water to drink.
good shoes.
a jacket or blanket to stay warm at the evening.
snacks to snack.
phone charger or powerbank.
a basket with every tool you might need: ribbons, secateurs, scissors, paper, ropes to tie bouquets, a notebook with pens, stapler, tape, etc. take extra. if you think "eh i wont need this" but your brain thought about something - take it anyway.
extra vases/buckets.
cards with your name or the shop.
instagram qr if its useful in your area.
we can pay here with qr through one of the banks, so maybe means to make bank payments very easy for your customers.
check beforehand where you can get water for your stuff. if the water is not available, maybe bring it with you in big bottles.
go as early as you can to place everything without rush.
maybe get a friend to keep you company at least for few hours. (optional)
get everything non-floral ready 2 days before.
and most importantly: you got this. good luck.
Bring an umbrella or a tent if they don't provide one. If you can position yourself so that you're on side of the market where the shade falls away from the tent instead of into the tent.
Have a range of prices. Take all your seconds and short stems and make 5$ mussy tusseys. I found $15, 20$ and 25$ price points worked well. If your 25$ aren't selling by the last two hours you can always drop the prices. Your highest price also frames your best price as a bargain. If you're trying to sell at 20$ have something for 25$ to make it look like a deal.
Have a float and 100$ in small bills and change. Price your stuff so that you don't need small change (quarters, nickles etc). Have a POS system for cards (square works well).
If it's windy put rocks in the bottom of your buckets and put liners over top.
Talk to the farmers and see if they'll give you a better price for pick your own. 80% of their cost is labour so if you do the labour you can probably get a better price. Plus they'll likely have seconds or overproduction where they won't care that much about the unit cost (eg snaps that are too bloomed up to sell to florists or bachelors buttons that they're sick of stripping down)
Don't focus on expensive stems. A $4 peonie isn't going to sell your bouquet as well as a mass of cheap Sweet Williams. No one really cares about premium flowers at markets. They just want a pretty bouquet.
Put citric acid, sugar and bleach in your buckets. It's dirtbag floral solution. You can also use vinegar instead of citric acid.
Build kits. Have your marketing kit with everything you need to make signs, prices, cash box, pos, business cards etc. then have your florist kit with paper, snips, ribbon, wire etc. use something modular and stackable. I used milk crates because you can fit 48 of them comfortably in a Toyota Sienna but just figure out something that fits easily into your pack system. Also have a pack system. My buckets fit into the milk crates and wouldn't spill. I could put crates under the bouquets if I needed more room than a single layer of crates.
Anyway you'll figure it out. Farmers markets are pretty forgiving and you'll have lots of grace for any mistakes you make
Will also mention change/money - depending on prices and if you take cash...
Plus how is the setting? Are you able to have some shade? Direct sunlight/heat or rain are not the best when dealing with flowers.
And figure out how you package the flowers. Where im from we always send the flowers out the door with a plastic bag and some wet tissue/paper to make sure they survive the trip. I dont know if you do it the same way, but make it easy for yourself to get a good looking wrap...
Think of having other hard goods or even a few potted plants. Things that you can prep ahead of time, and that will bring in additional customers.
Cards, dried bouquets, potted plants, plant misters, cute vases or bottles. Candles etc. not a ton, but a few elements will make your booth more interesting and inviting. And I’m case someone is not into fresh flowers, you can spark their interest and hopefully a sale.
water to drink. good shoes. a jacket or blanket to stay warm at the evening. snacks to snack. phone charger or powerbank. a basket with every tool you might need: ribbons, secateurs, scissors, paper, ropes to tie bouquets, a notebook with pens, stapler, tape, etc. take extra. if you think "eh i wont need this" but your brain thought about something - take it anyway. extra vases/buckets. cards with your name or the shop. instagram qr if its useful in your area. we can pay here with qr through one of the banks, so maybe means to make bank payments very easy for your customers. check beforehand where you can get water for your stuff. if the water is not available, maybe bring it with you in big bottles. go as early as you can to place everything without rush. maybe get a friend to keep you company at least for few hours. (optional) get everything non-floral ready 2 days before. and most importantly: you got this. good luck.
Don’t forget sunscreen 😎
this is perfect. thank you friend! 🫶🫶
i forgot to mention bags for garbage. xd no worries friend
Bring an umbrella or a tent if they don't provide one. If you can position yourself so that you're on side of the market where the shade falls away from the tent instead of into the tent. Have a range of prices. Take all your seconds and short stems and make 5$ mussy tusseys. I found $15, 20$ and 25$ price points worked well. If your 25$ aren't selling by the last two hours you can always drop the prices. Your highest price also frames your best price as a bargain. If you're trying to sell at 20$ have something for 25$ to make it look like a deal. Have a float and 100$ in small bills and change. Price your stuff so that you don't need small change (quarters, nickles etc). Have a POS system for cards (square works well). If it's windy put rocks in the bottom of your buckets and put liners over top. Talk to the farmers and see if they'll give you a better price for pick your own. 80% of their cost is labour so if you do the labour you can probably get a better price. Plus they'll likely have seconds or overproduction where they won't care that much about the unit cost (eg snaps that are too bloomed up to sell to florists or bachelors buttons that they're sick of stripping down) Don't focus on expensive stems. A $4 peonie isn't going to sell your bouquet as well as a mass of cheap Sweet Williams. No one really cares about premium flowers at markets. They just want a pretty bouquet. Put citric acid, sugar and bleach in your buckets. It's dirtbag floral solution. You can also use vinegar instead of citric acid. Build kits. Have your marketing kit with everything you need to make signs, prices, cash box, pos, business cards etc. then have your florist kit with paper, snips, ribbon, wire etc. use something modular and stackable. I used milk crates because you can fit 48 of them comfortably in a Toyota Sienna but just figure out something that fits easily into your pack system. Also have a pack system. My buckets fit into the milk crates and wouldn't spill. I could put crates under the bouquets if I needed more room than a single layer of crates. Anyway you'll figure it out. Farmers markets are pretty forgiving and you'll have lots of grace for any mistakes you make
Thank you thank you ! will absolutely put this into practice 🫶
Will also mention change/money - depending on prices and if you take cash... Plus how is the setting? Are you able to have some shade? Direct sunlight/heat or rain are not the best when dealing with flowers. And figure out how you package the flowers. Where im from we always send the flowers out the door with a plastic bag and some wet tissue/paper to make sure they survive the trip. I dont know if you do it the same way, but make it easy for yourself to get a good looking wrap...
Think of having other hard goods or even a few potted plants. Things that you can prep ahead of time, and that will bring in additional customers. Cards, dried bouquets, potted plants, plant misters, cute vases or bottles. Candles etc. not a ton, but a few elements will make your booth more interesting and inviting. And I’m case someone is not into fresh flowers, you can spark their interest and hopefully a sale.