Learn from a marketing expert, Tonneli Gruetter, how to reach across industry lines to grow your paper floral business and gain exposure in print and digital publications.

Let’s face it: our paper floral industry is strong, but still has lots of room to grow. To get our work out there and to help our community flourish, we need to collaborate with other industries. Getting featured in the magazines or blogs of other groups is a fabulous way to grow your business. An obvious one is the fresh florist market. We can create pansies with long stems or an iris for a dried bouquet. The possibilities for collaborating with florists are endless!

You may wonder if a fresh floral magazine or blog will feature your paper flowers, and the answer is yes! On our latest episode of Paper Talk, Tonneli Gruetter— a marketing expert and writer at the Florists’ Review magazine—spoke eloquently about the amazing collaboration that can happen when we choose to look outside of our...

Last week on our podcast, Paper Talk, we dove into the world of branding with Kalisa Jenne-Fraser and Missy Palacol of Kalyx Group. We loved and learned so much from our conversation that we extended into this week’s episode. Our focus shifted from finding the heart of your business (in short, the brand) to the ins and outs of marketing your business.

If you haven't listened to "How and Why Branding and Marketing Go Hand in Hand (Part 1)" be sure to listen to that Episode!

Let's learn a bit about Kalisa and Missy:

1. Introduce yourself to us (again)!

Kalisa Jenne-Fraser is co-founder of Kalyx Group, a brand and marketing consulting firm headquartered in Seattle. Kalisa is a brand marketing consultant who specializes in strategic brand planning, content marketing and digital media strategy. She has spent almost her entire professional life delivering marketing strategies and insights to global brands, non-profits and startups alike. In 2016, after...

BLACK LIVES MATTER. Today, we wish to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.  To support its community and give voice to their cause. We are actively educating ourselves about Black Lives Matter and how to be better citizens. Here is a list of resources that we are currently reading, listening and/or donating to:

blacklivesmatter.com

www.naacp.com

www.joincampaignzero.org

www.blackvisionsmn.org

In honour of #podcastblackout, we are not publishing our regular podcast this week. Our podcast is a platform of privilege and we have the privilege to decide, on a daily basis,  who's voices to amplify at any given time. This week, it's to the black community. Consider listening to these podcast episodes this week instead:

1619 by New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/podcasts/1619-podcast.html

Code Switch by NPR:  www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch

About Race: ...

One of the highlights of Quynh's involvement in Design Days 2020 was having the chance to meet  Holly Heider Chapple! You've likely seen Holly's beautiful work all over social media and she's been featured in numerous wedding magazines and wedding blogs. Her flower arrangements are always exquisitely composed and styled. 

One look at her websites (yes, she's got 3) and you can see it reflects her personality and her style perfectly. She's the founder of Chapel Designers, the owner of Hope Flower Farm, and the artist behind Holly Chapple Flowers. She's a HUGE name in the floral industry, so much so that she's dubbed the "Flower Mama" by her peers. You wouldn't know it because she is so incredibly down-to-earth, warm and engaging. 

With the help of her family, she's turned her floral business into an empire. In this Episode, she is joined by her son, Alex, the Director of Education and Communication, who has become...

We are catching up with Mike Benson of Carte Fini. Carte Fini is based on San Diego, California and it is an online distributor of Cartotecnica Rossi Italian crepe paper and ships worldwide.

 Mike chatted with us on Paper Talk way back when we first started this podcast, on Episode 2. You can read and hear more about Mike on Episode 2: Friends of TPFC - Chatting With the Crepe Paper King.

 Carte Fini has been a generous sponsor and collaborator of our workshops. In addition to sponsoring the 2019 Masterclass in Monroe, Washington, Mike also attended our Toronto Workshop in September 2019.

 Both of us were lucky recipients of a sample package of the 90 g Italian crepe paper and we were one of the first few to have tested the paper. We are incredibly thrilled to see that it's now available for purchase on Carte Fini's online store.

Today, we talk to Mike about our love for the 90 g and Carte Fini adding Design Master...