FCE Interview 26

Fail

lnterviewer: Welcome to this week’s edition of ‘Careers for You’. My guest on today’s programme is Laura Bartlett, a successful florist. l’m sure there are many young people out there who’ve never considered floristry as a career. Who knows, they might be inspired by Laura’s example! Laura, how did you become interested in floristry?

Laura Bartlett: My parents were keen gardeners. My father used to grow rare varieties of vegetables and my mother grew orchids very successfully. But it was my mother’s sister who was the professional. She had a florist’s shop, and when l was a kid, l’d help aut at weekends. l grew up knowing quite a lot about the business.

lnterviewer: So being a florist was something you’d always wanted?

Laura Bartlett: Not exactly! When l was at school. l wanted to be an artist but my art teacher persuaded me to trai n as a graphic designer instead. After college l gota job working far a magazine, but l hated being in an office ali day, so l resigned. l didn’t know what l was going to do. l had a number of temporary jobs. And then one day. my aunt fell and broke her arm. She asked me to help aut in the shop unti! she got better. But l liked it so much that l stayed on. and eventually took aver from her when she retired.

lnterviewer: What exactly did you do?

Laura Bartlett: At first. l did the jobs l’d dane as a kid: cleaning. delivering flowers to customers. things like that.

lnterviewer: Didn’t you work with flowers at ali?

Laura Bartlett: Well, that’s a skilled job. My aunt’s assistant would do the creative stuff and l’d put together simple bouquets- following her instructions.

lnterviewer: What kinds of skills did you need to learn?

Laura Bartlett: Lots! Fortunately, l already knew a lot about the different species and varieties of flowers available, but l now had to learn how to look after them. prepare them so they lasted. wire them if necessary.

lnterviewer: Wire them?

Laura Bartlett: Ves. In some arrangements, flowers have to keep a certain position, and one of the ways you ca n make su re they do this is by twisting fine wire round their stems.

lnterviewer: Oh, l see. Would you say that being a florist is a good career fora young person?

Laura Bartlett: That depends. Vou have to love flowers, but you must also be good with people. Vou see, people come into a florist’s for many reasons- often they want some flowers as a gift fora birthday, perhaps they want to apologise to someone, a family member could be ili. They depend on you to help them make the right choice, so you have to take an interest. And it’s not ali pretty flowers. Vou have to get up before dawn to buy good quality flowers from the market; it’s not much fun when you have to put your hands into freezing water in winter; you stand most of the day; you have to lift heavy containers; and before special occasions like Christmas or Mother’s Day. you need to work throuqh the night to prepare orders.

lnterviewer: So if any of our listeners would like to become florists, how would they go about it?

Laura Bartlett: Well, they could try getting a job at a florist’s and learn the business on the job. Or they could take a course at a college. My advice would be to look fora part time job and attend courses in floristry at the same time. That way you get a good knowledge of all aspects of the business. Because it is a business. If you want to run your own shop one day, you must learn how to manage a budget. run a website and keep accounts. No matter how talented you are, you will fail unless you can do all the other boring things!

lnterviewer: Welcome to this week’s edition of ‘Careers for You’. My guest on today’s programme is Laura Bartlett, a successful florist. l’m sure there are many young people out there who’ve never considered floristry as a career. Who knows, they might be inspired by Laura’s example! Laura, how did you become interested in floristry?

Laura Bartlett: My parents were keen gardeners. My father used to grow rare varieties of vegetables and my mother grew orchids very successfully. But it was my mother’s sister who was the professional. She had a florist’s shop, and when l was a kid, l’d help aut at weekends. l grew up knowing quite a lot about the business.

lnterviewer: So being a florist was something you’d always wanted?

Laura Bartlett: Not exactly! When l was at school. l wanted to be an artist but my art teacher persuaded me to trai n as a graphic designer instead. After college l gota job working far a magazine, but l hated being in an office ali day, so l resigned. l didn’t know what l was going to do. l had a number of temporary jobs. And then one day. my aunt fell and broke her arm. She asked me to help aut in the shop unti! she got better. But l liked it so much that l stayed on. and eventually took aver from her when she retired.

lnterviewer: What exactly did you do?

Laura Bartlett: At first. l did the jobs l’d dane as a kid: cleaning. delivering flowers to customers. things like that.

lnterviewer: Didn’t you work with flowers at ali?

Laura Bartlett: Well, that’s a skilled job. My aunt’s assistant would do the creative stuff and l’d put together simple bouquets- following her instructions.

lnterviewer: What kinds of skills did you need to learn?

Laura Bartlett: Lots! Fortunately, l already knew a lot about the different species and varieties of flowers available, but l now had to learn how to look after them. prepare them so they lasted. wire them if necessary.

lnterviewer: Wire them?

Laura Bartlett: Ves. In some arrangements, flowers have to keep a certain position, and one of the ways you ca n make su re they do this is by twisting fine wire round their stems.

lnterviewer: Oh, l see. Would you say that being a florist is a good career fora young person?

Laura Bartlett: That depends. Vou have to love flowers, but you must also be good with people. Vou see, people come into a florist’s for many reasons- often they want some flowers as a gift fora birthday, perhaps they want to apologise to someone, a family member could be ili. They depend on you to help them make the right choice, so you have to take an interest. And it’s not ali pretty flowers. Vou have to get up before dawn to buy good quality flowers from the market; it’s not much fun when you have to put your hands into freezing water in winter; you stand most of the day; you have to lift heavy containers; and before special occasions like Christmas or Mother’s Day. you need to work throuqh the night to prepare orders.

lnterviewer: So if any of our listeners would like to become florists, how would they go about it?

Laura Bartlett: Well, they could try getting a job at a florist’s and learn the business on the job. Or they could take a course at a college. My advice would be to look fora part time job and attend courses in floristry at the same time. That way you get a good knowledge of all aspects of the business. Because it is a business. If you want to run your own shop one day, you must learn how to manage a budget. run a website and keep accounts. No matter how talented you are, you will fail unless you can do all the other boring things!

lnterviewer: Welcome to this week’s edition of ‘Careers for You’. My guest on today’s programme is Laura Bartlett, a successful florist. l’m sure there are many young people out there who’ve never considered floristry as a career. Who knows, they might be inspired by Laura’s example! Laura, how did you become interested in floristry?

Laura Bartlett: My parents were keen gardeners. My father used to grow rare varieties of vegetables and my mother grew orchids very successfully. But it was my mother’s sister who was the professional. She had a florist’s shop, and when l was a kid, l’d help aut at weekends. l grew up knowing quite a lot about the business.

lnterviewer: So being a florist was something you’d always wanted?

Laura Bartlett: Not exactly! When l was at school. l wanted to be an artist but my art teacher persuaded me to trai n as a graphic designer instead. After college l gota job working far a magazine, but l hated being in an office ali day, so l resigned. l didn’t know what l was going to do. l had a number of temporary jobs. And then one day. my aunt fell and broke her arm. She asked me to help aut in the shop unti! she got better. But l liked it so much that l stayed on. and eventually took aver from her when she retired.

lnterviewer: What exactly did you do?

Laura Bartlett: At first. l did the jobs l’d dane as a kid: cleaning. delivering flowers to customers. things like that.

lnterviewer: Didn’t you work with flowers at ali?

Laura Bartlett: Well, that’s a skilled job. My aunt’s assistant would do the creative stuff and l’d put together simple bouquets- following her instructions.

lnterviewer: What kinds of skills did you need to learn?

Laura Bartlett: Lots! Fortunately, l already knew a lot about the different species and varieties of flowers available, but l now had to learn how to look after them. prepare them so they lasted. wire them if necessary.

lnterviewer: Wire them?

Laura Bartlett: Ves. In some arrangements, flowers have to keep a certain position, and one of the ways you ca n make su re they do this is by twisting fine wire round their stems.

lnterviewer: Oh, l see. Would you say that being a florist is a good career fora young person?

Laura Bartlett: That depends. Vou have to love flowers, but you must also be good with people. Vou see, people come into a florist’s for many reasons- often they want some flowers as a gift fora birthday, perhaps they want to apologise to someone, a family member could be ili. They depend on you to help them make the right choice, so you have to take an interest. And it’s not ali pretty flowers. Vou have to get up before dawn to buy good quality flowers from the market; it’s not much fun when you have to put your hands into freezing water in winter; you stand most of the day; you have to lift heavy containers; and before special occasions like Christmas or Mother’s Day. you need to work throuqh the night to prepare orders.

lnterviewer: So if any of our listeners would like to become florists, how would they go about it?

Laura Bartlett: Well, they could try getting a job at a florist’s and learn the business on the job. Or they could take a course at a college. My advice would be to look fora part time job and attend courses in floristry at the same time. That way you get a good knowledge of all aspects of the business. Because it is a business. If you want to run your own shop one day, you must learn how to manage a budget. run a website and keep accounts. No matter how talented you are, you will fail unless you can do all the other boring things!

lnterviewer: Welcome to this week’s edition of ‘Careers for You’. My guest on today’s programme is Laura Bartlett, a successful florist. l’m sure there are many young people out there who’ve never considered floristry as a career. Who knows, they might be inspired by Laura’s example! Laura, how did you become interested in floristry?

Laura Bartlett: My parents were keen gardeners. My father used to grow rare varieties of vegetables and my mother grew orchids very successfully. But it was my mother’s sister who was the professional. She had a florist’s shop, and when l was a kid, l’d help aut at weekends. l grew up knowing quite a lot about the business.

lnterviewer: So being a florist was something you’d always wanted?

Laura Bartlett: Not exactly! When l was at school. l wanted to be an artist but my art teacher persuaded me to trai n as a graphic designer instead. After college l gota job working far a magazine, but l hated being in an office ali day, so l resigned. l didn’t know what l was going to do. l had a number of temporary jobs. And then one day. my aunt fell and broke her arm. She asked me to help aut in the shop unti! she got better. But l liked it so much that l stayed on. and eventually took aver from her when she retired.

lnterviewer: What exactly did you do?

Laura Bartlett: At first. l did the jobs l’d dane as a kid: cleaning. delivering flowers to customers. things like that.

lnterviewer: Didn’t you work with flowers at ali?

Laura Bartlett: Well, that’s a skilled job. My aunt’s assistant would do the creative stuff and l’d put together simple bouquets- following her instructions.

lnterviewer: What kinds of skills did you need to learn?

Laura Bartlett: Lots! Fortunately, l already knew a lot about the different species and varieties of flowers available, but l now had to learn how to look after them. prepare them so they lasted. wire them if necessary.

lnterviewer: Wire them?

Laura Bartlett: Ves. In some arrangements, flowers have to keep a certain position, and one of the ways you ca n make su re they do this is by twisting fine wire round their stems.

lnterviewer: Oh, l see. Would you say that being a florist is a good career fora young person?

Laura Bartlett: That depends. Vou have to love flowers, but you must also be good with people. Vou see, people come into a florist’s for many reasons- often they want some flowers as a gift fora birthday, perhaps they want to apologise to someone, a family member could be ili. They depend on you to help them make the right choice, so you have to take an interest. And it’s not ali pretty flowers. Vou have to get up before dawn to buy good quality flowers from the market; it’s not much fun when you have to put your hands into freezing water in winter; you stand most of the day; you have to lift heavy containers; and before special occasions like Christmas or Mother’s Day. you need to work throuqh the night to prepare orders.

lnterviewer: So if any of our listeners would like to become florists, how would they go about it?

Laura Bartlett: Well, they could try getting a job at a florist’s and learn the business on the job. Or they could take a course at a college. My advice would be to look fora part time job and attend courses in floristry at the same time. That way you get a good knowledge of all aspects of the business. Because it is a business. If you want to run your own shop one day, you must learn how to manage a budget. run a website and keep accounts. No matter how talented you are, you will fail unless you can do all the other boring things!