Business idea: artificial flowers. Artificial flower business

Artificial flower manufacturing technology

Flowers made using this technology are practically indistinguishable from real ones.

Introduction

Hundreds of thousands of plant species live on the globe. And flowers occupy a place of honor among them.

It’s hard to imagine how poorer our lives would be, how sad the planet Earth would be if flowers disappeared on it. They are a symbol of love and fidelity, a symbol of respect and eternal memory. Flowers are the most modest and beautiful decoration of our home. Even a small bouquet of flowers gives the room a festive look and creates an uplifting mood. Unfortunately, fresh flowers do not last long. But people can create miracles. They learned to create artificial flowers, imitating nature itself. This is a great art, with its own strict rules and laws, which allow you to achieve maximum similarity, reveal the natural beauty of each flower, emphasizing its characteristic details and features.

Having a keen eye for observation, taste, and having thoroughly mastered the technique of coloring and processing petals, stamens, and leaves, you can make any flower. And having mastered the art of flower making, you need to learn how to make bouquets correctly, based on proportions and harmony.

Tools

To make artificial flowers you need some special tools(Fig. 1), without which it is impossible to begin work.

Rice. 1. Tools for making flowers: a - bulbs; b - rings; c - knives; g - iron; d - die cutting.

These include:

gurgles- steel balls mounted on metal rods with wooden handles. The number of rolls used is usually at least six (of different sizes). For example: 5, 15, 20, 30 mm in diameter. The petals are processed with boules, giving them a natural shape characteristic of a given flower;

rings made of steel wire of various diameters, which are used for curling petals;

single core knife- a blunt curved blade made of steel wire, framed with a wooden handle. Serve for processing leaves (in the absence of a leaf stamp) and some flowers;

twin-core knife- similar to a single-core one, but with two blades, which are obtained by cutting a longitudinal groove in a blunt steel blade. Necessary for processing reed petals and sepals;

iron— metal parallelepiped 10x10x3 (4) cm with holes with a diameter of 1.2; 1.5; 2; 3; 3.5 mm. A strip of starched dry fabric 0.5 cm wide is pulled through the desired hole in the iron. Thin tubes are obtained, which are used in the manufacture of phlox, primroses, etc.;

medical tweezers— for corrugating petals, assembling small flowers and coloring them. The arms of the tweezers should be the same length, elastic, and come together tightly when squeezed;

scissors- for cutting out petals, leaves, etc. from fabric;

wire cutters- for cutting wire;

awl with a round steel needle 3-5 cm long for piercing holes in corolla-shaped petals;

die cutting- for obtaining corollas of flowers with very small petals, for example, forget-me-nots, lilacs, lilies of the valley. Each die cut should correspond to the shape of the petal of a given flower;

pillows made of hard and semi-soft rubber with a thickness of 1.5 to 4 cm. The dimensions of the pillow are approximately 15x20 cm (the pillows are covered with white fabric). On a cushion of soft rubber, the petals are processed with boules. Leaves, petals, and sepals are mainly used to make leaves, petals, and sepals on a semi-soft cushion. The soft rubber pad can be replaced with a pad of sand, well washed and dried. Rolls, knives, rings, and irons must always be hot when working.

Supporting materials. In addition to fabric, to make even the simplest flower you need to have auxiliary materials: dyes, adhesives, etc.

As dyes In the production of artificial flowers, aniline dyes for cotton and woolen fabrics, Rainbow ink, food confectionery dyes, gouache, ink, and photo paints are usually used. Note that paints diluted not with water, but with cologne or vodka, are brighter, cleaner, and dry faster.

Required colors: yellow, red, blue, purple, green, crimson, brown, orange, black. To create the desired shades and tones, paints are mixed together. So, to get orange, you need to mix yellow with red. You can get juicy greenery if you combine yellow with turquoise. Light greens are created by mixing lemon with blue.

Glue for flowers it must be durable, dry quickly, not leave dirty marks, and not discolor the paint on the petals and leaves. Office glue is no good! You need to prepare the glue yourself.

Flour paste. Sifted flour (1-2 tablespoons) is poured with a small amount of cold water and thoroughly stirred until creamy, then, stirring, heated over low heat until the flour is brewed. Paste is used both warm and cold for gluing paper, fixing “pollen”, that is, starch, semolina on the stamens, and gluing petals to the core of the flower.

Dextrin glue (mail). The finished yellow-brown powder is diluted with warm water. Glue is used like paste for working with paper, stamens, and petals. If the glue has dried in the cup, then you need to pour a little hot water and, when it softens, drain off the excess water and stir.

PVA glues. These are the best glues for making flowers.

Gelatin glue . 1 teaspoon of gelatin is poured into ½ cup of cold water, after 40 minutes (after swelling) 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 teaspoon of sugar are added. Everything is thoroughly mixed and brought to a boil over low heat.

Wire. For making flowers, wire of various sections is suitable: thin, medium, thick. For the stems, use aluminum wire; its thickness depends on the weight of the flower. Steel wire is not suitable. The flower should sway on the stem, which gives it more naturalness.

Paper. Tissue or crepe decorative paper of various colors is needed for wrapping the wire. Most often, green and brown paper is required. If you don’t have a colored one, you can paint the white one in the appropriate color.

Cotton wool. White cotton wool will be needed for entwining the stems and making the cores of some flowers. If colored wool is needed, then white wool is painted in the desired color. The paint is diluted with water to the desired tone, cotton wool is dipped into it, lightly squeezed and dried on paper.

Threads. For the stamens you will need threads of various colors. You can use darning, iris, floss. The most commonly used threads or darning are brown, yellow, orange, burgundy, black and green.

Basic Operations

Stem flower. The stem is the base of the flower. It must be quite strong and rigid, since in addition to the blossoming flower, it contains leaves and buds. Before you start making flowers, you need to learn how to wrap the wire with cotton wool and paper (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Making stems, attaching leaves.

It is better to practice on a short wire 10-12 cm long. Take the wire in your left hand and hold it between the thumb and forefinger, and with your right hand, place a strip of thin paper 0.5-0.8 cm wide on top of it at an angle of 45°. Using your left fingers the hands rotate the wire towards itself around its axis, causing the strip of paper to spirally wrap around the wire. The paper should lie neatly on the wire, without wrinkles, tightly wrapping it in a spiral. While there is no skill, the wire can be lightly greased with paste before work.

The stems of buds, stamens, and wires for leaves are wrapped in the same way. If a thick stem is needed, the wire is wrapped with a very thin layer of cotton wool, smeared with paste and then wrapped with paper.

Petals, leaves, stamens. The main material for making flowers is fabric. Flowers can be made from cambric, madapolama, calico, chiffon, crepe de Chine, silk, satin, chintz.

How to starch fabric. Any fabric for flowers must be starched. Starch is prepared as follows. Pour 2 cups of water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Then a tablespoon (with the top) of potato flour (starch) is diluted in a small amount of cold water and poured into boiling water in a thin stream, stirring occasionally. You should get a thick jelly without lumps. If there are lumps, then filter the hot jelly through cheesecloth.

A piece of dry fabric is spread on an oilcloth and slightly cooled jelly is applied to it by hand. A second piece is placed on the first piece, the whole procedure is repeated again, etc. The starched pieces of fabric are removed one by one and, without squeezing, hung on a rope, grabbed by the edges with clothespins. You can starch cotton fabrics in another way. Dry fabric is crumpled in your hands and dipped in hot starch (jelly), soaked well, excess starch is squeezed out with your fingers and dried on wooden sliding frames.

Silk fabrics - chiffon, crepe de chine, natural silk are recommended to be gelatinized. The gelatin solution is prepared as follows: pour 2 teaspoons (without top) of gelatin into a glass, fill the glass halfway with cold water, leave for 1 hour, top up the glass with water and heat it in a metal container until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Do not boil the gelatin solution under any circumstances!

The fabric is immersed in a hot gelatin solution, the excess is squeezed out without twisting, and dried on a line, just like starched fabric. Well-treated fabric rustles like paper.

Making a pattern. To make a flower, you need to have patterns of its parts: petals, leaves, sepals. For patterns you will need thick, thin cardboard. On each pattern they write the name of the flower, indicate the number of petals, corollas or leaves, and their serial number. All patterns of one flower are strung on a thin wire. The starched fabric for flowers is folded in four, pinned in several places with pins, patterns are applied, traced with a simple “TM” pencil and then cut out exactly according to the design so that pencil marks are not noticeable. It must be remembered that the patterns must be applied to the fabric along an oblique thread (Fig. 3-a), otherwise the petals will not be given the desired shape during processing. But if the pattern has the shape of a corolla, that is, individual petals are collected together in 3, 5 or more pieces, then some petals will inevitably turn out along a straight thread.

Rice. 3. Placement of the pattern on the fabric along the bias thread (a) and petals with an allowance for gluing (b).

If the petals need to be glued together so that the flower takes the form of a bell, then an allowance is made on the pattern at the junction (Fig. 3-b). Leaves for flowers are cut out only along an oblique thread.

Coloring of petals and leaves. To color petals, leaves, and paper, it is more convenient to use paints dissolved in a small amount of boiling water. Before painting, the petals are moistened in cold water, wrung out using paper napkins or between the palms. The fabric for the leaves is painted in large (0.5-1 m) patches, dried, and then starched. If the petals are monochromatic, without shades, they are painted completely, immersed in a saucer with paint, the excess paint is squeezed out on the edge of the saucer and, one at a time, laid out with tweezers on a newspaper to dry. In some flowers, only the middle or edges of the corollas are painted. The edges of the petals are either tinted with a brush, or 5-10 corollas are carefully folded together, moistened in clean water, squeezed between the palms and rotated, lightly touching the very edges of the corollas with paint in the saucer. Dry the whisks, placing them one at a time on newspaper. But most flowers have a variety of shades and almost all petals have a greenish-yellow bottom. Such petals are painted like this: 5-10 petals are carefully folded according to size, that is, large ones with large ones, and small ones with small ones, moistened in water, and squeezed out. Use your fingers to pinch the middle of the petals and paint the lower part in a saucer with salad paint, and the upper part in a saucer with another paint. Strict care is taken to ensure that the colors do not merge, but smoothly transition from one color to another.

Stamens. The stamens of flowering and ornamental plants are very diverse. Compare the stamens of lily of the valley, forget-me-nots, chamomile, cornflower, water lilies, scarlet poppy, etc. Each flower is uniquely individual. The stamens decorate the flower, and they need to be done carefully, making them as life-like as possible.

Stamens are made from gauze, bobbin thread, floss, silk, and wool. “Pollen” is made from semolina, sealing wax, pata, var, rosin, small sawdust, and tooth powder. It is better to starch or gelatinize the threads for the stamens. To do this, the threads are pulled at a certain distance from one another and soaked in hot starch so that they do not stick together.

Starched dry threads are wound around two fingers or two pencils to make stamen tassels. Their size and color depend on the flower. The resulting skein is removed, the middle is secured with wire, which is then bent in half and twisted at the very threads. The skein is cut in the middle, the threads are trimmed with scissors - a core is obtained from individual threads-stamens (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Making stamens from threads.

Stamens for 2 pencils do this: take pencils, as well as wire 20-25 cm long, threads of the desired color are tightly wound on them, then the wire is bent in half, twisted, the pencils are pulled out, the resulting skein is cut in the middle, aligned. The stamens are ready. Their ends are carefully greased with paste and dipped in yellow or white semolina. For “pollen,” semolina is painted as follows: dry paint is diluted with cologne or vodka, semolina is poured into it, mixed, and dried on paper. Stamens are made from gauze in this way: a small piece of crumpled gauze is placed in the middle of a 25 cm long wire, the wire is wrapped around it in the middle, the wire is twisted under the bundle, and the sides are cut, making the tassel convex.

The colored heads of the stamens are made from pata, which is prepared on the basis of glue and paint (additives may be different). For example, they use a mixture of flour, water (a teaspoon each), some glue and dry paint of the desired color.

If there is no dry paint, then instead of water take a teaspoon of liquid paint. This can be “Rainbow” ink, concentrated whitewash paint, gouache, ink (not alcohol). To get black shiny heads, use shoe polish with rosin. A piece of shoe polish and the same amount of rosin are heated to a boil and stirred. The ends of individual stamens are dipped into the hot mixture and black shiny heads are obtained. In the same way, heads are made from sealing wax or rosin alone.

Rice. 5. Making stamens by pulling the fabric through the hole of the iron.

For some flowers, the stamens are made of starched material in the form of tubes. Strips of fabric are cut along a 1.5 cm wide thread and pulled through a hole with a diameter of 5-7 mm using a hot iron (Fig. 5). Stamen-tubes are found in flowers such as anthurium, calla, etc.

Chamomile

Artificial daisies are made from well-starched chintz, silk, thick cambric, satin, to make the daisies look more beautiful, the blooming flower is collected from two corollas (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Chamomile.

Field daisies. Field daisies (white and yellow) are smaller than garden daisies. In white chamomile, the area of ​​the corollas adjacent to the core (no more than 2 cm in diameter) is painted a pale greenish-yellow color. To make the color natural, without sharp color boundaries, the corollas are tinted while wet.

Yellow (brown, lemon yellow) daisies are made with brighter edges of the petals. To do this, wet corollas are completely painted in an even yellow or brown color, laid out one at a time on a newspaper, and with a soft brush or cotton wool on a match, brighter paint is applied to the ends of the still wet petals. In Fig. 7 shows patterns of flowers, buds and leaves of chamomile.

Rice. 7. Chamomile pattern.

Core. For the core of daisies you will need cotton wool, a bandage, floss threads, darning of the desired color, from which a low, dense brush with a diameter of 1.5 cm (for field daisies) and 2 cm (for garden daisies) is made. To do this, soft threads or darning are wound around two fingers 30-35 times. The core is made convex or with a depression by carefully trimming the ends of the brush with sharp scissors. Yellow daisies have a brown core, white and colored ones have a yellow-green core.

Corollas. Each chamomile petal is processed on semi-rigid rubber with a double-core knife on the face and a single-core knife on the back (Fig. 8). A single-core knife can be replaced with a small boule. In the middle of each petal from top to bottom, use a hot two-core knife to make a deep groove. This is the front side of the chamomile. Turning the corolla of the chamomile face down, run a single-strand knife along the sides of the middle groove along one vein, as well as a vein along the contour of the petal, trying to guide the knife along its very edge. A medium-sized loaf of bread is poured from the face into the middle of the corolla. Before this, the middles of the corollas are pierced with an awl. The corolla to the bud is “bulged” from the inside out.

Rice. 8. Processing the petal with a single-core knife.

Leaves and calyxes. Leaves and calyxes are cut out from well-starched green material. The chamomile leaves “sit” directly on the stem; they are processed with a single-core knife from the front and back on semi-rigid rubber. The gluing cups are pierced with an awl in the center and treated with a ball of soft rubber.

Flower assembly. When assembling a flower, the wire with the core glued to it is held with the free end up. The first corolla is pressed against the base of the core, greased with glue, the second so that its petals fit into the spaces of the first corolla. The last thing to attach is the cup-glue. The bud is made from one smaller corolla, the petals of which, raised up, almost completely cover the core. A cup-glue is glued to the base of the core: The main stem of the chamomile is made of aluminum wire 40-45 cm long. The wire with the flower is grafted (screwed) onto the stem. In order for the flower to sway, the length of the wire from the base of the flower to the stem must be at least 8 cm. Then the stem is wrapped with green paper, at the same time placing the bud, as well as the leaves, one below the other. For a bouquet, make several daisies without buds.

Daisies can be placed in a low vase. A bouquet of white and yellow daisies will become more beautiful if you add a few artificial cornflowers to it.

Poppy

In nature, yellow, white, lilac, red, pale purple, and pink poppies are found.

Field poppies (Fig. 9) are made from red satin, calico, scarlet, red silk, and crepe de Chine. The most natural poppy flower is obtained from crepe de Chine or dense cambric.

Rice. 9. Mac.

Poppy heart. The poppy core consists of a crown and numerous stamens. The poppy is made from cotton wool. A small cocoon is wound into the middle of a 20-25 cm long wire (Fig. 10). The wire is bent in half and twisted under the base of the resulting ball, the diameter of which is 1-1.2 cm. The ball is covered with a 6x6 cm square of green crepe paper on top. At the base of the core of the ball, the paper is secured with black threads and the crown is tied crosswise 4 times. The stamens are tied up in the crown.

Rice. 10. Making a crown (the letters indicate the sequence of the operation).

Stamens. Poppy stamens are made from black spools of starched thread or from black copy paper. Spool threads No. 10 are wound on 3 fingers 25 times, pulled in the middle with thin wire and the ends are trimmed evenly. You will need two such stamens. The stamens are lightly coated with glue and dipped in semolina, which can be dyed pale green. Both tassels are applied to the crown, the stamens are evenly distributed around and secured at the base with threads.

Rice. 11. Making poppy stamens.

Stamens from carbon paper are made like this: across a sheet of carbon paper, a strip 4 cm wide is folded in four and cut on one side by 2.5 cm, obtaining a fringe (Fig. 11). Then this strip is folded with a tassel, the ends of the fringe are smeared with glue and dipped in semolina. A strip with fringe is glued in a circle to the finished poppy-stamen. Excess paper under the crown is cut off.

Tinting the petals. Poppy petals (4-7 pieces) are tinted dry. The sharp lower end of the petals is treated with ink or purple and even black ink. Using a soft brush or cotton ball on a match, draw an almond-shaped spot at the bottom of the petals (Fig. 12, a).

Rice. 12. Processing poppy petals: a - tint; b - obtaining veins and corrugation.

Petal processing. After drying, the petals are processed on semi-hard rubber with a hot single-core knife, drawing the veins in a fan-shape from the face and in the spaces between them from the inside out. To get a beautiful fan, the corrugation of the petals begins with the middle groove, which is drawn from the top of the petal to the almond-shaped spot. This groove divides the petal into two halves. In the middle of each half, another similar groove is made (Fig. 12, b). These guide grooves will help to correctly guide the other strips; the result is corrugated petals, the tucks at the base are smaller and larger at the top. After processing with your fingers, the edges of the petals are pulled out, and the middle and dark spot are strongly squeezed out with a large hot bubble on soft rubber.

Rice. 13. Making adhesive.

Leaves and gluing. The leaves and cup-glue are cut from greenish-gray fabric. The backing (Fig. 13) is squeezed out with a bottle in the shape of a boat. The leaves (Fig. 14) are corrugated on both sides with a single-core knife and wire is glued on the inside.

Rice. 14. Making poppy leaves.

Bud. The cotton wool bud has a cocoon 2 cm long. The cocoon is pulled along with a thread, the entire cocoon is smeared with green paste and sprinkled with finely cut wool. An incision is made on the dried cocoon in its upper part, into which a small crumpled piece of fabric of the same color as the poppy petals is glued. This is a bud beginning to bloom. This bud can be made a little differently. Two corrugated petals are glued to a small dome with stamens - one opposite the other. Glue the cup-glue, wrap the stem with cotton wool and then green paper (Fig. 15).

Rice. 15. Poppy bud.

Flower assembly. A poppy flower consists of 4-7 petals. From 7 petals, a poppy is assembled as follows: 3 petals are strung and glued one after another onto a wire with a crown, then 4 more are glued. When assembling, the flower is held head down, the glue is allowed to dry and then the stem is wrapped with cotton wool, which is lightly greased with paste or glue and wrapped a strip of green (not bright) paper. Below on the stem, 2 leaves are fixed at once, and between them a stem with a bud. The poppy stems are made bristly and shaggy, for which they are smeared with glue and sprinkled with finely chopped wool, dyed green. Due to the wide variety of colors, poppies are used - for bouquets and compositions separately and in combination with other plants.

cornflower

Garden cornflowers (Fig. 16) are larger than field ones and their colors are more varied. They are white, lilac, reddish-pink. To make cornflowers, you can take any thin, but well-starched, dense material. Garden cornflowers are cut out according to the pattern (Fig. 17), cutting out 2 corollas per blooming flower and 2 corollas per bud, as well as 8-10 green leaves.

Rice. 16. Cornflower.

Rice. 17. Pattern of corolla, bud, cornflower leaves.

Coloring the corollas of field and garden cornflowers. To prevent the small cloves of cornflowers from becoming shaggy during the dyeing process, you need to cut out not corollas from the fabric, but slightly larger circles size than the pattern. These mugs in a stack of 10-12 pieces are moistened in clean cold water. Excess water is squeezed out with your fingers or using paper napkins.

Field cornflowers are painted as follows: blue paint is diluted with boiling water and poured into 2 saucers. Add a little water to the first saucer and use a piece of cloth to determine the resulting tone of paint, which should be lighter than the paint in the second saucer. It is recommended to select tones and tint in daylight. Wet mugs are first immersed in light paint, the excess is squeezed out on the edge of the saucer and laid out on paper or newspaper using tweezers. Using a soft brush or small cotton swab, paint the center of each circle with dark paint (from the second saucer). The dried mugs are stacked in 3-4 pieces, pinned and the rims are cut out according to the pattern. The center of the corollas is pierced with an awl.

Corollas for white cornflowers are painted slightly differently. The mugs are moistened in cold water, squeezed out with napkins and laid out on paper. For dried but still wet circles, a greenish-yellow spot with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm is drawn in the center, which should not have sharp boundaries. The dried mugs are stacked in groups of 3-4 and the rims are cut out.

Corolla processing. All cornflower corollas are processed with a hot single-core knife on semi-soft rubber. The whisk is placed on the rubber and grooves are made along each clove from the edge to the center with a knife. This is the wrong side of the corolla. The corolla is then turned face up and one groove is drawn along the sides of the midrib with a hot single-strand knife, causing the midrib to become convex. The largest tooth of each petal is gently lifted upward with your fingers. The middle of the corollas is treated with medium-sized boules. For a blossoming cornflower, the center of the corollas is “bulged” from the face, for buds - from the inside, so that the corollas close into buds.

Stamens. In nature, the stamens of cornflowers are very complex. For an artificial flower, the stamens can be made more simplified; this will not lose the decorativeness of the cornflower. Stamens for field cornflower are made from bobbin threads, blue and purple floss in the form of a tassel (as indicated in the “Stamens” section). The ends of the stamens are smeared with paste and dipped in tooth powder or white semolina. Stamens are made for both the flower and the bud. For white cornflower, black, blue-violet stamens are possible.

Flower assembly. The wire with the stamen tassel is held with the head down. Lubricate the base of the brush with paste and glue it to it, stringing one whisk onto a wire. Then string the second whisk and glue it so that the teeth of one whisk fit between the teeth of the other. 2 corolla-buds are glued to the second stamen-tassel. A thickening in the form of a jug is twisted from greenish-brown cotton wool under the flower and bud, smeared with paste so that the cotton wool retains its shape. Stems made of thin wire are lightly wrapped with cotton wool, then with green tissue paper. These short stems with a flower and a bud are attached, like daisies, to peduncle stems made of aluminum wire 30-35 cm long. The upper part of such stems is wrapped in green paper and slightly bent in the form of an arc. A flower is attached to one peduncle, and a cornflower bud is attached to the other; leaves are located along the stem, one lower than the other. The leaves are processed in a simple way. Each leaf is folded lengthwise and the edges are slightly pulled out.

Wildflowers are good in a bouquet with several ears of ripe rye. A bouquet of scarlet field poppies, white daisies and field cornflowers will look great.

The idea of ​​starting your own business has probably occurred to every person. And the flower trade is considered a relatively profitable business, because it’s hard to imagine the holidays without them. What is selling flowers? A business plan must take into account even the smallest details. So how to start trading and make it profitable?

Selling flowers: business plan

Of course, first you need to sort out some little things. In particular, you need to draw up an accurate and detailed business plan:

• Research the sales market.
• Choose a place to purchase goods.
• Complete the necessary documents.
• Find a place to rent.
• Purchase the necessary equipment and goods.
• Hire staff.
• Calculate the amount of starting capital.
• Conduct an advertising campaign.

If you are interested in how to start selling flowers, then you should know that when creating any business, every little detail is important. This is the only way to make it truly profitable.

What documents are needed to trade plants?

It should be noted right away that a license to sell flowers is not required. Therefore, you just need to register either an LLC or an individual entrepreneur with the tax service. Sole proprietorship is suitable for you if you intend to work exclusively with individuals. This option has some advantages, such as a simplified accounting system, as well as lower taxes.

If you are not the sole owner of a store and plan to expand your business and cooperate with different companies, it is better to register a Limited Liability Company.

Where to rent a room?

If you are planning to start a flower selling business, you should know that the location of your store is extremely important. Therefore, it is best to rent a room somewhere in a busy place, for example, in the central part of the city, in a tourist area, in a shopping center, etc.

Naturally, premises in a busy area will cost more. But a favorable location largely determines the success of trade.

After all, quite often people buy flowers impulsively, without planning it in advance. Therefore, it is important that your store is on the path of a person who is going to buy a beautiful bouquet.

As for the store itself, it is desirable that it be spacious. Then buyers will not have to crowd into a tiny room.

Try to arrange the flowers so that they are visible from anywhere in the store - this way the client will have the opportunity to independently choose the best plants.

What equipment do you need to get started?

As already mentioned, flowers are a product that quickly deteriorates. Therefore, you need to raise money in advance for the necessary equipment. After all, without it, selling flowers is simply impossible. The business plan should include the purchase of the following materials:

• To begin with, you will need a refrigerator, since in the hot season it is important to keep the flowers fresh.

• But in the winter months, the main threat to the product is cold. Therefore, you need to purchase a special thermal curtain.

• A store full of flowers must have an air conditioning system, which will help create optimal temperature conditions at any time of the year.

• Don’t forget about stands, tables for florists and other furniture necessary for creating bouquets of furniture.

• Most likely, in addition to fresh-cut flowers, you will sell some other products - these will also require furniture, such as racks and shelves.

• To preserve flowers, buckets, vases, sprayers and some other devices are needed.

• By the way, make sure there is enough water in the store.

• You will also need a cash register. By the way, as your business develops, when there are more and more regular customers, you will probably need a computer and special software. They will facilitate the process of tracking sales, and also simplify the work of the accountant.

This is a list of basic purchases. You can buy the rest of the things you need for work after the store opens.

Basic consumables: what to buy?

Naturally, the main thing in your business is fresh, fresh-cut flowers. Today, their market in our country is sufficiently developed; only 45% of products come to us from abroad. You just need to find a company that grows or delivers flowers and draw up an agreement with it. By the way, many organizations use a flower franchise.

Many novice businessmen ask what plants to buy. According to statistical studies, roses are the most popular.

Chrysanthemums take second place, and carnations take third place. Therefore, these flowers must be present in your store’s assortment.

Naturally, you can purchase almost any plants that are useful for creating bouquets. And don’t forget about the so-called seasonal ones - for several weeks (or even days) a year, snowdrops, anemones and tulips become especially popular.

Of course, selling flowers is a profitable business. But in order to increase your income, you should think about creating compositions. For this purpose, it is best to hire an experienced, talented florist. He will create original bouquets from ordinary flowers - compositions are usually more expensive. In this case, you will need some materials: gift wrapping, paper, ribbons, bows, rhinestones and other decorations.

By the way, selling flowers in pots is an interesting and profitable idea. Such plants are more expensive, but with proper care they can be preserved for months. In addition, indoor flowers are popular gifts because, unlike cut flowers, they do not fade.

We hire workers

A flower selling business can become truly successful, but only with the right approach. It's no secret that the effectiveness of trading largely depends on the quality of service. Therefore, when interviewing future employees, first of all pay attention to such qualities as communication skills and politeness.

To begin with, you will need a seller, and a little later, a florist. If you cannot do accounting, you will have to hire someone for this position (perhaps on a part-time basis). Additional staff may be needed when expanding a business such as selling flowers. The business plan in this case has its own characteristics.

About some nuances

As already mentioned, the sale of plants is often seasonal. Naturally, people buy bouquets every day, but there are times when flowers are in great demand.

This is mainly observed on special and holiday days, for example, first and last call, prom, March 8 (don't forget to buy tulips, snowdrops and other spring flowers), as well as Valentine's Day, etc.

Always be prepared for such holidays, buy more flowers, create inexpensive bouquets in advance, and offer discounts. In short, do everything to attract customers.

Weddings are another source of good income. Let your florist create bouquets for the bride. Boutonnieres for the groom and bridesmaids made from fresh flowers are becoming increasingly popular - offer this service too.

Ideas for additional income

Selling cut flowers and original bouquets is a profitable business. But business, and therefore profits, can always be raised to a new level. For example, over time you can create a flower delivery service. This service is very popular among people who do not have time to go shopping, as well as among buyers who want to surprise a loved one.

Along with indoor plants, you can always sell pots, fertilizers and other small items. Quite often, flower shops offer customers souvenirs. These can be figurines, boxes, photo frames, paintings, watches, artificial flowers and other gifts.

Selling flowers: advantages and disadvantages

When you start a new business, it's always a little scary. Therefore, many people are interested in the question of whether it is profitable to sell flowers. Yes, there are a number of significant disadvantages in this matter. To begin with, it should be noted that flowers are a product that deteriorates relatively quickly, so if the trade is not very successful, losses can be quite high. And the flower business is seasonal.

On the other hand, there are also important advantages. In particular, some stores sell flowers with a markup of 200 or even 300%. In addition, such a business does not require large start-up capital, any specific skills or extensive experience. With the right approach, selling flowers can become a truly profitable business.

Welcome to the magazine about business and finance “Rabota-Tam”.

Artificial flowers are not what they used to be. With the current development of technology and modern materials, sometimes even upon closer examination they cannot be distinguished from the real thing. The demand for such decorations is enormous: they decorate office and home premises, and make wreaths for funeral processions. This means that the business of making artificial bouquets, even if small, can become a profitable business.
Let's look at how to start your own artificial flower production from scratch. What is more profitable – organizing a full-fledged workshop or a home business?

Basics of making artificial flowers

Perhaps one of the most important conditions for starting a business is not even the amount of start-up capital, but the presence of imagination, diligence and a certain amount of creativity. The finished products must completely copy the natural analogue, which means that knowledge of botany will not be superfluous.
The technology for producing artificial flowers is a very complex process that requires great skills from the master. Therefore, if you have never encountered this type of needlework before, study the relevant literature and watch video tutorials (there are a lot of master classes on the Internet devoted to this issue). You can also enroll in special courses. Investments in training will pay off very quickly.
If we talk about organizing a full-fledged workshop, then almost all operations will be carried out using special machines. But even here you need to thoroughly know the nuances of production.

Industrial production or home business?

Industrial production of artificial flowers will require large investments. Launch the plant only if there is minimal competition and a large number of potential consumers in the regional market. Otherwise, you will have to spend several years until all the investments pay off.
It is better to buy equipment for the production of artificial flowers on an industrial scale in China. The quality of Asian lines is not inferior to European brands, and their cost is lower. The cost of the line in the minimum configuration is 1,200,000 rubles.
It includes:

• flower stem casting machine,
• leaf cutting machine,
• petal cutting machine,
• forming machine.

Industrial equipment will make it possible to produce large volumes of products. Using a medium-capacity line, you can produce up to 1,500 products in an 8-hour shift.
In addition to expensive equipment, you will need a separate large room (up to 150 m2), a whole staff (up to 30 people), including a professional designer. The initial investment to launch a workshop will be approximately 2,500,000 rubles.
And here DIY artificial flowers production at home will not require so much investment. Here you can get by with minimal costs. The main thing you absolutely need is certain knowledge.
The price of equipment for the production of artificial flowers at home is low - you can meet it at 200,000 rubles.
You will need:

• Bulki. This is a metal rod with a ball at the end.
• Steel wire of various diameters.
• A single-core knife for processing leaves, which is a slightly curved blunt blade with a wooden handle.
• Twin-core knife.
• Special iron.
• Tweezers, sharp scissors, wire cutters, awl.
• Die-cuts for making corollas of some colors.
• Rubber pads.

Having purchased everything you need and studied the technology, you will be able to make flowers no worse than factory ones. In addition, there is an undeniable advantage here - products made with your own hands will be absolutely unique. And exclusive products, as you know, are always in demand, which means mini-production of artificial flowers at home as a business will begin to bring high profits over time.

How much can you earn?

The profit margin will depend on whether your production is automated.
If we talk about an industrial enterprise, then, as practice shows, the net profit from the sale of products can reach up to 300,000 rubles per month. Working manually, you, of course, will not produce large volumes of products, since a mini machine for producing artificial flowers at home is not suitable for high power. But you can sell finished products at a higher price. Working full time and acquiring regular clients, you can earn up to 200,000 rubles per month.
The price of artificial flowers depends on many factors: the type of raw materials used, the complexity of the product, and the pricing policy in a particular region. The minimum cost of 1 artificial flower is approximately 30 rubles. But this is a simple decoration made from cheap materials. A high-quality product costs much more – up to 300 rubles per piece.

Nowadays, flowers made from artificial materials are not at all what they used to be; they are made very similar to natural flowers thanks to the latest technologies.

The need for such decorations is quite great: they are used for decoration and decoration of offices, apartments, houses, hotels. Artificial flowers have also found use in ritual floristry. Your own business producing artificial flowers can bring considerable profit, all that remains is to figure out how to create such a business from scratch?

Market analysis

Of course, artificial flowers are not as popular as real ones, but they still have a wide range of applications. In addition, artificial jewelry has more advantages than real ones:

1. Firstly, they are durable and have a certain resistance to adverse external influences.
2. Secondly, when using truly high-quality materials, artificial flowers are practically indistinguishable from real ones.
3. Artificial flowers will cost less than live arrangements.

Having come to the conclusion that artificial flowers are in demand, you can think about starting your own business. However, before doing this, you need to familiarize yourself with the state of the market. Artificial flowers are brought to our country, in most cases, from China. There are not so many manufacturers of artificial flowers on the domestic market.

Before starting artificial flower production, the following important factors need to be considered:

1. General market analysis requiring in-depth marketing research.
2. The existence of similar organizations in a certain area or city.
3. Which organizations are the most successful - small or large?
4. How much higher is the income of handmakers?
5. Will the investment be justified, and how long will it take?
6. Where to bring materials from, what is their cost, will it be necessary to order them in other countries.

Having received answers to the above questions, it will be easier for you to draw up a business plan, establish development vectors and potential achievements.

Registration and organization of business

Registration of any individual enterprise involves preparing documents for the tax authorities and paying state fees. An aspiring entrepreneur either registers an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity.

Industrial production or home business

The most important thing is to decide for yourself the direction of business - a home business or the formation of a manufacturing enterprise. If you give preference to handmade, then large investments will not be required. Most often, this is an activity for students or young mothers who have imagination, creativity, and free time. Often such a business begins with a hobby and a desire to create. Over time, the hobby brings profit, which leads to further part-time work on an ongoing basis.

There is a need to purchase special tools, master new techniques, apply and understand the source material.

The situation is completely different with a manufacturing enterprise, which will require large capital investments. So, to create industrial production, an entrepreneur needs;

• find suitable premises and select personnel;
• purchase tools, equipment and materials;
• register with the tax authorities;
• regulate production technology.

Production technology

The technology for making artificial flowers is as follows:

1. It is necessary to make patterns of the required shapes and sizes.
2. Next you need to cast, sculpt, stamp or cut out all the parts.
3. Then assemble all the elements into one product using stitching, artistic welding, gluing or wire assembly.

Room

You will need a large room of about 150 sq.m. All extensive equipment will be located here. In addition, it is necessary to clearly define a work area for each employee, as well as assign a place for administration, a warehouse and a production area. There are no specific conditions for the premises.

Artificial lighting should be provided (in addition to natural light in the room). The room should have good ventilation and water supply, and be heated in cold weather. You need a dry, clean room that will be cleaned regularly.

Equipment

Regardless of the material (fabric, polymer, plastic) from which the products will be made, equipment will be required. Imported equipment is often used.

It is better to purchase equipment for the production of artificial flowers in China.

After all, the price is significantly lower than its European counterparts, and the quality is no worse. The line includes:

When purchasing equipment in China, you will need approximately 1 million rubles. European lines will be approximately 1.5 times more expensive.

Tools used in making artificial flowers:

1. Metal balls (bulks) on the leg.
2. Rings.
3. Special knives.
4. Tweezers.
5. Wire cutters.
6. Awl.
7. Iron.
8. Die cutting.

Staff

To service the production line, a staff of about 30 people will be required (depending on production volumes). The staff will include employees from different areas:

• operators;
• designers;
• accountant;
• sales managers.

The initial investment to launch the workshop will be about 2.5 million rubles.

Sales and Distribution

The sales market directly depends on the type of artificial flowers produced. If these are flowers and wreaths made of plastic, it would be wiser to open a store on the road to the cemetery, or near a funeral service store. If possible, contact the funeral home and arrange for the products to be sold.

If you make artificial flowers from fabric and paper, design agencies will be interested in your products. It would be advisable to open a point of sale in the city center or create your own online store.

You can also make artificial flowers to order, which will help expand your customer base.

Financial component of business

Equipment in industrial production will provide the opportunity to produce large volumes of products. Thanks to a line with average power, it is possible to produce about 1.5 thousand products in an 8-hour working day.

When making flowers with your own hands, you need to have certain knowledge. By purchasing the required tools and mastering the technology, you can produce exclusive products that will always be in great demand. Consequently, such a business will soon generate good income.

Amount of future income

The amount of further income is determined by the automation of production. Speaking about industrial production, the net profit from manufactured products can be up to 300 thousand rubles per month. Making artificial flowers at home will allow you to have an income of up to 50 thousand rubles per month.

Payback period

The payback period for a production workshop can range from a year to 2.5 years. As for unique flowers made with your own hands, demand will provide an opportunity not only to quickly recoup your investment, but also to make great money. After all, the initial investment will not be large.

Among the many different plants, flowers occupy a place of honor. They are the most modest and at the same time beautiful decoration of our home. Unfortunately, fresh flowers do not please the eye for long, but people have learned to create miracles. Imitating nature itself, they create beauty with their own hands. Having mastered various methods of making plants, you can easily transform your hobby into a source of good additional income.

Hobby or work?

Nowadays, handmade is a very fashionable trend, that is, making various things with your own hands. Flowers are also included in this list. Many people engage in this hobby in their free time from their main job, and some have turned it into a good business.

To master this type of work, you do not need to purchase special expensive equipment for the production of artificial flowers; a small number of tools that many people have at home will be enough.

Of course, if you have enough money, you can purchase a stem and leaf molding machine, a petal cutting machine and a shaping machine. Agree, most beginning entrepreneurs do not have access to a production line at the initial stage of business development due to the high cost.

Tools for work

To make high-quality production of artificial flowers a reality, special tools are needed:

1. Bulbs are special metal balls on a rod; they are used to give the petals a natural shape.
2. Wire rings. With their help, the petals curl.
3. A knife with a blunt curved blade. Used for processing leaves and flowers.
4. Knife with two blades. Used in the formation of petals and sepals.
5. A metal piece with holes (“iron”). For creating tubes when making primroses and other similar parts of flowers.
6. Tweezers. Used for corrugating petals and assembling small flowers.
7. Scissors for working with fabric and more.
8. Wire cutters.
9. An awl for piercing the required holes.
10. Die cuttings for obtaining corollas of small flowers.
11. Pillows made of rubber or sand. Needed when working with bulks.

Such equipment for the production of artificial flowers will make your work much easier and allow you to experiment, creating real masterpieces.

Additional working material

In addition to tools for creating flowers with your own hands, you need to use the following:

1. Textile. Her choice depends on the flower you decide to make. In addition, you need to have dyes, glue and decor.
2. To dye cotton and woolen fabrics, you can use aniline dyes, for other materials - food dyes, ink or photographic paints.
3. Homemade glue or PVA. The easiest to make is flour glue. Pour a few tablespoons of sifted flour with cold water and mix well. The homogeneous mixture is heated until gluing.
4. Wire. You can choose different options. It is better not to use steel wire: it immobilizes the flower, which deprives it of its naturalness.
5. Decorative paper. Used for wrapping wire.
6. Cotton wool. Needed for making cores of some colors.
7. Threads. They are used to make stamens.

This is just a small list of the basic materials you will use to create your products.

Basic Operations

Depending on the chosen technique, the manufacturing scheme may be different, but in general it can be described as follows:

1. Making stems, buds and stamens. Paper is wound spirally onto a wire of the required length and diameter. If seals are needed, first apply a thin layer of cotton wool moistened with paste, and then apply paper on top of it.
2. The fabric used to make flowers is pre-starched. Recipe: For 2 glasses of water, which is brought to a boil in advance, take a tablespoon of starch. It must be added gradually to obtain a uniform consistency. When the starch cools down a little, the fabric is dipped into it for a while, which is then wrung out and dried.
3. Before making a flower, make patterns of its parts on cardboard. The finished pieces are applied to the fabric along an oblique thread, carefully traced and cut out. Now (if desired) you can begin to paint the heads of artificial flowers in the desired colors.
4. The stamens give a complete resemblance to the original, so they should be as life-like as possible. The easiest way is to starch the threads and let them dry in a stretched state. From flowers that have larger stamens, tissue is taken and thin tubes are made using an iron.

After you purchase the above equipment for the production of artificial flowers, you can start working using old clothes or leftover materials. When the process is established, material rewards for the work will be added to moral pleasure.