A Bristol florist has spoken about the financial difficulties facing independent flower shops after prices rocketed to a 30-year-high. Vera Harhat is the owner of a flower shop in Totterdown called Floriography, where she takes a unique approach to creating bespoke floral arrangements for every customer.
Vera says that contending with seasonal produce and shopping habits has meant that floristry has always been a tough job, but she believes that things are tougher at the moment for a local flower shop like hers than they've ever been. She said: “It's hard work, but usually, there are some things that remain consistent. And then you can use your brain to kind of deal with the stuff that's inconsistent. But at the moment, it's not just that it's such high prices. It's that it's so volatile the market as well."
Soaring costs and a drop in customers' disposable income have created high levels of uncertainty for florists like Vera, as she says flower prices are currently at a 30-year high. She said: “A couple of weeks ago, I logged on one day, and I just cried when I saw the prices. And I thought, gosh, it was higher than I'd ever seen.”
