Doing the finishing touches

Dave Clancy is in the 'finishing touches' business. Which, when you think about it, is a good way to describe the work of a designer florist.



Whether it is providing a single bloom to a young man hoping to impress a girl on a first date, or setting up an event that might cost thousands of euros, the flowers are often the final detail that crowns the occasion.

And in between there is the servicing of all the other floral events of our lives: the traditional births, weddings and funerals, the 'cheer up' bouquets, and increasingly, flowers as an everyday item in our homes rather than just for special occasions.

"That's in part because people have more disposable incomes today," says Dave, who just opened his new floral design retail business on Hillcrest last week. "But also, young people buying homes today expect them to look nice from the start. They have new furniture, and they will buy flowers on a regular basis to set off something that they're very proud of."



Dave Clancy has been in the florist business longer than he's prepared to say the years. He trained in Germany, then came back to Ireland and worked 'for quite a long time' in Mad Flowers in College Green, Dublin.

"After that I was the florist in the Blue Eriu beauty emporium off Stephen's Green, before going out on my own doing corporate floral work."

That end of the business includes contracts to provide ongoing floral arrangements for offices, hotels, and for events, and Dave operates at this level right around Ireland. His work has also been nationally visible on RTE's 'Off The Rails' fashion TV series.



The corporate work is the 'anchor' for any retail business in flowers, because it means that stock in a shop never stays around until it is unsaleable.

"Corporate business is a 'moving circle', a cyclical operation that will use my stock constantly. If I didn't have these contracts, it would be more difficult at the retail end."

Of course, it is early days yet on the new retail operation, but Dave is confident that with the continuing growth of Kilcullen, and the town's position in the middle of the major population centre of mid-Kildare, that he is strategically placed.

At the retail level, a florist has to be more than just an expert on flowers in themselves. Dave says he or she also has to be a good listener.

"You have to find out what they need, what they like, there's no point in trying to push particular flowers on someone just because they're what you have most in stock. Selling flowers is like an artist selling a painting, everybody has different tastes and you have to cater for each individual."

The good florist also needs to know what kind of an environment the flowers, or especially an arrangement, will be in.

"People have all kinds of homes: classical, traditional, modern, with different colour schemes. That's another reason you have to be able to listen, to find out the colours and styles in which the customer lives."



At a commercial level, Dave Clancy has plenty of experience about homes because among his services is providing arrangements for showhouses.

"Many showhouse designers will come to me for advice on floral design, and I'll maintain arrangements in showhouses for them."

So, the next time you're doing the house-hunting weekend thing, take a look at the flowers. They might just be another example of Dave's 'finishing touches'.

Brian Byrne.