Creating win-win solutions for vendors and clients

Source: Bloem. A flower arrangement designed to match
the colour scheme of the room at Park Hotel, Farrer Park
 and convey the elegance of the surroundings.

Today’s customers are even more difficult to manage than ever before, but you cannot expect them to change. This was the message that creative consultancy Bloem's founder and CEO Sukri Kadola had for his audience at a showcase titled Confessions of a Perfectionist and how he tamed the Bridezilla and other impossible customers.

At the event on 30 May he explained: "Customers have higher expectations of bespoke services, demanding more customised services that tailor to their whim and fancy. The onus is on the vendors, like us, to educate the client and mitigate situations not only in their best interest but in a way that considers the bottom line.

"Essentially, it is about consulting the client and patiently taking them through the process of producing the desired result and highlighting the challenges. It is at the end of the day, about communication, to be able to signal pitfalls early and to consider practical alternatives."

Source: Bloem. Kadola (centre) acting in a skit to dramatise a
call with a difficult customer. "The audience gets to listen
on both ends of the call - and what it’s like in a typical
day answering enquiries from customers with specific
and detailed requests. We get quite a lot of that," he said.

Bloem counts brides as well as corporate clients in its customer base. Kadola explained that addressing the needs of a client is very important.

When it came to providing flowers for Park Hotel, Farrer Park, a new hotel, Kadola said, "We needed to understand their space, how traffic flows, the pockets where people meet and socialise. From an aesthetic view, we need to understand the concept of their interior architecture and appreciate the original interior design.

"The design of the building is very much influenced by Art Deco and featured many Art Deco elements such as distinct parallel lines and repeated curves. We needed to appreciate these elements and made sure that the materials we chose matched the bronze and dark steel elements that framed its shiny surfaces and sleek furniture. The colour tones were basically earthy tones. Being a new hotel, we have a chance to set a particular standard or benchmark for the client.

"We chose vessels that had a shiny surface to match the rustic and warm hues in the selection of the blooms. The flowers and presentation style could not look synonymous with any other commercial hotel. We placed emphasis on originality, form and artistic interpretation in the overall execution. A lot of thought went into putting into producing something that challenges convention - and this we felt was an important competitive edge for Bloem."

Source: Bloem. An arrangement for Chinese
New Year at Park Hotel, Farrer Park.

Aside from decorating the public spaces weekly, Bloem managed the decorations for three corporate events, a wedding, and festive events such as Deepavali, Chinese New Year and Easter for Blue Jasmine, the restaurant at the hotel. The company also works with other restaurants, banks and healthcare firms.

Bloem is also focused on conducting workshops for the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (FAST), which it had announced during its 4th anniversary event. "We just launched a four-module creative course in floral arrangement just last weekend - 22 maids have signed up across the next three months," Kadola said.

Bloem's personal concierge service also went live on the 30th. The pilot programme alerts customers on important dates such as birthdays and anniversaries, so they never miss an important event. Thirty customers are already in the programme.

Source: Bloem. A focal flower arrangement for the Year of the Dog at Park Hotel, Farrer Park.

Explore:

Read about Bloem's 4th anniversary announcements in WorkSmart Asia

Bloem celebrates 4th anniversary with new services, partnerships

Kadola (left) and Tan (right) cut a cake
during the anniversary celebration.

Singapore bespoke florist Bloem has celebrated its fourth anniversary with multiple partnerships and the introduction of a Concierge service.

"People think the economy has been challenging for many businesses but success is relative," said Sukri Kadola, Founder and CEO, Bloem, 80% of whose business comes from corporate projects. "Of the last four years 2017 was probably our best in terms of business. Our popup at Robinsons really gave us the exposure to corporates."

Bloem also launched a Concierge service that includes reminders for key dates in clients' lives. "If you don't know your clients enough, it is just going to be another flower shop," said Kadola, Founder and CEO, Bloem. "Please bear with us when our team talks to you and asks a lot of questions. It is part of our service as a bespoke company.

"We want to understand our customers better. We will know their names and what they ordered last year."

Kadola also shared that the 2018 series of workshops, titled the Secret language of flowers, will be more personalised, and held at Blue Jasmine, which has a halal-certified ala carte menu.

The Thai restaurant at the Park Hotel at Farrer Park already uses flowers in cooking, said Blue Jasmine Executive Chef Bright Kan San. He said dried flowers are used with coconut milk and sugar to create an infusion for the rice in its mango sticky rice dessert to impart a deep blue colour to the rice. The flowers are also used to make drinks that change colour when lemon juice is added, he said.

Source: Blue Jasmine web page. Mango sticky rice dish where the rice is made with the butterfly pea flower.

Bloem's new-look workshops will offer one-to-one coaching and go beyond the traditional creation of a flower arrangement, Kadola said. Bloem will differentiate its workshops through sharing the history of the flowers used as well as their medicinal benefits, for example. Kadola also said that the flowers chosen for the workshops will generally be less common as well. Four workshops a year are planned, with the dates to be confirmed on Bloem's Facebook page. 

"I want to help customers understand what is beautiful, what is not; what is tacky, what is sophisticated," he said.

Bloem has also teamed up with the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (FAST) to teach its members flower arrangement on Sundays, charging only to cover costs. "It is about empowerment," Kadola said, noting that the skills could be used in the long term.

Ivy Tan, Honorary Assistant Secretary for FAST, said that the association offers domestic helpers activities during their days off and is open to working with corporations on a similar basis to provide enrichment activities for members.

Table arrangement by Bloem.

Flower arrangement by Bloem in the shape of a peacock.

Bloem provided all the flower arrangements for the celebration, including these wall arrangements.

Table arrangement by Bloem. The three pomanders hanging from the ceiling in the background are also Bloem creations.

Details:

Like Bloem's Facebook page to get the latest workshop dates

Like FAST's Facebook page to learn about the latest activities for members

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post on Bloem's store at Robinsons, The Heeren

Hashtags: #BlueJasmine, #parkhotelfarrerpark

Bloem to launch flagship store at The Heeren

Source: Bloem's Facebook page. A wedding bouquet reflects Bloem's
creativity and attention to detail.

Bloem's new flagship store will soon be open at Robinson's The Heeren, bringing unique, personalised floral presentations to a wider Singapore audience.

Sukri Kadola, Founder and CEO, Bloem explained that the business has been making a name for itself with bespoke work for corporate clientele since 2013. The new store along Orchard Road brings the brand to a new level of potential growth and reaches out to a larger customer base. The store accommodates flowers in a chiller, enabling Bloem to offer a range of masterpieces at shorter notice, for example.

Kadola said Bloem is not just another flower shop as the company is focused on floral presentations as a serious craft. "We do things with a passion and we dare to be different," he said. "We are bespoke artisan florists. We provide highly personalised consultation on floral design for events, landscaping and interior decorating."

"There is now more emphasis in making each creation very distinct and it is apparent in the quality of flowers we use, and the level of detail that goes into each arrangement," said Kadola.

Kadola stressed that Bloem makes pushing the creative envelope its motto. "It takes a certain kind of DNA to always want better quality - stronger individuality and uniqueness - otherwise we don't differentiate ourselves," he said.

Source: Bloem. A bouquet made with Bloem's
new 'popcorn' style, which gives a sleeker look.

Bloem's expertise includes interior and event styling, floral design, as well as workshops. The company's clients include well known restaurants, financial as well as educational institutions, and high net worth individuals.

Bloem is also recruiting petalsmiths who are good with their hands and who have an eye for design and detail.

Bloeming bouquet in cone shaped packaging. #bloempetlas #bloemflorist #floristsg #artisanflorist #blackonwhite #minimalistics #decor #floralart #floralarrangement #singapore #design

A photo posted by Bloem Petals (@bloempetals) on Feb 3, 2017 at 10:24pm PST

Interested?

Bloem will be opening at Robinson's at The Heeren on 13 February. It is located at 260 Orchard Road, at the foot of the down-riding escalator to Basement 1.

Opening hours: 10.30am to 10.30pm

Hashtags: #bloempetals, #bloemflorist, #orchardrdsg

posted from Bloggeroid

Viva La Fleur starts selling its long-lasting natural floral arrangements online

Since it was set up in October 2013, Viva La Fleur Floral Boutique has been captivating businesses with long-lasting 100% natural floral arrangements and bouquets. The company is the sole distributor for LavieFlo, a technology that enables flowers look freshly plucked for months, without the need to water them or place them in sunlight.

Fresh flowers from Japan, China and other parts of the world undergo an intricate preservation process that replaces the plant sap while maintaining the quality and integrity of petals and foliage. 

"This innovative technique was first developed by a company in France in the late 1980's. Over the years, the technology has been perfected by botanists from Japan and China," said Kayson Wong, Director, Viva La Fleur. "Only non-toxic and cosmetic-grade chemicals are used in the process."

As the first company in Singapore to offer such flowers, Viva La Fleur has been organising roadshows to educate the market. "People thought these were artificial flowers and are amazed that these real flowers can last so long. Most of our customers buy one and when they see the longevity of the flowers for themselves, they buy more and spread the word for us," Wong said.

According to Wong, the average lifespan of each arrangement is three to six months due to wear and tear as well as environmental conditions. "They will not wilt like fresh flowers," he said. "Just use a hairdryer on the cool setting from a moderate distance if they get dusty."

Viva La Fleur has received orders from hotels, hospitality-related companies, retailers, restaurants and country clubs. "Businesses such as hotels like bespoke flower arrangements that resonate with their colour and design philosophy and image," said Wong. "Depending on the occasion, some buy bigger ones for their offices and smaller ones for their desks."

Those interested to view the floral arrangements in person can visit the Floral Boutique at 30 East Coast Road, #02-23, Katong V mall in the Village Katong Hotel, which is open from 11am to 9pm daily. They can also email info@vivalafleur.com.sg or call +65 6440 0642. 

The company has also launched an e-commerce portal as of November 1 with themed collections such as 'Commercial', 'Gifts' and 'Special Events'. A new range of floral arrangements incorporating several new species like roses, hydrangeas, eustomas, gerberas, and carnations can be viewed online. 

"More floral species such as calla lilies, tube roses, pompom mums, spray mums and the all-time favourite dendrobiums will be available," Wong added. "We have an anniversary sale on at up to 50% off for selected floral arrangements now."

Serena Cheu, a business customer who is a Senior Marketing Director, said: "I initially could not believe that these flowers are for real, as I had not seen them around in Singapore. The truth is, they are all 100% natural, do not need water or sunlight and yet, have such prolonged shelf life. The presence of these flowers has brightened up my mood and spirit tremendously. Whenever I need a break from my hectic work, one look and I am instantly rejuvenated with vigour and positive energy. They just always make me smile."

*Images from Viva La Fleur.