Grantham florist moves business closer to home and begins flower-arranging workshops via Zoom
A florist is running her business from her Barrowby home after closing both of her Grantham town centre shops.
Sue Hodgson, of Sue Hodgson Florist Design, formerly known as Flowers from Holland, has described it as “a really positive move” and has also started running workshops.
Sue’s decision to close the shops in St Catherine’s Road and Westgate was “Covid-driven”, but the move has since allowed her to concentrate more on what she loves doing.
With a van that allows her to deliver flowers within a 20-mile radius of Barrowby, Sue continues to provide floral arrangements for weddings, funerals and other celebrations.
Sue said: “I had a lot of weddings booked that have been kicked into 2021, which had a huge effect on the cashflow and, whilst I’m really busy still with funerals and that sort of work, the footfall in town of passing trade is just dire.
“It became apparent that although I was a really busy shop, I didn’t need a shop to be busy, because everything is on the internet.
“I’ve spent five years building a brand and I’m known now, so I’ve decided to retreat out of town. It’s a really positive move for me because I haven’t got the worry of the shop, the overheads of the shop, and I can concentrate now on giving great value for money and doing what I love doing, instead of worrying about the shop.
“It had to make me be brave, but it was the right move.”
This week, Sue began delivering wreath-making workshops via Zoom from a converted barn at home, and these will continue in the run-up to Christmas. Although delivering a live workshop will be a new experience, Sue has created demonstrative videos before for the National Association of Flower Arranging Society.
“Initially they were just for five people because we were keeping to the rule of six, but now the Zoom classes can be as big as you like, I’m not restricted by any physical boundary,” she said.
“[Classes] at the minute are for Christmas, so they’re wreath-making workshops for holly wreaths and door wreaths, and also for table centres to put in the middle of your Christmas table. But, come January, we are going to have a whole series of workshops, basically on basic flower-arranging skills.”
Sue said that people have been supportive of her rebrand from Flowers from Holland to Sue Hodgson Florist Design and described it as “the logical thing to do”.
She added: “Also, because I’m not just a funeral florist, and Flowers from Holland had connotations that it was linked to the funeral directors and that was all that we did, I wanted to, in some respects, say I’m more than that.
“I do weddings and celebrations, so I’m building on the work that I’ve done with the [Grantham Journal Business Awards] in St Wulfram’s Church where I did all of those arrangements and I do large weddings as well and also the professional demonstrating and the tutoring. I wanted to bring those in and the weddings and it was difficult under the banner of Flowers from Holland.”
To find out more, visit: suehodgsonfloraldesign.co.uk
