When stabilized flowers and wedding come together in a family business, magic happens! It all started with Sandy’s love for preserved flowers when she got married in 2014, and has turned into a great adventure. Let’s meet Emilie Gouyet who shares with us the backstage of her business creation with 100% dried and stabilized plants with her sister Sandy in the south of France.
SecondNatur: What is your concept? How did you come up with the idea?
Emilie Gouyet: My sister Sandy knew this concept of preserved flowers during her wedding in 2014. It was at this time that she falls in love with the concept and finds the boutique Ayana Floral Design, originally based in Brignoles, France.
At the end of the summer of 2014, we had the opportunity to buy back the company. We then embarked on the adventure, and moved the shop to Tholonet, next to Aix-en-Provence.
SN: What are your sources of inspiration? Your motivations?
EG: It is Sandy who is at the creation and who is on the lookout for trends and novelties in the field of wedding (especially on Pinterest, wedding blogs…). Our main source of inspiration comes from our customers, because all our creations are made to measure, on request and are therefore unique.
SN: Why associate stabilized flowers and wedding?
EG: As weddings take place mostly in summer, the huge advantage of stabilized flowers is that they can be kept on D-Day, without risk of seeing them fade. As this day is unique, the possibility to be able to preserve its bouquet of the bride, its buttonhole or any accessory flowered particularly pleases our customers. Moreover, the stabilized flowers allow many creations, difficult to realize in fresh flowers, even impossible: bracelets, necklaces, headbands, belts …
Finally, and this is not negligible, stabilized flowers allow managing without stress the floral decoration: all our creations are delivered everywhere in France and abroad, at least 15 days before the date of the wedding!
SN: How do you explain to your customers what means stabilized?
EG: We explain that in order to preserve their natural authenticity, fresh flowers and foliage are treated by a preservation process. The flowers are picked at the best moment of their life cycle, then their sap is replaced by a natural vegetable product based on glycerine, allowing them to keep all the authenticity of the fresh flower, their suppleness, for years.
If very few people know the principle of stabilized, many people have already heard about the eternal rose, which is much more present in the mass distribution.
SN: Can we make a wedding completely stabilized? What criterion do you put forward for this idea?
EG: Yes, of course, even if the majority of our orders concern bouquets, buttonholes and jewels, it is quite possible to conceive the whole of the floral decoration in stabilized flowers.
The bride and groom can prepare their decoration in advance, without having to worry about the D-Day. Moreover, at the end of the evening, they can offer the centrepieces to their closest relatives and friends. Remembrance of this unique day.
SN: How do you find your customers?
EG: The majority of our customers come from our website, www.ayanafloraldesign.com. For the international clientele, we are also present on the Etsy website.
We also work a lot with word of mouth, blogs and social networks (Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram).
During the year, we do various events, such as Wedding trunk shows, or ephemeral shops (especially in Paris).
SN: Can budget be a barrier for customers?
EG: Regarding the bouquet of the bride, we are aware that the price is higher than for a bunch of fresh flowers, because the raw material and especially the working time are much more important. But the finality is quite different.
However, some of our creations are not more expensive than fresh flowers, like the crown of gypsophila or hydrangea for example. We also have very accessible products, such as bracelets, whose first price is €32.
SN: What advice would you give to those who would like to work the stabilized plants?
EG: Having a florist training is not necessarily necessary and may even have a negative impact on flowering creations. Just be creative and imaginative!
Website // Fleurs d’un nouveau monde
Facebook // Fleurs D’un Nouveau Monde
Pinterest // Fleurs d’un Nouveau Monde
Etsy shop // Fleurdunouveaumonde