How to make money on artificial flowers. Room for the manufacture of artificial flowers. What markup should be to sell flowers

Technology for the manufacture of artificial flowers

Flowers made using this technology are practically indistinguishable from living ones.

Introduction

Hundreds of thousands of plant species live on the globe. And flowers take pride of place among them.

It is hard to imagine how impoverished our life would be, how sad the planet Earth would be if the flowers disappeared from it. They are a symbol of love and fidelity, a symbol of respect and eternal memory. Flowers are the most modest and beautiful decoration of our home. Even a small bouquet of flowers gives the room a festive look, creates an upbeat mood. Unfortunately, fresh flowers do not last long. But people can work miracles. They learned how to create artificial flowers, imitating nature itself. This is a great art, with its strict rules and laws that allow you to achieve maximum similarity, reveal the natural beauty of each flower, emphasizing its characteristic details and features.

Possessing observation, taste, having mastered the technique of coloring, processing petals, stamens, leaves, you can make any flower. And having mastered the art of flower making, you need to learn how to make bouquets correctly, based on proportions and harmony.

Tools

For the manufacture of artificial flowers, some special tools(Fig. 1), without which it is impossible to start work.

Rice. 1. Tools for making flowers: a - bulbs; b - rings; c - knives; g - iron; d - cutting.

These include:

Bulki- steel balls mounted on metal rods with wooden handles. The number of rolls used, as a rule, is not less than six (of various sizes). For example: 5, 15, 20, 30 mm in diameter. The petals are processed with bulbs, they are given a natural shape characteristic of this flower;

rings from steel wire of various diameters, which are used for curling petals;

single-core knife- a blunt curved blade made of steel wire, framed with a wooden handle. They are used for processing leaves (for lack of a leaf stamp) and some flowers;

two-core knife- similar to a single-strand, but with two blades, which are obtained by turning a longitudinal groove in a blunt steel blade. Necessary for processing reed petals, sepals;

flat iron- metal parallelepiped 10x10x3 (4) cm with holes 1.2 in diameter; 1.5; 2; 3; 3.5 mm. A strip of starched dry fabric 0.5 cm wide is pulled through the desired hole of the iron. Thin tubes are obtained, which are used in the manufacture of phloxes, primroses, etc .;

medical tweezers- for corrugating petals, assembling small flowers and coloring them. The paws of the tweezers should be of the same length, elastic, tightly converge when compressed;

scissors- for cutting out petals, leaves, etc. from fabric;

wire cutters- for cutting wire;

awl with a round steel needle 3-5 cm long for piercing holes in the petals, having the shape of a corolla;

die cuts- to obtain corollas of flowers with very small petals, such as forget-me-nots, lilacs, lilies of the valley. Each cut must match the shape of the petal of a given flower;

pillows from hard and semi-soft rubber with a thickness of 1.5 to 4 cm. The dimensions of the pillow are approximately 15x20 cm (the pillows are covered with a white cloth). On a cushion of soft rubber, the petals are processed with bulbs. On a semi-soft pillow, leaves, petals, sepals are made mainly with knives. A soft rubber cushion can be replaced with a pad of sand, well washed and dried. Rolls, knives, rings, iron should always be hot during operation.

Auxiliary materials. In addition to fabric, for the manufacture of even the simplest flower, it is necessary to have auxiliary materials: dyes, glues, etc.

As dyes in the manufacture of artificial flowers, aniline dyes for cotton and woolen fabrics, Rainbow ink, food confectionery dyes, gouache, ink, photo paints are usually used. Note that paints diluted not with water, but with cologne or vodka, are brighter, cleaner, and dry faster.

Required colors: yellow, red, blue, purple, green, crimson, brown, orange, black. To create the desired shades and tones, paints are mixed together. So, to get orange, you need to mix yellow with red. Juicy greens will turn out if you combine yellow with turquoise. Light green is formed by mixing lemon color with blue.

Glue for flowers must be durable, dry quickly, leave no dirty marks, do not discolor the paint on the petals and leaves. Stationery glue is not good! Glue must be prepared by yourself.

Flour paste. Sifted flour (1-2 tablespoons) is poured with a small amount of cold water and thoroughly stirred until a creamy state, then, stirring, heated over low heat until the flour is boiled. The paste is used both warm and cold for gluing paper, fixing “pollen”, that is, starch, semolina on stamens, for gluing petals to the core of a flower.

Dextrin glue (mail). The finished yellow-brown powder is diluted with warm water. Glue is used as a paste for working with paper, stamens, petals. If the glue has dried up in the cup, then you need to pour a little hot water and, when it softens, drain the excess water and stir.

PVA glues. These are the best glues for making flowers.

gelatin glue . 1 teaspoon of gelatin is poured into ½ cup of cold water, after 40 minutes (after swelling), 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of sugar are added. Everything is thoroughly mixed and brought to a boil over low heat.

Wire. For the manufacture of flowers, a wire of various sections is suitable: thin, medium, thick. Aluminum wire is taken for the stems, its thickness depends on the severity of the flower. Steel wire is not good. The flower should sway on the stem, which gives it more naturalness.

Paper. Tissue or crepe decorative paper of various colors is needed for wrapping the wire. Most often, green and brown paper is required. If there is no color, then you can paint the white in the appropriate color.

Cotton wool. White cotton wool is required for wrapping the stems, making the cores of some flowers. If you need colored cotton wool, then white cotton wool is dyed in the desired color. The paint is diluted with water to the desired tone, cotton wool is lowered into it, slightly squeezed and dried on paper.

Threads. For stamens, you will need threads of various colors. You can use darning, iris, floss. The most commonly used threads or darning are brown, yellow, orange, burgundy, black and green.

Basic operations

Stem flower. The stem is the base of the flower. It must be sufficiently strong and rigid, since it contains, in addition to a blossoming flower, leaves and buds. Before you start making flowers, you need to learn how to wrap cotton and paper around the wire (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Making stems, attaching leaves.

It is better to exercise on a short wire 10-12 cm long. The wire is taken in the left hand and held between the thumb and forefinger, and with the right one, a strip of thin paper 0.5-0.8 cm wide is placed on top of it at an angle of 45 °. With the fingers of the left hands rotate the wire on themselves around its axis, causing a strip of paper to spiral around the wire. The paper should lie on the wire neatly, without wrinkles, tightly wrapping it in a spiral. While there is no skill, the wire can be lightly greased with a paste before work.

The stems of buds, stamens, leaf wires are wrapped in the same way. If you need a thick stem, the wire is wrapped with a very thin layer of cotton wool, smeared with paste and then wrapped around with paper.

Petals, leaves, stamens. The main material for making flowers is fabric. Flowers can be made from cambric, madapolam, calico, chiffon, crepe de chine, silk, satin, chintz.

How to starch fabric. Any fabric for flowers must be starched. Starch is prepared as follows. Pour 2 cups of water into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Then a tablespoon (with top) of potato flour (starch) is diluted in a small amount of cold water and poured into boiling water in a thin stream, stirring. You should get a thick jelly without lumps. If there are lumps, then the hot jelly is filtered through cheesecloth.

A flap of dry fabric is spread on an oilcloth and a slightly cooled jelly is applied to it by hand. A second one is placed on the first flap, the whole procedure is repeated again, etc. The starched fabric flaps are removed one by one and, without squeezing, hang on a rope, grabbing the edges with clothespins. You can starch cotton fabrics in another way. The dry fabric is crumpled in the hands and dipped in hot starch (jelly), soaked well, excess starch is squeezed out with fingers and dried on wooden sliding frames-hoops.

Silk fabrics - chiffon, crepe de chine, natural silk are recommended to be gelatinized. The gelatin solution is prepared as follows: 2 teaspoons (without top) of gelatin are poured into a glass, the glass is filled halfway with cold water, insisted for 1 hour, the glass is topped up with water to the brim and heated in a metal bowl until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Never boil the gelatin solution!

The fabric is dipped in a hot solution of gelatin, the excess is squeezed out without twisting, and dried on a rope, like a starched fabric. A well-finished fabric rustles like paper.

Pattern making. To make any flower, you need to have patterns of its details: petals, leaves, sepals. For patterns, you will need thick thin cardboard. On each pattern, write the name of the flower, indicate the number of petals, corollas or leaves, their serial number. All patterns of one flower are strung on a thin wire. The starched fabric for flowers is folded in four, stabbed in several places with pins, patterns are applied, outlined with a simple “TM” pencil and then cut out exactly according to the pattern so that the pencil marks are not noticeable. It must be remembered that the patterns are always applied to the fabric along an oblique thread (Fig. 3-a), otherwise the petals will not be given the desired shape during processing. But if the pattern has the shape of a corolla, that is, individual petals are gathered together in 3, 5 or more pieces, then some petals will inevitably turn out in a straight thread.

Rice. 3. The location of the pattern on the fabric along the oblique thread (a) and the petals with an allowance for gluing (b).

If the petals need to be glued together so that the flower takes the form of a bell, then an allowance-ledge is made on the pattern at the junction (Fig. 3-b). Leaves for flowers are cut out only along an oblique thread.

Coloring petals and leaves. For coloring petals, leaves, paper, it is more convenient to use paints dissolved in a small amount of boiling water. Before painting, the petals are wetted in cold water, squeezed out with paper napkins or between the palms. The fabric for the leaves is dyed in large (0.5-1 m) patches, dried, and then starched. If the petals are monophonic, without shades, they are completely painted, immersed in a saucer with paint, squeeze out excess paint on the edge of the saucer and lay out one by one with tweezers on a newspaper to dry. In some flowers, only the middle or edges of the corollas are stained. The edges of the petals are either tinted with a brush, or 5-10 rims are carefully folded together, moistened in clean water, squeezed between the palms and rotated, slightly touching the very edges of the rims of paint in a saucer. Corollas are dried, spreading out one by one on a newspaper. But most flowers are distinguished by a variety of shades and almost all petals have a greenish-yellow bottom. Such petals are painted like this: 5-10 petals are neatly folded in size, that is, large with large, and small with small, moistened in water, squeezed. Fingers pinch the middle of the petals and paint the lower part in a saucer with salad paint, and the upper part in a saucer with another paint. Strictly monitor that the colors do not merge, but smoothly move from one color to another.

Stamens. The stamens of flower-ornamental plants are very diverse. Compare the stamens of lily of the valley, forget-me-not, chamomile, cornflower, water lily, scarlet poppy, etc. Each flower is uniquely individual. Stamens adorn the flower, and you need to make them carefully, as similar as possible to living ones.

Stamens are made from gauze, bobbin threads, floss, silk, wool. "Pollen" is made from semolina, sealing wax, stalemate, pitch, rosin, small sawdust, tooth powder. It is better to starch or gelatinize threads for stamens. To do this, the threads are pulled at a certain distance from one another and soaked with hot starch so that they do not stick together.

Starched dry threads are wound around two fingers or two pencils to make stamen brushes. Their size and color depend on the flower. The resulting skein is removed, the middle is fixed with a wire, which is then doubled and twisted at the very threads. The skein is cut in the middle, the threads are trimmed with scissors - a core is obtained from individual stamen threads (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Making stamens from threads.

Stamens for 2 pencils do this: they take pencils, as well as a wire 20-25 cm long, threads of the desired color are tightly wound around them, then the wire is doubled around, twisted, the pencils are pulled out, the resulting skein is cut in the middle, leveled. The stamens are ready. Their tips are carefully smeared with paste and dipped in yellow or white semolina. For “pollen”, semolina is dyed as follows: dry paint is diluted with cologne or vodka, semolina is poured into it, mixed, dried on paper. Gauze stamens are made in this way: a small flap of crumpled gauze is placed in the middle of a wire 25 cm long, wrapped around it with a wire in the middle, twisted the wire under the bundle, cut off from the sides, making the brush convex.

Colored heads of stamens are made from stalemate, which is prepared on the basis of glue and paint (additives may be different). For example, they use a stalemate of flour, water (a teaspoon each), some kind of glue and dry paint of the desired color.

If there is no dry paint, then instead of water, take a teaspoon of liquid paint. It can be Rainbow ink, concentrated whitewash paint, gouache, ink (not alcohol). To get black shiny heads, use shoe pitch with rosin. A piece of shoe pitch and the same amount of rosin are heated to a boil, stirred. The ends of individual stamens are lowered into the hot mixture - and black shiny heads are obtained. In the same way, heads are made of sealing wax or one rosin.

Rice. 5. Making stamens by pulling the fabric through the ironing hole.

For some flowers, the stamens are made of starched material in the form of tubules. Strips of fabric are cut along a shared thread 1.5 cm wide and pulled through a hole with a diameter of 5-7 mm of a hot iron (Fig. 5). Tube stamens are found in flowers such as anthurium, calla lilies, etc.

Chamomile

Artificial daisies are made from well-starched chintz, silk, dense batiste, satin, so that daisies look more beautiful, a blooming flower is collected from two corollas (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Chamomile.

Field daisies. Field daisies (white and yellow) are smaller than garden daisies. In white chamomile, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bcorollas adjacent to the core (no more than 2 cm in diameter) is painted in a pale greenish-yellow color. To make the coloring natural, without sharp color boundaries, tint the corollas wet.

Yellow (brown, lemon yellow) daisies are made with brighter petal edges. To do this, wet corollas are completely painted in an even yellow or brown color, laid out one at a time on a newspaper and a brighter paint is applied to the ends of the still wet petals with a soft brush or cotton wool on a match. On fig. 7 shows patterns of flowers, buds and chamomile leaves.

Rice. 7. Chamomile pattern.

Core. For the core of daisies, you will need cotton wool, bandage, floss threads, darning of the desired color, from which a low dense brush with a diameter of 1.5 cm (for field daisies) and 2 cm (for garden daisies) is made. Soft threads or darning for this are wound around two fingers 30-35 times. The core is made convex or with a recess, carefully trimming the ends of the brush with sharp scissors. Yellow daisies have a brown core, while white and colored daisies have a yellow-green core.

Corollas. Each chamomile petal is processed on semi-rigid rubber with a two-core knife from the face and a single-core knife from the inside (Fig. 8). A single core knife can be replaced with a small bulb. In the middle of each petal, from top to bottom, we draw a deep groove with a hot twin-core knife. This is the front side of the chamomile. Turning the corolla of chamomile face down, draw a single-core knife along the sides of the middle groove along one vein, as well as the vein along the contour of the petal, trying to drive the knife along its very edge. A medium-sized bulka is “poured” from the face into the middle of the corolla. Before this, the middle of the corollas is pierced with an awl. The corolla to the bud is “bulat” from the inside out.

Rice. 8. Processing the petal with a single-core knife.

Leaves and calyxes. Leaves and calyxes are cut out of green, well-starched material. The leaves of the chamomile "sit" directly on the stem, they are processed with a single-core knife from the face and from the inside on semi-rigid rubber. The gluing cups are pierced with an awl in the center and processed with a bulk on soft rubber.

Flower assembly. When assembling a flower, the wire with the core glued to it is held with the free end up. The first corolla is pressed against the base of the core smeared with glue, the second so that its petals fit into the gaps of the first corolla. The liner cup is attached last. The bud is made from one smaller corolla, the petals of which, raised up, almost completely cover the core. A gluing cup is glued to the base of the core: The main stem of chamomile is made of aluminum wire 40-45 cm long. A wire with a flower is grafted (screwed) to the stem. In order for the flower to sway, the length of the wire from the base of the flower to the stem must be at least 8 cm. Then the stem is wrapped around with green paper, while placing the bud, as well as the leaves one below the other. For a bouquet, several daisies are made without buds.

Daisies can be put in a low vase. A bouquet of white and yellow daisies will become more beautiful if you add a few artificial cornflowers to it.

Poppy

In nature, there are yellow, white, lilac, red, pale purple, pink poppies.

Field poppy (Fig. 9) is made from red satin, chintz, scarlet, red silk, crepe de chine. The most natural poppy flower is obtained from crepe de chine or dense cambric.

Rice. 9. Mac.

Poppy core. The core of the poppy consists of a poppy and numerous stamens. Poppy seeds are made from cotton wool. A small cocoon is wound into the middle of a wire 20-25 cm long (Fig. 10). The wire is bent in half and twisted under the base of the resulting ball, the diameter of which is 1-1.2 cm. The ball is covered with a 6x6 cm square of green crepe paper on top. At the base of the core of the ball, the paper is fixed with black threads and the dome is tied crosswise 4 times. Stamens are tied in the dome.

Rice. 10. Making a dome (the sequence of operations is indicated by letters).

Stamens. Poppy stamens are made from starched black thread or black carbon paper. Coil threads No. 10 are wound around 3 fingers 25 times, pulled in the middle with a thin wire and the ends are evenly cut. You will need two of these stamens. The stamens are lightly smeared with glue and dipped in semolina, which can be dyed a pale green. Both brushes are applied to the crown, the stamens are evenly distributed around and fixed at the base with threads.

Rice. 11. Making poppy stamens.

Carbon paper stamens are made as follows: across a sheet of carbon paper, a strip 4 cm wide is folded four times and cut on one side by 2.5 cm, getting a fringe (Fig. 11). Then this strip is folded with a brush, the ends of the fringe are smeared with glue and dipped in semolina. A strip with a fringe is glued around the finished poppy-stamen. Cut off the excess paper under the dome.

Petal coloring. Poppy petals (4-7 pieces) are tinted dry. The sharp lower end of the petals is treated with ink or purple and even black ink. With a soft brush or cotton ball on a match at the bottom of the petals, draw an almond-shaped spot (Fig. 12, a).

Rice. 12. Processing of poppy petals: a - tint; b - obtaining veins and corrugation.

Petal processing. After drying, the petals are processed on semi-rigid rubber with a hot single-core knife, fan-shaped veins from the face and in the intervals between them from the inside. To make a beautiful fan, the corrugation of the petals begins with the middle groove, which is carried out from the top of the petal to the almond-shaped spot. This groove divides the petal, as it were, into two halves. In the middle of each half, one more of the same groove is drawn (Fig. 12, b). These guide grooves will help guide other strips correctly, resulting in corrugated petals, at the base of which the tucks are smaller and larger at the top. After processing with fingers, the edges of the petals are pulled out, and the middle and the dark spot are strongly squeezed out with a large hot bulb on soft rubber.

Rice. 13. Making a sticker.

Leaves and sticker. Leaves and a liner cup are cut out of a greenish-gray fabric. The gluing (Fig. 13) is squeezed out with a bulb in the form of a boat. The leaves (Fig. 14) are corrugated on both sides with a single-core knife and the wire is glued from the inside.

Rice. 14. Making poppy leaves.

Bud. A cotton bud has a cocoon 2 cm long. The cocoon is pulled along with a thread, the entire cocoon is smeared with green stalemate and sprinkled with finely trimmed wool. On a dried cocoon, an incision is made in its upper part, where a small wrinkled piece of fabric of the same color with poppy petals is glued. This is a bud that is starting to open. Such a button can be made in a slightly different way. Two corrugated petals are glued to a small dome with stamens - one against the other. They glue the gluing cup, wrap the stem around the stem with cotton wool and then with green paper (Fig. 15).

Rice. 15. Poppy bud.

Flower assembly. The poppy flower consists of 4-7 petals. Of the 7 petals, the poppy is assembled as follows: 3 petals are strung and glued one after the other on a wire with a dome, then 4 more are glued. a strip of green (not bright) paper. Below, 2 leaves are fixed on the stem at once, and between them is a stem with a bud. The stems of the poppy are made bristly-shaggy, for which they are smeared with glue and sprinkled with finely chopped green-dyed wool. Due to the wide variety of colors, poppies are used - for bouquets and compositions, separately and in combination with other plants.

cornflower

Garden cornflowers (Fig. 16) are larger than field ones and their color is more diverse. They are white, lilac, reddish-pink. For the manufacture of cornflowers, you can take any thin, but well-starched dense material. Garden cornflowers are cut out according to the pattern (Fig. 17), cutting 2 corollas per blossoming flower and 2 corollas per bud, as well as 8-10 green leaves.

Rice. 16. Cornflower.

Rice. 17. Pattern of corolla, bud, cornflower leaves.

Coloring corollas of field and garden cornflowers. So that the small cloves of cornflowers do not shaggy during the dyeing process, it is necessary to cut out not corollas from the fabric, but slightly larger mugs size than patterns. These mugs in a stack of 10-12 pieces are moistened in clean cold water. Squeeze out excess water with your fingers or paper towels.

Field cornflowers are painted as follows: blue paint is diluted with boiling water and poured into 2 saucers. A little water is added to the first saucer and the resulting tone of paint is determined with a piece of cloth, which should be lighter than the paint in the second saucer. It is recommended to select tones and tint in daylight. Wet mugs are first immersed in light paint, its excess is squeezed out on the edge of the saucer and laid out on paper or newspaper with tweezers. With a soft brush or a small cotton swab, paint the center of each circle with dark paint (from the second saucer). Dried mugs are folded in 3-4 pieces, stabbed and beaters are cut out according to the pattern. The center of the corollas is pierced with an awl.

Corollas for white cornflowers are painted a little differently. Mugs are moistened in cold water, squeezed with napkins and laid out on paper. In dried, but still wet circles, a greenish-yellow spot 2-2.5 cm in diameter is drawn in the center, which should not have sharp boundaries. Dried mugs are folded in 3-4 pieces and the whisks are cut out.

Whisk processing. All corollas of cornflowers are processed with a hot single-core knife on semi-soft rubber. The whisk is placed on the rubber and grooves are drawn along each clove from the edge to the center with a knife. This is the wrong side of the whisk. Then the corolla is turned face up and one groove is drawn along the sides of the midrib with a hot single-core knife, due to which the midrib becomes convex. The largest clove of each petal is gently lifted up with your fingers. The middle of the corollas is treated with medium-sized bulbs. For a blooming cornflower, the center of the corollas is “bulat” from the face, for buds - from the inside, so that the corollas close into buds.

Stamens. In nature, the stamens of cornflowers are very complex. For an artificial flower, the stamens can be made more simplified, the decorativeness of the cornflower will not be lost from this. Stamens for field cornflower are made from bobbin threads, blue and purple floss in the form of a brush (as indicated in the Stamens section). The ends of the stamens are smeared with a paste and dipped in tooth powder or white semolina. They make stamens for both the flower and the bud. For a white cornflower, black, blue-violet stamens are possible.

Flower assembly. The wire with the tassel-stamens is held head down. Lubricate the base of the brush with a paste and glue it to it, stringing one whisk on the wire. Then the second corolla is strung and glued so that the cloves of one rim are between the cloves of the other. 2 corollas-buds are glued to the second stamen-tassel. From cotton wool of greenish-brown color under a flower and a bud, a thickening in the form of a jug is wound, lubricated with a paste so that the cotton wool retains its shape. Thin wire stems are lightly wrapped with cotton wool, then with green tissue paper. These short stems with a flower and a bud are attached, like daisies, to peduncles made of aluminum wire 30-35 cm long. A flower is attached to one peduncle, and a cornflower bud is attached to the other, leaves are located along the stem, one below the other. The leaves are processed in a simple way. Each sheet is folded lengthwise and the edges are slightly pulled out.

Wildflowers are good in a bouquet with a few spikelets of ripe rye. A bouquet of scarlet field poppies, white daisies and field cornflowers will look great.

Artificial flowers, although they are less popular than live ones, still have found an industry of their application. They have a lot of advantages over natural ones.
Firstly, it is worth noting their durability and high resistance to negative external factors.

Secondly, if the flowers are made from really high-quality materials, they are completely indistinguishable from natural ones. And it is also worth noting the huge range, variety of products and a wide range of applications. Also, the price is much lower compared to live counterparts. Therefore, whole flower arrangements are used mainly for decorating interiors and organizing various festive events.

If you have the idea to consider the production and sale of artificial flowers as a business, then you are on the right track. But, in addition to organizing a plan and calculating all investments, it is worthwhile to clearly evaluate one global competitor. This is a product from a Chinese manufacturer. Now, this is one of the biggest competitors, which is not easy to get around. Therefore, it is worth considering the strategy of creating flowers of high quality and with excellent aesthetic qualities. So that the higher cost of products is explained by reliability and beauty.

Room for the manufacture of artificial flowers.

It is best to rent a room in the industrial zone. The area must be at least 150 m2 to fully accommodate all bulky equipment. Properly organize a workplace for each employee and clearly separate all the necessary work areas. This, directly, is a production zone, warehouses, an administrative zone. There are no special requirements for the premises.

It is worth considering the possibility of artificial and natural lighting in the building, the presence of good ventilation of the room, as well as water supply and heating in the cold season. The room must be clean, dry, walls and floors must be cleaned regularly. In total, you need to pay about $ 600 for renting such a room.

Equipment.

For the manufacture of artificial flowers, you need to buy a production line, most often it is presented from an Asian manufacturer:

1. Installation for bleaching stems - $ 3.5 thousand;

2. Installations for the formation and cutting of leaves (at least two units are required for work) - $ 8 thousand;

3. Dehydrator - $1.2 thousand;

4. Forming machines (at least three units) - $4,000.

The new equipment will cost no less than $15.5 thousand.

The productivity of the equipment is quite high and allows to produce at least 500 stems and 2,000 leaves for one eight-hour shift. It is also worth noting the high dimensions of such a production line. This explains the need to rent large production areas.

Raw material.

It is necessary to make leaves and petals as believable as possible to the original version. Most often, textiles are used, which are impregnated with a special composition. This will keep the shape of the products and prevent the possibility of fraying the edges. Petals and leaves are cut out of the resulting fabric using a special machine.

Further, wire, papier-mâché, tin, plastic and various decorative elements in the form of beads, sparkles and more are used to form the base. Still, before proceeding with the collection and formation of the product, special paints are needed. In total, it is worth allocating about $2.5 thousand from the budget for the purchase of the necessary raw materials.

Staff.

To maintain the production line, a staff of 25-30 people is required. The composition of the staff will be formed from handymen, production line operators, designers, an accountant and a sales manager. Although, the role of the latter can be played independently, especially in the early stages of business development.

One of the most important roles in the enterprise will be played by the designer. These are simple designers, namely experts in the field of botany and floristry. They must know their business very well. After all, before you create any artificial flower, you must carefully study the natural original. For this, fresh flowers are disassembled into stems and stamens. And then they design patterns for each individual element of the flower and proceed to its manufacture.

Finding experts in this field is difficult, but possible. To do this, you need to look for staff not on public sites, but on separate forums and communities. The salary of such a narrow specialist can reach $1,000 per month. In total, it is worth allocating at least $7,000 per month to the staff of a manufacturing company.

It is also worth promoting your own products. To do this, you can use the services of outdoor advertising, you can also print an publication in newspapers and magazines about design, interior design or decoration of various celebrations. It is also worth organizing cold calls and meetings with clients.

Also, a well-designed website on the Internet will bring its share of customers. They need to be dealt with on a regular basis and put in the top 10. You can also advertise your products on television. It is worth taking part in exhibitions, fairs. It is necessary to allocate an amount of $ 300 for advertising. You can do more if you want to implement a marketing strategy. And to advertise a product of this type, in fact, you can use all existing tools for promotion.

Basic costs.

To implement your own business for the manufacture and sale of artificial flowers, you must consider the following points of waste:

1. Room rental - $600;

2. Equipment - $15.5 thousand;

3. Personnel - $7 thousand;

As you can see, even such a seemingly simple production as the manufacture of artificial flowers entails spending $ 26,000. In fact, such expenses are minimal and they are necessary in order to offer consumers really high-quality products and bypass Asian competitors.

Profit and profitability.

The profitability of this business can reach 100% or more. The profit of such a manufacturing enterprise can be $5,000. This amount already takes into account all current costs.

Working in this mode and without fail, you should count on a payback of 6 months. It is also worth noting that industrial turnover will need to be increased during the season (for example, on the eve of a big holiday like Easter). During this period, high demand for products will remain and profits will also increase significantly.

Clients and development.

The market, wholesale depots, supermarkets, interior stores, as well as the designers themselves will become business customers. You can develop your business by offering consumers a wide range of products. You can also focus on accessories for artificial flowers, namely ribbons, bows, vases, baskets or more. And you can also make artificial flowers to order using manual labor. The cost of such products will be much more expensive.

Trade in artificial flowers is another idea that can be safely classified as a business idea with minimal investment. A business that will not make you a millionaire, but will not leave you without bread, if you correctly approach its organization. A business that can be safely opened to novice entrepreneurs, whose path to trade is just beginning ...

The undoubted advantage of the business is the high margin on the goods. Often the difference between the wholesale and retail price is 400 - 500%. The lower the price of the item, the higher the markup. Small bouquets are bought on average for 5-7 rubles, and they are already sold for 25-30 rubles.

Ritual flowers are in special demand. The season of demand for such flowers begins on Palm Sunday and lasts until Trinity. Then customer demand drops sharply, and many sellers wind down the business.

To avoid the influence of the seasonality factor and make the point all-season allows expanding the range. Some entrepreneurs include in the sale not only artificial flowers, grass and leaves, but also bamboo products, wickerwork, artificial fruits, berries and vegetables (often used in the design of personal plots), as well as artificial flower toys.

For a small shop, a room with an area of ​​​​5 to 15 square meters is rented. m. Most often, such points open on crowded city streets, markets and shopping centers.

The cost of renting premises ranges from 4 to 10 thousand rubles per month, depending on the region. For a lease agreement, they turn to the administration of a shopping center or market, and in the case of renting a municipal plot, to the city administration (KUGI).

Some temporary entrepreneurs open up trade even at the cemetery: during the period when people come to clean up their own graves, the goods are taken apart instantly.

As an organizational form, ordinary individual entrepreneurship is registered with the local tax service. The optimal taxation system for such a department is UTII. This is the most preferential tax, the monthly payment is no more than 5 thousand rubles. Cash register, license and additional permits for trade in artificial flowers are not required.

One of the difficulties of this business is that flowers require appropriate care. Yes, it didn’t seem to you: artificial flowers also require attention and care. To give them an appropriate presentation after a long storage, the flowers are subjected to steaming. In addition, during transportation, the elements of the compositions often come off and need to be glued. All this takes a lot of time and effort. And what is most unpleasant, entrepreneurs say, is that the flowers smell terribly. Sometimes you have to work even in a respirator with ventilation turned on.

Therefore, to engage in such a business, it is desirable to allocate a special room, at least a garage. No work at home, otherwise you can get poisoned.

Goods, as a rule, are purchased at the Moscow wholesale markets (Gardener). Also, purchases are made on the Internet, most often from Chinese suppliers, with whom you need to be more careful. The site will show you one thing, but you can get a completely different product.

The business should be opened closer to the beginning of the season, that is, by spring, although the purchase should be made already at the end of summer: it is at this time that the wholesale price drops sharply, and goods can be purchased very cheaply.

“A difficult but rewarding business,” say the most successful organizers of the business.

Of course, even the most magnificent artificial flowers in execution cannot be compared with living ones, but they have a number of undeniable advantages. They do not lose their attractive appearance for a long time, they do not require maintenance, except for cleaning the surfaces, they are resistant to environmental influences - ultraviolet radiation, cigarette smoke, high or, conversely, low temperatures, the effects of chemical detergents. Modern technologies for the manufacture of artificial flowers make it possible to obtain high-quality products that are difficult to distinguish from natural ones, so the use of artificial flowers remains relevant in floristry and in the design of many interiors.

Opening a business of own production of artificial flowers: the necessary equipment, premises, personnel.

You can open your business on artificial flowers in several formats, each of which has its pros and cons and will require different start-up capital to implement a business idea.

Option 1- organize own production. In this case, you should be prepared for fierce competition with cheap Chinese products. It is more rational in this case to occupy the middle price segment, relying not on low cost, but on quality, the use of not primitive plastic, but modern materials such as organza, latex, PE, parchment paper, artificial or natural silk, and other fabrics.

The technology for manufacturing artificial flowers consists of the following stages: first, a sketch of the future plant is drawn, a living plant acts as a prototype, then patterns are prepared, according to which the necessary details are cut out of textiles or other used material impregnated with a special composition - leaves, stems, petals. After that, staining, extrusion of veins, textured elements and processing of the edges to avoid shedding takes place.
Stamens, pistils, stems, cores and other plastic components are poured on molding equipment. After that, all the parts are assembled into a finished product.

When producing artificial flowers in large volumes, all operations are performed using an automatic line, the cost of which is about $ 30,000 (made in China). Its kit includes the following units: injection molding machine, 2 leaf cutters, petal machine, press, 3 forming machines, dehydrator. Power - up to 2000 parts in 8 hours.

The maintenance of the equipment will require a staff of 20 workers. There is a spacious room for placing the installations, since the line nodes are quite large and can occupy up to 60 sq.m.

The total starting capital for the implementation of the business idea for the production of artificial flowers will be 150,000 USD, and the payback period will be about 2 years.

Opening a business for the resale of imported products. Import organization, storage room.

The second option for starting a business: import of artificial flowers from abroad and resale at a premium. It is most profitable to import finished goods from China. The city of Yiwu occupies a leading position in the manufacture of textile products, at the Futien wholesale market you can buy artificial flowers of different price niches - from primitive to as close to natural as possible, as well as related products and accessories: baskets, coasters, pots and planters, ribbons, clips, clamps etc. If you have experience, you can establish contacts with Chinese suppliers on your own or work through intermediaries. In any case, the purchase of the first batch of goods will require up to $10,000.

The goods are delivered, as a rule, in compressed packages of 100 pieces. Before selling, plants need to be traded, straighten all the elements with a steam or iron. It is recommended to immediately purchase a steam cleaner. Cheap products may have a characteristic smell, in addition, when correcting deformations and during transportation, some parts may crumble and fall off, therefore artificial flowers are stored in non-residential premises (garages, basements).

European products come to the warehouse in cardboard boxes and are suitable for sale without additional processing.

Artificial flowers sales channels, profit.

The wider and more diverse the product range, the more opportunities to sell products faster. Budget artificial flowers are actively purchased by ritual services and buyers on the eve of religious holidays (memorial day). The margin on such artificial flowers can be up to 500-600%. Turnover from seasonal sales of artificial flowers before and after Easter can be up to $15,000. Of these, net profit is about 8,000 USD.

Artificial flowers, used by florists and designers for interior decoration, are in stable demand, regardless of the season. You can sell them both wholesale and retail, through online stores, flower markets and home goods stores, supermarkets. The premium on expensive and realistic artificial flowers is at least 100%.

The idea of ​​​​opening your own business, probably visited every person. And the flower trade is considered a relatively profitable business, because without them it is difficult to imagine the holidays. What is a flower sale? A business plan should take into account even the smallest details. So how to start trading and make it profitable?

Selling Flowers: Business Plan

Of course, first you need to deal with some little things. In particular, you need to draw up an accurate and detailed business plan:

• Explore the market.
• Select a place to purchase goods.
• Prepare the necessary documents.
• Choose a place to rent.
• Purchase the necessary equipment and goods.
• Hire staff.
• Calculate the size of the starting capital.
• Run an advertising campaign.

If you are wondering how to start selling flowers, then you should know that when starting any business, every little thing matters. This is the only way to make it really profitable.

What documents are required to trade plants?

It should be noted right away that a license to sell flowers is not needed. Therefore, you just need to register with the tax service either an LLC or an individual entrepreneur. Sole proprietorship will suit you if you are going to work exclusively with individuals. This option has some advantages, such as a simplified accounting system, as well as lower taxes.

If you are not the sole owner of the store, you plan to expand your business and cooperate with different companies, it is better to form a Limited Liability Company.

Where to rent a room?

If you are going to start a flower selling business, then you should know that the location of your store is extremely important. Therefore, it is best to rent a room somewhere in a busy place, for example, in the central part of the city, in a tourist area, in a shopping center, etc.

Naturally, a room in a busy area will cost more. But a favorable location largely determines the success of trade.

After all, quite often people buy flowers impulsively, without planning it in advance. Therefore, it is important that your store is in the way of a person who is going to purchase a beautiful bouquet.

As for the store itself, it is desirable that it be spacious. Then buyers do not have to push around in a tiny room.

Try to lay out the flowers so that they are visible from anywhere in the store - this way the client will have the opportunity to choose the best plants on their own.

What equipment do you need to get started?

As already mentioned, flowers are a commodity that quickly deteriorates. Therefore, you need to raise money in advance for the necessary equipment. After all, without it, it is simply impossible to sell flowers. The business plan should include the purchase of the following materials:

• To begin with, you will need a cold store, as in the hot season it is important to keep the flowers fresh.

• But in the winter months, the main threat to the goods becomes cold. Therefore, you need to purchase a special thermal curtain.

• A store full of flowers must have an air conditioning system that will help create optimal temperature conditions at any time of the year.

• Don't forget about stands, tables for florists and other furniture needed to create bouquets.

• In addition to fresh cut flowers, you will most likely sell some other products - they will also need furniture, such as shelving and shelves.

• To preserve flowers, buckets, vases, sprayers and some other devices are needed.

• By the way, make sure that there is enough water in the store.

• You will also need a cash register. By the way, as the business develops, when there will be more and more regular customers, you will probably need a computer and special software. They will facilitate the process of tracking sales, as well as simplify the work of an accountant.

This is a shopping list. The rest of the things you need to work, you can buy after the opening of the store.

Basic consumables: what to buy?

Naturally, the main thing in your business is live, freshly cut flowers. To date, their market in our country is sufficiently developed, only 45% of products come to us from abroad. You just need to find a flower growing or delivery company and draw up a contract with it. By the way, many organizations use the flower franchise.

Many aspiring businessmen ask what plants to buy. According to statistical studies, roses are the most popular.

The second place is occupied by chrysanthemums, and the third - by carnations. Therefore, these flowers must be present in the assortment of your store.

Naturally, you can buy almost any plants that are useful for creating bouquets. And do not forget about the so-called seasonal ones - for several weeks (or even days) a year, snowdrops, anemones and tulips become especially popular.

Of course, selling flowers is a profitable business. But in order to increase income, you should think about creating compositions. For this purpose, it is best to hire an experienced, talented florist. He will create original bouquets from ordinary flowers - compositions are usually more expensive. In this case, you will need some materials: gift wrapping, paper, ribbons, bows, rhinestones and other decorations.

By the way, selling flowers in pots is an interesting and profitable idea. Such plants are more expensive, and with proper care, they can be stored for months. In addition, indoor flowers are popular gifts, because, unlike cut ones, they do not fade.

We hire working staff

A flower business can become really successful, but only with the right approach. It's no secret that the efficiency of trade largely depends on the quality of service. Therefore, when interviewing future employees, first of all, pay attention to such qualities as sociability and politeness.

To get started, you will need a seller, and a little later, a florist. If you can’t do bookkeeping, then you will have to hire someone for this position (it is possible for a part-time job). Additional staff may be needed when expanding a business such as selling flowers. The business plan in this case has its own characteristics.

About some nuances

As already mentioned, the sale of plants is often seasonal. Naturally, people buy bouquets every day, but there are times when flowers are in huge demand.

This is mainly observed on special and holidays, for example, the first and last bell, prom, March 8 (don't forget to buy tulips, snowdrops and other spring flowers), as well as Valentine's Day, etc.

Always be ready for such holidays, buy more flowers, create inexpensive bouquets in advance, offer discounts. In a word, do everything in order to attract customers.

Weddings are another source of good income. Have your florist create the bridal bouquets. Increasingly popular are boutonnieres for the groom and bridesmaids made from natural flowers - offer this service too.

Ideas for extra income

Selling cut flowers and original bouquets is a profitable business. But business, and accordingly, profit, can always be raised to a new level. For example, over time, you will be able to create a flower delivery service. This service is very popular among people who do not have time to run around the shops, as well as among buyers who want to surprise their loved one.

Along with indoor plants, you can always sell pots, fertilizers and other small things. Quite often, in flower shops, souvenirs are also offered to customers. These can be figurines, caskets, photo frames, paintings, watches, artificial flowers and other gifts.

Selling Flowers: Advantages and Disadvantages

When you start a new business, it's always a little scary. Therefore, many people are interested in the question of whether it is profitable to sell flowers. Yes, there are a number of significant disadvantages in this case. To begin with, it should be noted that flowers are a commodity that deteriorates relatively quickly, so if the trade is not very successful, losses can be quite high. And the flower business is seasonal.

On the other hand, there are also important advantages. In particular, some shops sell flowers with a markup of 200 or even 300%. In addition, such a business does not require a large start-up capital, any specific skills or a lot of experience. With the right approach, selling flowers can be a really profitable business.

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