Cheryl:
I was also actually thinking of ordering sleeves for this years market. However, I was looking at the ones with the sealed bottoms so that the customers can transport them without leaking. These seem kind of small though: 13.5" diam. by 25" tall by 4" at the bottom??????? Those sheets that you mentioned might actually be a good idea. How much do they cost? The 14" x 20" sounds like a good size. Heidi

Heidi,
You can probably get them cheaper in the states. The floral supply company here, sells them for $66.95 per 500. That works out to .13 a sheet, which isn't bad. I'll use one of my business stickers on each sheet.
Cheryl

Cheryl,
You're right. We've never sleeved our bouquets before. We have always used bright, bright, bright wax tissue. They were alway wrapped after the customer selected their bouquet, or we made one of our specialty bouquets. Our colors are bright; and, that is sort of our trademark. I think we still have 6 reams of tissue on hand; however, this year we're going to be using some sleeves. There are some really nice ones out there that have the paper look as well. We'd prefer they didn't have the commercial look. We'd like to use these for the "grab-them-and-go" customers. We're also going to staple the preservative to the sleeves. And, for those customers that are concerned about leaking, we'll be able to fold the bottom up and staple it. The size we're going to use for the bouquets on our front table (and the ones I think you're talking about) is 4 x 20 x 17. They make a smaller size as well. Our bouquets are in vases; however, sometimes we have them in small antique looking washtubs. We're also going to buy some for the lily stems which we'll sleeve as 2 or 3 stems per package. Some customers are rough on the lilies; and, this should help with that. I'm not fond of the clear sleeves because as I mentioned color is what we are all about. The size we're planning to use for the lilies is 6 x 20 x 20, and the bottoms do fold up, and they look to be a European design. And, no yellow. I don't care for the yellow. I know. Picky, picky, picky.

We don't charge extra for the tissue or the floral preservative; and, we don't plan to charge extra for the sleeves. It's a cost of doing business that's factored in.

One wrapping table at the market
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Sampling of floral sleeves
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Thanks Trish,
I need to do some checking around. The sleeves in my catalog aren't anything special, and the speed sheets are clear. I want something unique without covering up the flowers, after all, that's free advertising as all those customers are walking around the market.
Cheryl

Wrapping bouquets in bright color tissue, or bright translucent sleeves is a promotional gimmick. Free advertisement is when that customer takes the bouquet of flowers home, and a visitor to their home exclaims: "Wow. Where did you get that beautiful bouquet?"
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Trish,
I agree 100% on the word of mouth advertising, but I also think that "wow" factor can happen at the market as well, whether you have a wrap on them or not. The main reason for the wrap is to make it easier on our customers to keep their flowers in tact while shopping. At least that's what I had in mind when thinking about placing an order. I have never done a market before. I figure if the wrap serves a purpose for the customer, it may as well be see through so other people CAN notice the flowers. As a newbie at the market, I'll be on the outskirts, so any attention I can draw will be helpful. My flowers are beautiful and have long vase life, so I'm not worried about that.
Cheryl

Cheryl,

I have used clear and a white floral sleeve - large and extra-large with scalloped tops. I've tried the colored sleeves and just seem to go back to the clear or white to show off the flowers.

I also use the heavier sleeves for drying statice. And, I also use them to bunch lilies in after they're picked (no buds open, that way I can store them without losing petals. But, they need to be the large or x-lg size so too much moisture doesn't get in the sleeve and the flowers get moldy!

I used one rubberband on the bottom of the bunch and one to hold the sleeve in place. The preservative packet is inserted after the sleeve is in place in either rubberband spot. I also use labels on the sleeves with our name/number. These my daughter/son put on in mass quantities ahead of time!

I have the sealed bottom sleeves to use for customers at market, but I've found that if your stems aren't cut very evenly, they poke holes...or the bunches need to be small, and mine are too big! So, good old produce bags seem to work well for me. I have an extra bucket of water - with preservative in it - at market and add a small amount of water to the produce bag before putting in the bouquet.

I don't often sleeve sunflowers...they're just too tall and big!

I'll see if I can get some pictures...I need to evaluate my inventory too!

Let us know how you like the wraps...

Wendy

Hi again!
Thanks for the motivation to do my "inventory" of sleeves!
Only need to order the extra large sizes...

Anyway, two pictures, one with colored sleeves and one with clear and white.
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I somehow prefer the scalloped edges. Also in the "clear" photo, the sleeves on top have holes which helps with airflow for the flowers. That picture also shows the extra large sleeves underneath (larger scallops). In the colored stack, the top sleeve is a clear scalloped large size with a small flower border, which is also nice.

Now -- how to those of you who use these store these for quick and easy use within reach??

Have a great week!
Wendy

p.s. - Trish - I can't view your pictures for some reason...would like to!

Wendy,
Thanks for your help. Where do you order your sleeves from?
Cheryl

Cheryl,
I've gotten them from A-Roo and Happy Day. Both are great to work with.

Wendy

Keep an eye out for florist shops or grocery stores that are going out of business. Last year I went to an auction for a grocery store that had folded. They had a floral department. I was able to buy some things that were all sold together for $29. It included 11 packages of sleeves, some waxed paper, a lot of cellophane and a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff.

I've watched some of the oriental bouquet vendors at markets wrap their bouquets in paper that protects the bouquets and would love to learn how to do it as they do. I'm just not very talented when it comes to that and am wondering if there is a website where I could learn. Any ideas?

Teresa

Teresa,
That's a great idea for a good deal. It doesn't happen around here too often though, as we are in a rural area, but certainly worth keeping an eye on that sort of thing.
Wendy, thanks for the sources on the sleeves. I wish I could find someone in Canada, and not have to pay customs fees. I did a google search but can't seem to come up with exactly what I want, and haven't found anyone with the selections that you and Trish have shown.
Cheryl

Hello Fellow Market Growers,

Here's a photo of a sleeve we are trialing this season. We have it in yellow and purple. The size is 4.25 x 20 x14. Apparently, floral sleeve sales are extremely competitive in our area. For this reason, we received a very good price on these sleeves. However, we had to buy case lots. If any of you growers are interested in these sleeves, please send me an email: dahliafarmer@yahoo.com for more details. I'm happy to share some of these sleeves with you at the same cost plus shipping. There are 50 sleeves per bundle.

I just noticed that I previously wrote that I didn't care for yellow. Seems the granddaughter does. It's a pretty shade of yellow. Yes? It goes well with many flowers. The purple sleeves are nice as well. We just put 4 stems of lilies in the sleeve for this photo to give you an idea. The batteries were dead in my camera; and, I had wanted to take pictures of the bouquets in sleeves at market yesterday. For some of the bouquets at market we had three stems of lilies, two peonies, purple flowering catmint, and a hosta leaf.

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