MY JERICHO
This meeting was held on January 28, 2020
It is one of jericho’s oldest businesses. Daisies Flowers run by Richard and Sheila Bailey.
Daisies has existed in Walton street for over three decades. It is still standing and a group from MY JERICHO were lucky to visit on January 28th.
They were not born to the flower game;Sheila was a teacher but was not entirely happy about how her career was progressing. Richard too. When her accountant told her that a local florist (currently where Edge barber is) was for sale she jumped at the opportunity despite having no experience of the business.
Back In 1987, lilies were out of fashion and flowers were sold in flat pack plastic wrappers. Sheila, the creative member of the team, first introduced hand tied bouquets, an idea she picked up in Holland. The Dutch are the leaders in propagation and famous for the flower auction in Alsmeer where prices go from high to low on the auction ‘clock’.
Flower fashions change though - all white bouquets have now been replaced by bunches of multi coloured arrangements. In the Late 80s dried flowers were popular now silk has taken over that niche. Potted bulbs and plants are 35% of sales in the shop. But if you include creating arrangements for weddings, funerals, university events, at the Ashmolean and the Bodelian, the Said Business school, plus the Malmaison Hotel, cut flowers increase to 85% of Daises’ sales.
Of the flowers sold, 30% from the shop, the remaining 70% from weekly funeral, weddings etc etc. New competition comes from people buying flowers online, and supermarkets like M&S and the Co-op .There are now 50% fewer flower shops in Oxford than when they started in 1987.Richard and Sheila once had three.
Local and sustainable is in demand: some flowers come from the Scilly Isles and Cornwall , but the UK is very seasonal and they are lucky to have imports from Holland which offer year round roses from Columbia and Ecuador. There is an ecological debate over importing flowers but the Dutch have established many flower farms in Africa, especially the Gambia, where it is an important cash crop.
Richard who keeps the accounts showed a bunch of roses imported from Colombia . To recover from the flight the stems are rehydrated in deep water for 24 hours. Floristry is very international business ,
Their days of going at 3am to the Covent Garden flower market in London are over for Richard and Sheila. They now buy their flowers online from the Dutch who are very good and deliver the next day. There is also large mobile lorry that comes from Holland every week driven by ‘The Flying Dutchman’ Sheila selects flowers if they have something special on offer.
In addition to full time staff, there are several part-timers who help out during high days like Valentine and busy wedding days (8 in one day is the record!)
What qualities do you need to run a flower shop? Love people, good at organising and of course a love of flowers. Arranging flowers gets easier once you get your hands on with them
32 years and going strong. Do support Daisies…
Report by: Michael Barnes and John Mair
My Jericho offers a series of independent events organized by Jericho resident John Mair. Many are at at St Barnabas. Others are streamed on YouTube.
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You can book on the My Jericho website
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