Presale is the perfect fit for Isa’s Bloemen

Isabelle was never into flowers. “I wasn’t interested in them at all.” That changed at the age of thirteen, when she wanted to stop her paper route. “I was tired of cycling through the rain. I asked the greengrocer, the cheesemonger and the hairdresser if they needed any help. Anything was better than delivering newspapers.” Everyone thought she was too young. “My last chance was the florist and that’s where I caught my break. A week later I was filling vases, weeding the sidewalk and sweeping the shop floor.”

After a year, she was allowed to sell bouquets and plants independently. Isabelle: “If someone asked how to care for a specific plant, I had to look it up on the internet. I had no idea. The first time I had to put together a bouquet for a customer, I just jumped right in. ‘I hope you like it,’ I said, and handed over the bouquet. A bit of a bluff, I guess. At sixteen, I started to develop my own style. I practiced flower names and learned the spiral technique.”

Own flower shop

Bluff also came into play when, two years ago, she saw a property for rent next to the supermarket in Baarn. By then, she had a degree in hospitality and entrepreneurship: “That’s where I learned discipline.” She still spent one day a week working at the flower shop. When her boss decided to go out of business, however, an opportunity presented itself. “I saw this property and knew right away: I need to open my own flower shop here.” Isabelle won over the real estate agent with her enthusiasm, and the rest is history.

Her shop is open five days a week. From Tuesday to Saturday, she runs the shop on her own. “In terms of revenue, I could limit my business days to Thursday, Friday and Saturday. For service reasons, though, I am there the rest of the week as well. My mother sometimes helps out, in exchange for a bouquet of flowers. Oh, here she comes now. If flowers need to be delivered, I send a message to my delivery man and ask if he feels like going for a drive.”

Best customers

At first, she had to get used to working without colleagues. “However, I have many lovely, regular customers, so I do get to chat throughout the day. If I am creating a funeral arrangement, I can spend up to three hours working on just the border around a floral heart. The days really fly by. On Wednesdays, it’s a bit quieter, so I do my administrative tasks.”

ISABELLE’S EXPERIECE WITH KLOK VOORVERKOOP

Isabelle purchases her products from Plantion, largely through Klok Voorverkoop (Clock Presales). “I manage the shop by myself five days a week, so I can’t make it to the auction hall by six in the morning. This is why I buy almost everything through Klok Voorverkoop. I place an order every Sunday evening and Wednesday evening, and pick it up in Ede the next morning. I also drop by the Plantion wholesale centre while I’m there. It’s perfect. Klok Voorverkoop is perfect for my business, because I get to rest assured that I’ll have everything I need. At the auction, you run the risk of missing out. Sometimes I end up a paying a little more, but I also get lucky occasionally. On Mother’s Day, for instance, everyone wants the Red Naomi. During the auction, the price gets driven up rapidly by everyone wanting the same thing.” A minor downside of Clock Presale: not all growers are using it yet. “Fortunately, products from Marginpar, one of my favourite growers, are now also listed on Klok Voorverkoop. Hopefully, the range will continue to grow.”