Roundup of the Year 2021
Well what a year 2021 ended up being, we wanted to run through some highlights before we get to work on an exciting year ahead.
Who could have imagined that when we first went into lockdown, we’d still be working with restrictions almost 2 years later, and they have certainly presented some challenges for small businesses.
The start of 2021 saw us continue with a second big lockdown. For me, like many small businesses, it meant juggling homeschooling and adapting a business to survive during these challenging times. We’re built of sturdy stock, we refused to be beaten so we adapted and changed, bringing fresh flowers into peoples homes during those long weeks. I still remember many of the lovely doorstep chats I had with people (and the kids complaining in the car whilst doing the rounds) - that bit I don’t miss!
With no weddings for the foreseeable, this was a way of keeping going and it was incredibly successful, thank you for all your support and custom during this time.
In spring 2021 we started the renovation at Beehive Hill, we moved house and I moved my work into Laura’s outbuilding for a few months. After struggling to find premises, her kind offer of a ‘stop - gap’ turned into me taking over the place for 8 months! I will be forever grateful to her for giving me a space that was tranquil, quirky and a breath of fresh air during stormy seas with the renovation.
During this time, Laura became a listening ear amongst her own chaos of kids and dogs and progressed from watching me design to creating designs and we started the process of training her up in all things green. Not that this was at all hard work, a true natural, she needed little guidance and has a natural flair for flowers/design and colour, that few are naturally blessed with. So that was the start of her journey with us and she is continuing with the learning and is also a superstar behind the scenes working on all the things I struggle with - marketing, chief negotiator, writer, social media expert and general motivator. I feel very lucky to have her as my right hand woman. She still has her hands more than full with 3 small people and a dog, but she will do some work with Lily Loves and I hope that will increase and grow over time.
We also have Molly “American Molly” who has 20 years experience as a florist in Minnesota who freelances for us now. She is the queen of detail and her attention to detail is amazing. Molly will be working with Lily Loves more regularly now and continuing to ace all the weddings we have coming up this year.
We leapt back into weddings with full gusto and 2021 saw one of the busiest years, fitting 2 wedding seasons into one. September was very busy and I loved working on some fabulous weddings again. Due to an exceptional wedding season we stopped the everyday flowers to focus all our efforts in this area again.
We closed the year with a fabulous run of workshops at The Farm in Stratford upon Avon and Forrest Coffee in Kenilworth. 16 workshops later and countless fresh orders and kits sold over the website, you could say we ended the year with a bang! We raised over £350 for Alzhiemer’s Research from making your bows which is just incredible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting this charity, as it is very close to my heart.
So 2022, back at Beehive Hill and in our brand new studio. I love it, there’s still a lot to do and Mr Ailsa is getting nagged every waking hour to fix shelves, make racks for tissue paper, hang mirrors etc, but I’m in and I love it!
After a lot of careful thought and consideration we have decided not to carry on with the weekly flowers for now. We will still be offering seasonal flowers, for Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day, Spring wreaths/kits and also hosting some seasonal workshops, but our focus will be weddings and events. My strength lies here and as Lily Loves continues the journey to be foam free we are very excited to work on some big weddings and event installations going forward. Some further training to reinforce our skills and the future looks bright!
