Collect images of your best work to feature on your website and social media. Professional pics go a long way! 

Sourcing Materials and Tools

To create the best flower preservation keepsakes, you will need high-quality materials and tools. These can range from basic supplies like presses and drying racks to more specialized equipment for resin casting or freeze-drying.

  • Flower Pressing Supplies: High-quality flower presses, absorbent paper, wax paper, and cardboard for pressing flowers. Most of these supplies can be found on Amazon or made from scratch. Check out @big.bloom.energy on IG for more tutorials. 
  • Resin Supplies: UV resin, silicone molds, gloves, stir sticks, and measuring cups are just some examples. We can get more specific with this in a 1:1 consult where I get to know your specific vision and story or for supplier I currently use and love. My favorite UV resin supplies on Amazon are listed here. 
  • Packaging: Beautiful packaging materials like custom boxes, ribbons, and tissue paper to create a memorable unboxing experience. Don’t spend too much money or time here. Remember, it needs to be scalable for hundreds of orders! Hand written notes and wax seals are super cute and all, but can you keep that up when you blow up and have dozens of orders every day? Alibaba is a great resource for bulk ordering custom packaging. It takes a few weeks, but well worth the price. Type in what kind of packaging you’re looking for, like jewelry boxes, customer shipping boxes, custom tissue paper etc. If you want a US based company Jukebox is a great business I often work with, it's just 4x the price! Vistaprint is great for mailers or marketing materials.
  • Jewelry Findings: If you're creating jewelry, source findings like earring posts, necklace chains, rings, and bezels. My favorite for high quality jewelry is DLUXCA. I often use etsy for small quantity items. Use the term jewelry findings and search for certain size items in millimeter increments, so “55mm hammered gold hoop findings” etc.

Action Steps:

  • Build Your Tool Kit: Purchase essential tools like flower presses, resin, and packaging materials. Consider bulk buying to save costs as your business scales.
  • Form Relationships with Suppliers: Find reliable suppliers for your materials, and establish wholesale accounts to get the best prices.

 

Pricing Your Services

Pricing is one of the most critical aspects of starting a business. You need to cover your costs while also remaining competitive and profitable.

  • Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): Calculate the cost of the materials needed for each flower preservation service. This will include the price of flowers, resin, tools, packaging, and any other resources. Don't forget to factor in room for other business costs like websites, ads, taxes, marketing costs, photography etc. Cost is not just the physical supplies you see!
  • Hourly Rate: Consider how much time you spend on each project (e.g., pressing flowers, working with resin) and set an hourly rate for your labor. This is where you get to decide your worth as an artist. Maybe you're just starting out and you pay yourself a low $20/ hr rate. Maybe you're an expert and no one else does it like you and you want to charge $100/hr or $1000/hr. This can be changed over time. Start where you feel like your art is worth. There's no right answer here. I charged $75 for the same pair of earrings I now charge $111 for, because they sell out every month. High Demand = Higher Prices.

  • Market Research: Research competitors in your area to understand standard pricing for flower preservation. Don’t undervalue your services, but also ensure you’re competitive. CLICK HERE for a full breakdown of how to do market research.

Action Steps:

  • Determine Your Pricing: Based on your costs and competitor pricing, establish a pricing structure for each service. For example, “Wedding Bouquet Preservation” might start at $300.
  • Offer Tiered Packages (if applicable): Offer different levels of service (e.g., a basic preservation package and a luxury option) to appeal to a broader audience.

Launching Your Business

Now that you've got everything in place, it’s time to officially launch your flower preservation business!

  • Soft Launch: Consider offering a "soft launch" to friends and family to get initial feedback and testimonials.
  • Marketing Push: Launch a social media campaign, run ads, and connect with wedding planners, florists, and event coordinators to spread the word about your business.
  • Offer Discounts or Promotions: Attract initial clients by offering limited-time discounts or exclusive packages for early bookings. Maybe you give out discount codes to the first 100 people who shop! Get the ball rolling.

Action Steps:

  • Prepare Your Marketing Materials: Make sure you have a marketing plan ready, including posts, blog content, or email newsletters. Blossom into Love is perfect for helping with this.
  • Reach Out to Partners: Network with local florists, wedding planners, and event organizers to develop business partnerships and cross-promotions. Maybe you cross promote with a fashion brand, another local artist or business that is complementary to your vibe.

Providing Excellent Customer Service

The key to a thriving flower preservation business is ensuring a great customer experience.

  • Communication: Always respond to inquiries promptly and provide clear expectations for project timelines. If you don't already have one, create a business email account with your own domain name. When you create your own website, it looks more trustworthy, ESPECIALLY for email marketing, when your email isn't from a random gmail account. Google workspace is worth it. (yes, I learned this the hard way from experience, just how hard it is to switch the email associated with your website marketing from a personal email to a business email. It's WAY easier to start your communication from a verified email and most email marketing platforms will limit how many emails you can send if you don't have a domain name). 
  • Packaging and Presentation: Clients want to feel like they’re receiving something special. Ensure your preserved flowers are beautifully presented and packaged. Bubble wrap is your best friend! Don’t forget the fragile stickers on the outside. Shopify offers amazon shipping rates, they are always discounted from the post office. Connect your favorite wireless printer and directly print your shipping labels at home. Rollo is my favorite brand of thermal printers! You can even make custom stickers with it! If you're looking for help designing your packaging, let's schedule a consultation and chat about it! You can always hire a branding expert to do it for you as well. Depends on your budget and what you consider your “super powers” when it comes to your talents/skills. The Blossom into Love workbook also breaks this down in detail.
  • Aftercare: Offer maintenance or care instructions for the preserved flowers, ensuring longevity and satisfaction. Flowers do not last exactly the same forever. Clients need to be warned about this unless you are color correcting every single flower.

Action Steps:

  • Follow Up: Check in with customers after the project is complete to ensure satisfaction and ask for feedback. You can create automations on shopify to automatically send an email a certain amount of days after purchase to ask for reviews and check in. Head to the marketing tab in shopify and then click on automations!
  • Create a Loyalty Program: Reward repeat customers with discounts or special offers to encourage them to return. I love to toss in a free gift every now and again to names I recognize. Maybe leave a little love note.

Scaling Your Business

As your business grows, consider ways to expand your operations, such as:

  • Offering workshops or DIY kits for flower preservation.
  • Hiring additional staff or artists to help with production.
  • Expanding products
  • Coaching or teaching

Your business will always be evolving over time. Notice trends of what's working, top selling products or top selling colors of flowers. If you notice one earring design sells really well, create a collection of similar variations of your best selling earrings. Maybe a lot of people click on a product and add it to cart, but don't checkout. Why aren't they checking out? What small change can we make to massively impact our sales? Being a business owner is just a series of small edits until it finally works! Keep everything in perspective. A good purchase rate is only 2% conversion… a GREAT rate is 5%! Not every single person who comes to your website will purchase, but statistically speaking, we know if you have a good product. You can run a 6-figure business with a 1% conversion rate… Keep that in mind…

Before you can launch a successful business, it’s crucial to gain a deep understanding of the various flower preservation techniques and methods. The most common approaches include:

  • Flower Pressing: Pressing flowers between absorbent papers or boards to flatten them while preserving their color. This is best for dainty flowers and crafts with flat surfaces or small pieces like resin jewelry. To learn how to make resin jewelry, check out the Flower Preservation Jewelry Kit from Blossom and Love. There are benefits color wise to pressing certain flowers which mainly is learned by trial and error as every flower acts different. Learn how to press flowers from @big.bloom.energy on Instagram.
  • Resin Preservation: Encasing flowers in resin to create lasting, 3D mementos like jewelry, paperweights, and artwork. UV resin an Epoxy resin allow you to make different kinds of crafts with flowers. Two part epoxy resin is best for deep pours, like paperweights, book ends, tables and such. UV resin allows you to maintain the shape of flowers in their natural shape without the surrounding resin. This allows for lightweight jewelry, wall decor and so much more! For more UV resin tutorials grab a Flower Preservation Jewelry Kit and follow the level 3 video tutorials. These contain all of my favorite tips and tricks to turn flowers into jewelry with UV resin!
  • Flower Drying: Using methods like air-drying, silica gel, or desiccants to preserve the shape and texture of flowers. Some flowers work best pressed verse 3D with silica gel and vice versa. 
  • Freeze-Drying: A more advanced and expensive process that preserves both the color and shape of flowers by removing their moisture under low temperatures.

Action Steps:

  • Experiment with Techniques: Try each technique on your own, developing expertise in pressing, drying, and resin encasement, if you haven’t so already. Maybe mix different techniques to make a whole new process or kind of art? This is where you get to decide on your "niche" and what you will be known for in your business. What do you do better than anyone else?
  • Take Workshops or Online Courses: If you're unfamiliar with some methods, consider taking courses to improve your skills. 

Guide: Benefits of Pressing Flowers vs. Silica Gel Preservation vs. Air Drying

 

When it comes to preserving flowers, there are several methods available, each offering distinct advantages and results. Whether you’re a crafter, artist, or someone simply wanting to preserve a meaningful bouquet, it’s important to understand the different techniques available. This guide outlines the benefits of pressing flowers, silica gel preservation, and air drying, helping you choose the right method for your needs.

 

Pressing Flowers

What It Is: Pressing flowers involves flattening flowers between sheets of paper or cardstock and applying pressure, typically through a flower press, heavy books, or other weight-bearing methods. This technique dries the flowers evenly and preserves the colors, shapes, and intricate details.

Benefits of Pressing Flowers:

  • Ideal for Flat, Detailed Flowers:
    • Pressing works best for flowers with a delicate, intricate structure, such as daisies, violets, pansies, or ferns. The flat shape preserves the finer details of petals and leaves.
  • Enhanced Durability:
    • Once pressed, flowers become incredibly thin, allowing them to be mounted easily onto cards, scrapbooks, or artwork without adding too much bulk. They hold their shape and structure well over time.
  • Color Retention:
    • Flowers pressed at the right time (typically when they are at peak bloom) tend to retain their color better than those dried by other methods, provided they are pressed quickly to prevent browning.
  • Simplicity and Low-Cost:
    • Pressing flowers is an inexpensive method that requires minimal equipment. All you need is paper, weight, and time. Flower presses are affordable, or you can use household items like books.
  • Creates Beautiful Art:
    • Pressed flowers are perfect for use in a variety of artistic projects, including handmade cards, journals, framed artwork, and resin projects.

Drawbacks:

  • Limited to Flat Flowers:
    • Not all flowers are suitable for pressing, particularly those with bulky heads (e.g., roses) or three-dimensional shapes. These flowers must be deconstructed and reconstructed to be pressed well.
  • Time-Consuming:
    • The pressing process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on flower type, humidity, and thickness.

2. Silica Gel Preservation

What It Is: Silica gel is a desiccant material that absorbs moisture from flowers, effectively drying them out while maintaining their natural shape, color, and structure. Flowers are submerged in silica gel crystals, either in a container or bag, and left for several days.

Benefits of Silica Gel Preservation:

  • Preserves Shape and Structure:
    • Unlike pressing, which flattens flowers, silica gel preserves the flower’s natural three-dimensional shape. This makes it an ideal method for more complex or voluminous flowers like roses, lilies, and tulips.
  • Color Retention:
    • Silica gel helps retain the natural color of flowers better than air drying, especially when dried promptly. Flowers retain their vibrancy and freshness.
  • Faster Process:
    • Silica gel drying is faster than pressing and air drying. Depending on the flower size, it can take as little as 2-4 days to fully dry flowers.
  • Works for Larger Flowers:
    • Silica gel can handle a wide range of flower sizes, making it ideal for large, 3D flowers like peonies or orchids, which might be too bulky to press.
  • Useful for Crafting and Arrangements:
    • Silica gel is perfect for preserving flowers for crafting, creating floral arrangements, and keepsakes, as it maintains their original shape and texture.

Drawbacks:

  • Requires Special Materials:
    • Unlike pressing, which requires only paper and a weight, silica gel preservation requires purchasing silica gel (which is more costly, but reusable with the brand Wisedry), and a sealed container or bag to ensure proper drying.
  • Messy:
    • The process can get messy, as the silica gel needs to be carefully handled and cleaned up. Additionally, silica gel beads can be hard to reuse if they get overly saturated with moisture. Use gloves and a mask to filter any silica particles.

3. Air Drying

What It Is: Air drying involves hanging flowers upside down or placing them in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area for several days to weeks. As the flower dries, it loses moisture naturally through evaporation.

Benefits of Air Drying:

  • Simple and Low-Maintenance:
    • Air drying requires very little preparation or special equipment. Simply gather flowers, tie them together with string or twine, and hang them in a dry space.
  • Great for Dried Arrangements:
    • Air drying is an ideal method for flowers intended for use in dried bouquets or arrangements. Flowers like lavender, baby’s breath, and eucalyptus are especially popular for air drying due to their aesthetic appeal and longevity.
  • Preserves Aroma:
    • Some flowers, like lavender or roses, retain their fragrance better with air drying than other methods, making them ideal for creating scented sachets or potpourri.
  • No Chemicals:
    • Air drying is an entirely natural process, and no chemicals or additional materials are involved, making it a more eco-friendly and safe option.
  • Minimal Equipment:
    • Air drying only requires basic supplies like string, scissors, and a drying space (a cool, dark room with low humidity is best).

Drawbacks:

  • Takes Longer:
    • Air drying is the slowest method, often requiring several days to weeks for the flowers to fully dry, depending on the type of flower and environmental conditions.
  • Shape Distortion:
    • Flowers that are hung upside down may lose some of their original shape, especially if they are heavy or have large heads. They also tend to shrink and become brittle over time.
  • Limited Control Over Color:
    • The color retention with air drying is less predictable compared to pressing or silica gel methods. Flowers may darken, lose their vibrancy, or become discolored if they are not dried properly.
  • Less Ideal for Delicate Flowers:
    • Air drying is not the best method for extremely delicate flowers, as they can break or get crushed during the drying process.

Comparing the Three Methods

 

Method

Best For

Speed

Shape Preservation

Color Retention

Ease of Use

Ideal Flowers

Pressing

Flat flowers, small arrangements

Slow (2-3 weeks)

Excellent (flat)

Good (with prompt pressing)

Simple, inexpensive

Daisies, violets, pansies, ferns, small flowers

Silica Gel Preservation

3D flowers, vibrant color, delicate flowers

Fast (2-4 days)

Excellent (3D shape)

Excellent

Requires silica gel, a container

Roses, lilies, tulips, peonies, orchids

Air Drying

Large bunches, dried arrangements, aromatic flowers

Slow (days to weeks)

Moderate (some distortion)

Fair (may darken)

Easy, no special equipment

Lavender, baby’s breath, eucalyptus, chrysanthemums

Which Method Should You Choose?

  • For Crafting and Art Projects:
    • Pressing is perfect for creating flat, intricate designs and artwork.
    • Silica Gel works well for flowers you want to maintain their natural, 3D shape and vibrant colors, such as for jewelry or keepsakes.
    • Air Drying is great for dried bouquets and rustic arrangements.
  • For Preserving Wedding Bouquets or Special Flowers:
    • Silica Gel is often the best choice for high-quality preservation, as it retains color and shape, making it ideal for keepsakes.
    • Pressing can be a good option for smaller flowers or specific blooms from the bouquet.
  • For Large or Aromatic Flowers:
    • Air Drying works well for larger flowers, such as roses and lavender, which can be used for dried arrangements or potpourri.

Conclusion

Each flower preservation method—pressing, silica gel, and air drying—has its unique advantages depending on the type of flower, project goals, and desired results. By considering the benefits and drawbacks of each method, you can choose the best approach to preserve your favorite flowers in a way that complements their beauty and enhances their lasting impact.

There's no one right way to run a business. We become entrepreneurs to live our dream lives and the structure of your business should reflect that. It's ok to not have employees, it's ok to not do markets, it's ok to not start with a website right away. You do you boo boo, as long as you follow the laws in your area. So, get out there and start bringing your vision into reality one step at a time! I know there's so much info jam packed into this you still need to process, but you probably have SO many more questions too! If you find yourself wanting more help, feel free to contact me or learn more about Blossom into Love Academy and how I can help you 1:1 with more personalized coaching to reach all of your goals by visiting my website to schedule a free 1:1 consult.

Happy Crafting!


Xoxo,

Marika



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