The Boys
Welcome to "The Boys" podcast, where business partners Jeremy, Stuart, and Dwayne come together after two decades of collaboration to share their expertise and passion for all things decor, home design, business, and floral design. Join this dynamic trio as they delve into the world of aesthetics, offering valuable insights, practical tips to elevate your living spaces, and a few laughs along the way.
But it's not just about design; it's about spreading joy and making the process enjoyable for everyone. The podcast is infused with the camaraderie and humor that comes from years of friendship and collaboration. Expect lively discussions, entertaining anecdotes, and a genuine passion for creating spaces that bring happiness and comfort.
The Boys
S2:E7 Tips from The Pros: How to Know What Stems to Pull for a Flower Arrangement
Have you ever wondered why we pick what we pick to make a flower arrangement!? Or have you ever tried to pull things to make an arrangement and were overwhelmed or disappointed? Believe us, we get it! Making choices can be overwhelming, even at a Salad Bar for Jeremy! In this podcast, we step you through our 4 Principles and a go-to formula for what to pull! :) Just remember FLUFFFY!
Read the blog here: Tips from the Pro's
Some of the items we discussed in this podcast.
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Hey friends, just a quick note before we dive into today's episode. This podcast was recorded before the recent storms and flooding that hit our area and so many other areas in the Midwest. So if you hear us laughing and joking or talking about the weather in a way that feels a little out of touch, please know we were definitely not making light of what's happened. Our thoughts, prayers and hearts are. With everyone who's been affected, and we are working on a way to help raise funds and support those in need. So stay tuned for more on that. Now let's get into the episode, and thanks as always for being here with us.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I don't know if we're gonna be here much later because the is ting in the wind outside y'all. I almost got blown off the, the
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Did you see Dorothy Shema? Didn't she?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:So I saw all kinds of Dorothy's and
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:is the.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So when we're taping this people, we are, we are taping it. Pre hurricane, tornado monsoon, 22 inches. That gym said it is more rain than we've ever seen in the world. And I was like, oh lord, that's coming. The monsoon.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:said
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So when you listen to this,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:that much
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:yes. When you listen to this, we may not have a roof. I don't know, but we're, we're gonna tape it and we'll, we'll see how the weather turns out. Late tonight.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:yeah. So y'all hunker down and we're
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Hunker down.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:If it's, if it's raining, of
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:y'all
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:weather, look, they'll,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:these
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:they'll hear this weeks later. So we buy, we, they, they don't need a hunker now. Now they, it's done, right?
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:paper. These people are crazy in here.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:That's true. gonna be a code red there with toilet paper if we don't get it
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:It is./ Sabrina
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:today's podcast was, influenced by our suite audience member one, Kim. Um, because in one of the past live sales. I just pulled together some things and put it together. And then for the next three days went on and on about how beautiful it was. And then she said, how do you put these things together? And I was like, well, I just put it together. She's like, yeah, but how do you know which texture? Like, and she used that word,'cause you know, we use a lot. She's like, how do you know what flowers and textures and like, how do you know what to put together that makes it or just make this look work? And I said, well. You just, I just do it. And I kind of explained it to her really quick. And then I remembered that a while back, we wrote a blog that gave all of the steps and the like the principles that I was trying to explain to her of how to approach this. And I thought, oh, this is a good little episode. Because, you know, we've had, know we all have people that come to us when they're in the store and of course they look to us for guidance and, you know. and what to pick because they feel incredibly overwhelmed. Right? Like they don't know what to put together. And I get it. I, I didn't know what to put together. I remember when, when I first started making fly arrangements, I'd look at you two and you'd be making stuff and I'd be like, oh, how did they make it look so pretty? Because, you know, I didn't go to school for this. Y'all didn't go to school for this, but you had to learn somewhere. Right? Well, how did you all learn?
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mine was, um, I had a shop in Lexington Mall. And any of those that know that, that's a thousand years ago. So it was a mall and I had a shop there and I had a few little stems. Again, I'm with you. I didn't have this background. I had a accounting background, so I sure didn't know how to stick a fake flower in a pot. Um, but I had stems and this little lady came by, uh, that worked at, McGalin and so did Stewart, by the way. Not the same little lady, but, um, but still little lady. And, uh. Cute. And her name was Darlene Lick Blo. And she was all of 92 pounds and she wore a sweater in the summer. And glasses. No, no, I'm not talking about Stewart, I'm talking about Darlene and glasses on the chain. So funny. And she was from, uh, it's gonna be a long day, isn't it? Uh, so she, uh, was from, uh, Amish, Pennsylvania, and she said, how. And I introduced and she said, I'd like to make flowers for you for free on my break.'cause I used to do this as a floral designer and I don't get to do it any longer. And I work at Melvins and I'm bored. And I was like, oh no, no, I don't wanna take advantage of you. And she said, no, no, no. I wanna do it for free. And I was like, Nope. I. And she asked three times and finally she said, take that broom closet and turn it into a little closet for me and I'll come and do it. And I said, yes, and it ended up that's who taught me how to make flower arrangements. And she, from the volunteer ended up working for me three days a week. And that gave her joy and I learned from her. But Darlene Lick Blau is who taught me how to make flower arrangements in the combination Darlene.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Huh.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:But
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I, I can
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:but yours, that crazy Stewart? Yeah. How can you not forget that one? I.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Uh, no, I, uh, I think I was in my first year of college'cause I was still in Illinois and I applied for a job at florist, you know, whatever. Let's just do something. And so as a part of the application, as they had, you some flowers together and make some flowers. And I got done and was so proud of it. And the lady looked at me and she went, well that's horrible.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Wow.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:And I said, fuck you. I don't wanna work here.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:So then that
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:That's funny.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:even
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:it
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:I love it. There you go. And what city was this in? Was this Peoria?
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:It was imp Peoria. Mm-hmm.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Crash. You didn't know what a good fly arrangement was.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:she didn't.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:That's right. There you go. There you go. That's funny that the, the challenge was laid at your feet, wasn't it? You're like, I will learn how to do this.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:I was like, fine.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So self-taught what I'm hearing on that one. Really.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:much.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So I know that back in the day there were like tutorials and Facebooks and those things and many, many years ago. So how did you, how did you self-teach? You just bought stuff and played with it.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Oh yeah,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:I.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:then of course my mom, she's like, you can do that. So we would just go, you know, at the floral stations that we had back then, floral stores, which wasn't lot in that town. I
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Joanne's, which is gone now
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Ben Franklin,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:at frankly. Oh Lord.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:That was the biggest one, was Ben Franklin.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:That's funny.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:with stuff and did it. And that's just how, how it went.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah, it really is true effort. However, we will teach you that now. Jeremy, what was yours? I think yours is through osmosis being around us. Talents is what, I guess,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Uh, absolutely.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Stuart?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:absorbing
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:I
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Absorbed. Yes.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:talent from you all. Just taking it all in. I just
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Oh, I love it.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:as as a win, and then you just like kinda develop your own style and everything. But, um,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:we actually teach you or help you or just just throw you in there and make you do it?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, I mean, I really felt like y'all threw me under the, not under the bus. It felt like y'all just threw me to the lines. Um, but
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Sounds about right.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:no, I mean, you all, you all did take time to show and, um, you know, at least what you all understood, right? Like how, what you all, you all, what you all did. You, you did, you
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah. Even when we started working together, Jeremy, I was far from an expert. I know that, that I was probably still in this learning curve because I didn't, you know, I thought I was still
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:is like for me at the time, you all were experts, right? So, I mean,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:different. So,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Right.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:just kinda go. So I guess my point to like all of that is like all, no matter where we are on our journey, there's always so much for us to learn. And, and we could all, we all get easily over, get over overwhelmed.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:about like. The anecdote about this is I went to this, and this is a true story. My husband and I went to this restaurant, uh, it was brand new and it specialized in pizzas and salads and you could do like gourmet pizzas and salads. And they had it like up on the menu. They had, uh, these pre-made choices they could do, but none of them really like. Make sounded really good to me. I thought, I'll do this. I know what I'm doing. I know what foods I like. I'll make a salad. And so I just started putting all kinds of stuff on the salad, and then they had some kind of special seasoning and house dressing and listen, that salad came out and I was supposed to eat it. I couldn't eat it. It was awful. It was just the biggest smorgasbord of disaster. I was so embarrassed about how bad it was never been back. Yeah. Uh, but, and it wasn't because embarrassment of, of them looking at me like, oh God, what style did he make? It was more of me just being embarrassed of myself, being like, I, you know, I thought that I could do this. And so what I don't want to do is I wanna make sure we give people the tools to help them their own things and be able to put things together. Because I know as much as we like to make arrangements and sell'em, we don't wanna make every arrangement in the world, right? Like we, we,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:No people. This is people's joy to do some, some people want to do this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:that's where this kind of came from.'cause I knew, I could see in Kim's eyes that she really wanted to learn how to do this, and she really wanted to understand, right? So she could do
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:and then have that
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:we've all been there, we've all started a project where we thought, we just knew we could do it. And then at the end of it we're like, oh God. That was
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:so I'm trying to like, how can we take that away for, you know, take
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:people. So that's really what this is all about. So in the blog, which I don't even know, I think Dwayne, you might have read it at some point in the past, Stuart, I
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:yeah. Oh yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:a chance to read it. Yeah. Okay. And then there's no hate, there's no judgment in that because listeners, 90% of what goes online or used to go online. I did it all and I just kind of did it. And then they were like, oh, that's great.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:that's
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:just do it.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well look, you ramble on all the time. So last thing, I want to
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:know,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:read your crap. So yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:So well this is going back to a, a blog and so I thought I'd walk you through what was in it and we'd had the conversation about putting it together. And so it's on our, website and I'll put the link down in the show notes, uh, so people can actually click it.'cause you can actually see visual, Representations of what's actually talked about in that. But there's four principles that to
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Now this is a podcast about a tutorial,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:No, it's
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:about a block.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:it's a discussion.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:How convoluted can this be?
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Next, there'll be a YouTube video
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah, there you go.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:They'll be Facebook, they'll be, well, I mean, you, you know, I got, you gotta put it out in different ways because people hear it different ways and it's just,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay. Okay.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:don't wanna read. So
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So we'll just, we'll just talk, rod. Yeah, there we go.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:to, a lady yesterday and she was like, oh, I've, I've stopped social media. I've read five books since March 3rd. And I went, you've, you've read more books since March than I did when I was in college. And after you know, reading's just not my thing. Right? So I'm much more visual and audio like I, you know, I'd rather have that.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:I'm pulling a Kanye. I'm not gonna read.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:So
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:it up. If you know what that means. Look it up
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Right. Look it up. Um, before we can get to
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:and read about it. Yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:unquote formula, right? And this is just a general, like this is a good starter point, right? So this is not
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:how to make every arrangement, but this is just to help you get a, a, a, a start, right? To understand how to put the things together. We'll get to the formula in a second, but because I think you have to understand like the. The principles first. You gotta crawl before you walk, right? So this is kind of that. So the four principles, um, they're, they're really quite simple. The first one is be intentional. And this goes along with that. Me putting all that stuff in the salad that I thought that I knew that I liked. And there was a bunch of stuff that I did like, but it just didn't work together. So, you know, I don't need another soundbar disaster.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:So pick, you're gonna pick things intentionally and you, when you do pick things intentionally, you'll, you know, pick'em with an intention from what the, the formula is. And then the next one is, everything that you use should have a purpose or a role. So it's kind of like, um, when it comes to bands, not everybody can be the lead singer, right? But you do need a lead singer and you need backup singers, and you need the band, and you need all that, right? And you get, have too many egos and then the bands blow up, right? And then the
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yep.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:kind of quick principles are the first one I said I learned in kindergarten, which was true, uh, which was keep it short and simple, right? So you don't need to put. 75 colors in an arrangement because you're gonna get really overwhelmed,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:again, this is starting, right?
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Right.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:in it as you get more comfortable, but when you're starting, I always say keep it like two to three. I love me a monochromatic. arrangement or, you know, add, add you a little bit more.'cause the joke I made was not everybody could wear that coat of many colors, right? I'm sure Dolly rocked that when she was a kid. I would look like a hot ass mess, right? so just to try to, keep it short and simple and then connect the dots. And so what it means by that is if you have the two or three colors. You connect the one to the other. Okay? So you'll use things that have,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:those two colors on the very skim. That is kind of like those four principles. And those are basic understandings of, okay, keep it short, keep it simple, keep it limited. Let connect the colors and everything's gonna be important. So you just can't throw all the salad bar dressings in there. That's simple
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:A common thread in everything we say. Less is more. Less is more. Less is more
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, you
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:This is what it's about.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:This morning the lady was in and she had a wreath that she wanted to put in front door, and she goes, well, I'm not fussy and I don't want it overdone. but here's the wreath.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:that how she talked, by the way?
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:She did.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:How she talked? Yeah.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:heard
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:She was sweet.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:um, she goes, but I need ribbon. Well, the ribbon she had, one of the ladies had picked up with her was this really small ribbon. And then they were like, what ribbons do we put with it? And I'm like, well, do, you said you didn't want it fussy. You didn't want, so we don't need to put all these things together. Let's keep it more edited and then that'll be perfect for her. So, yeah.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Did it fly? Did she, was she okay with your idea?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:we picked it together. Yeah.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah. Okay. Okay. Good.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:those things where you just don't know. It was standing in front of the salad bar.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, it's funny because as she was checking out, I was up there, she said, I'm buying things with intention.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:good.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:the word of the
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay. That's random. Yeah.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:She goes,'cause I don't need shit. So if I'm gonna buy it, gonna have a purpose. And that was her follow up. I said, well thanks for stopping by.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:I'm okay with. Yeah, I'm okay with that.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:that. I used to anything. I went into home Goods and it was a really good price. I knew that it was a good value and I could use it for client's house at some point. I always bought it. bought it, and I just had piles of shit
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I ended up selling it. Yard sales,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I don't do it
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah. Barb, love your yard sales. Love your yard sales.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:yeah.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:we had good ones.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:that anymore though.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Lord. No,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:No.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:uhm. right, so let's talk about the, um, the recipe, if you will, the formula, and I call
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:which I think is funny, but it's spelled F-L-U-F-F-F-Y.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, when you said that it felt sexual to me and how you dispel it out, it feels even more sexual.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:there's a fluffer, so
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:what that is? Okay. I Why? I thought,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:So
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:you know. Okay.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:that
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, you
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:that is
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:all how I, how I
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:There
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:okay, moving on.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:mean.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:commit. Commit. There was some big comedian, not say big, there was a larger man comedian and I can't remember what his name is, but he, you know, he was a heavier set dude. And he was say, I'm not fat, I'm fluffy.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Louie
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Anderson. Was that, I think that was Louie Anderson. Yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I hear the word fluffy, I just think of like a big band.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:we're just gonna go with that.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:We're gonna go with that one.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:so I was like, well, hmm,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Oh Lord,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:let's, what's that say
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:like, yeah,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:oh,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:times. Good times.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:I mean.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:so, each letter stands for something, right. And again, all this is in the, in the blog, but this is just the discussion. So. first F is for fluffy foliage. Okay. And what you'll see when you get to the next one is foliage are the first two.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Now, I don't think you're supposed to use the anagram word in the description word as well.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, no, listen, I didn't write the rules.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:it foliage?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:You could foliage fine
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:what? The really two, the F. The f and L are foliage and leafy foliage, right? So it is basically
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:a lot of f and l going on, so.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:The first two are for and so you don't need, if, if you're just starting out, you
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So wrong. This, this podcast is going off the rails. Okay. Okay. Here we go. Start over. Okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:We have
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Foliage.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:two. Okay, so you,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Then what's the l?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Foliage and leafy F Basically it's two
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Oh,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:There's two different kinds of greeners. Just, just listen and
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:this anagram is stupid.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Leafs are foliage.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:okay, but each letter stands for something to put to pull into your arrangement.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:my point was. kinds of greenery is usually a good place to start. You don't need eight, need
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:They're.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:start with two. And you're pretty good. And so the reason why they're different is it's, you want something structurally different. You want the shape of them different, right? So think lemon leaf, you have a larger leaf, and let's say you put asparagus fern with it. So you've got something fluffy like that's what the asparagus fern is, right? And you've got the bigger foliage. So that's why there's two different ones they stand for. Something floppy or floppy or hangy or whatever. And then the other one's a leaf, like a more
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Again, it goes back to the fluffy, the first version, but that's okay.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:I mean,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:But with that said, it's different.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:are we gonna,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:asparagus.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:how, how are we gonna strengthen this?
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:We're, we're, we're, oh my God,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:gotta
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:we're doing different textures. There's different, one is, um, it is just different textures is what you're saying, basically. Okay. Two different textures,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:you
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:two different textures.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:different textures. And then also we, we talked about the color. So you also want something that maybe is slightly different than the other because there's no reason to put two items in something if they're the same color and the same size.'cause then you lose your
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:You like a darker green and a more bright green of some, some difference, some variation, right?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:leaf first allow, or a ruscus, and you've got a darker green in that, right? And then again, you can then put Fern, that's a completely different color, right? You've, it's a
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:it's a different
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yep.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:So it's
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay. Got it.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:like mixing those two together, right?
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay, so we've got our, we've got our F and our L. There we go. We're good.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:okay. The U stands for up. do you need something vertical?
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:there we go.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm, mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I think
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Um,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:is gonna say much more about you to, than it is
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Listen, there is an explicit rating and you are just talking about all these words that have different meanings
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Oh my God. Okay, so the U is for branch. So the is for branches or height, or do you want, do you use delphiniums or do you use, you know, something vertical, right. Well, what do
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:You need like a good wood piece basically, right. That's what we're talking about. Yeah.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:right?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:like the. Lord. Okay.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:shit.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I always say that when I start an arrangement, I always figure out how tall I'm gonna make it first. Like that's where I start. I'm gonna get my height, and then I'm gonna figure out my width. That's usually like, I'll do the whatever, branches, whatever. I'll start with that and then I'll do my, so that's like the first three steps. Is that how
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So size matters. Size matters when, how tall you want this to be,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:all.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:does, because there's a link.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:What right? Girth. Right? So those, those change things. How you want it in the flower arrangement. Okay, we got it. Okay. We're getting it.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay. What's the next F?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:when you, I'm just wondering, this is how I make an arrangement. How do you all do it? Do you, do you do the same? How do you all approach it? As far as like the fir, like the do you
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Height. I go to height first.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:That's me. I do height first.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:What about you, Dwayne?
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Uh, I fill it in. I always stick to Magnolia leaves in there and that's where I start
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay. You.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:always the base.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:place.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:do. 999 times outta 9,000. I stick magnolia leaf in it and that's my start right there. That's why everything I do looks the same. There you go.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Now the rest of this is not necessarily, this is the order that you have to put it into the arrangement, but that's just pulling the, the items that you need. So the, the first F is your focal flower. So, and again, we're imagine you've got a big arrangement and there's always, like, in my mind, there's always an arrangement or there's always a flower in it that's like the star, right? There's always like, if it's a big Dahlia, if it's a big, beautiful peony, like there's something that, that's like the big anchor. The main star of it, right? So that's the Beyonce, right?
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah. Beyonce. Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:So you gotta pick one, lead thing. So I always say if you have one of those leads, then you can do their, their friends or like their backup singers that that are smaller. as dramatic that you can put with it. So if you had a big peony and you were doing it in, you could do some PE Andy Buds, right? You can do some roses, smaller ones, but they're all in the same kind of colorway that you're looking at. So if you're doing a and let's say you wanna do three colors, you're doing coral, yellow, and green. So green in my mind's, always one of the colors.'cause you know, green greenery is always gonna be part of it one way or another, right? So if you use coral and yellow, let's say you have a coral. Big coral peony. Well then the roses that you pick could be, have a little bit of coral and yellow in them, right? Or they could be just yellow. They just start pulling those things together so they all just kind of meld together to do all the work. Right. So
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:so that gets us to fl UFF, the last
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Wait, what's the second? F Friends?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm. Friends. Mm-hmm.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:friend flowers. And then the last one is filler flower. And for me, this is more of, I don't, I don't think any of our styles are in a of, uh, or are. Based on the idea of having 7 million flower stems. Is that fair? Like, I don't, like none of us are trying to go in and make these, the image that comes to mind is always like the real housewives of Beverly Hills women. Like they have these big, like overly stuffed rows. Pee and e just ridiculous all blooms arrangements. Well, no, people don't have this in their home like this. That's not unless you have somebody coming in and doing fresh arrangements for you all the time, but that's just not necessarily the style. Ours is usually always kind of cut and gathered, right? So the filler, in my mind is always a hydrangea that I go to because the hydrangea is a great way to fill in a large part of the arrangement, add you some color and texture, but it doesn't make it super busy. So I would, I would say probably, I'm gonna say 90% of the time, 95, maybe even 95%. I always use hydrangeas.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:are you,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:you say that
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm. I do. Yep.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:covers space
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Uhhuh, it covers
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:It fills in dead spots. Yeah.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:And almost, almost everybody likes a hydrangea, right? Sometimes I'll go grab Rose and go, oh, I don't like roses. Or I'll go grab, um, I don't know, poppy. Oh, I don't like poppies. I'm like, yeah, or tulips. How could you not like a tulip? But there's people out there that don't like tulips, so
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:almost everybody likes a hydrangea that, no, I, I think I've done two arrangements. It's like I've made them and it's like, oh, I love everything about, about those hydrangeas, and I'm like, oh. It's not the color. She just didn't like hydrangeas, and it's like, oh, okay, okay. I'll take it out, put something else in.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Hmm.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:mean, just change it and move on.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah. Well, I, in my mind, you could never go wrong with a hydrangea. And you, hydrangeas are one of those really good stems that you can do to connect, uh, colors
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:there's a depth in the hydrangea where you've got, it's not just solid one color, right? You've got a little bit of a range of
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, at the point of the taping. This, we've got a blue hydrangea that's a real touch. That is incredible. I mean, totally incredible. And then you just got a new white one in, not as incredible as the blue one, but it's a pretty good white hydrangea too. Uh, so I'm happy with, uh, basically if you gimme those two colors, I'd probably make any arrangement with those two colors, hydrangeas. Yeah, I'm happy with those. Yep.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:All right, so you've got your foliage, you've got your branches or whatever you're using to get some height. You have your star flour, you have your backup singers, and you've got the filler. So think like a hydrangea. And so I always say the last thing that you can add to it is something for texture. So I call it your choice is what the Y is for, is your choice. So if you want to add berries or seeum or something, that's a little architectural to it, so it's not more flower heads. Does that make
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:So that helps. It never feels somebody comes up to you and, well, actually, I just had a phone call with a customer last week. She said, um, she called in, she was ordering online and she said, okay, I need some help. I'm gonna send you a picture of a bouquet. am making the bouquet for my wedding and I just dunno what I need. And she goes, and I have$450 worth of stuff in my cart. And
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:You don't need that.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:and I said, okay. And I was like, you know, I said, I'm not trying to get real personal, but. What size dress are you wearing? you know, uh, and she was like, oh, like I, I, I wear a size two. And I was like, okay, babe, we got way too many flowers. Like I'm, you know, you try to take that
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:account for if, if they want a bigger bouquet or whatever. And I was like, yeah, no, we need to pull this back. So she gave me her list. There was 34 items that she was ordering. I was like, okay, let's, let's, let's pull this down. We're gonna, so, and I helped her out and, and, and did it. Um, but it was like, you just, you keep, you just feel like you just keep pulling, right? You do one of this,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:you can do that if you are, if you feel really confident in your styling, right? I think
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:can
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Right.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:but when you're not and you're trying to figure it out, I wanna build you up in a way that you can do this and then feel, you know, positive about your ability and so that you can build up to where you can add all the different stuff.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So what, what positive is on that conversation is part of it is those who are. Local that are in our world. Obviously they can come in here and we can guide them all day long, but if you are outta state and you're listening or outta the country and listening to podcasts, you can reach out to, um, Jeremy primarily, uh, and he can either do a phone call or he can email you or text you and guide you a little bit and give you a little more suggestions on something so you're not out there stuck on your own.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, I
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Right.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I'm not gonna say no, but my hope is listening to this and reading the podcast that they don't even have to reach out. I'm hoping that they can do it on their own,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well that's, that's a good point. That's a good point.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I mean, we're happy to help. That's what we're here for. Right. But, um, I want to, I want to get them to a place where they feel like they can make these decisions so they don't feel like
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Right.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:your clients tway, that they can't pick out a pair of underwear.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Thank you for that. Um, so with that said, I'll build you up while you tear me down. What I heard from that is you took the time victim, uh, that you took the time to actually undersell, right? Because she did not need to spend that much money. And I have to believe also to give your credit, that's why you have nearly 7,000 positive reviews online because of. The positive experience that you're doing. And I don't think there's a lot of, uh, online, website, uh, websites out there that sell product would take the time to guide somebody
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:and put'em in and say, and by the way, I'm helping you, giving you free advice, and I'm telling you to spend less. And that's why they get you and they get us because of what you're doing. So thank you.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:that as you tear me down. That's okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, thank you. Well, we had a customer, I had a customer call in the other day on our, uh, customer service line and answer. She goes, huh, are you the Jeremy? She's, and I was like, uh, yes. And she's like, I think you packed my order. And I was like, maybe'cause you, my stamp is on it. she's like, I can't believe I called and I get you all. And I'm like, well. It's only, there's not that many of us up around here running this
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Right.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:this. You got us baby? Um, okay. So if people use kind of core, principles, right? Keep it, keep it short and simple. Keep, connect your colors. be intentful when you pulling out your stuff. And then. Figure out where you can place those stems to do that. I think you will be able to keep it un like not overly complicated, because overly complicated is when stress comes in. When you say like, I feel like that's always where people start second guessing themselves and then it's a disaster. The only other kind of key point I wanna mention to this is that for me, and I think we really do a really good job of this is that greenery is as, is as important as your flower stems that you use. Don't
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah, I think almost more sometimes
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:I, I'm with you. That
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:more
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:it? Mm-hmm.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:texture, more of the
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:more.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Agree. Yeah. We put more effort and thought into that and more decision, uh, absolutely could not, uh, agree with you more. A hundred percent.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:it,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:And like if you, if you love you a good Magnolia, we, you, you're not gonna beat what we have, right? We, you're just not gonna beat it. And we got that new lemon leafs out and I don't know if we've sold out, if it's coming back. Uh, I think you have it online and not in the store currently, but we can always get you some. It's the most. Perfect lemon leaf I've ever seen in my life. So I'll ask this. When we, uh, when you post this, um, can you have those images up to where people can see what we're talking about? The, the, the, the magnolia and the lemon leaf or some ha
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah, absolutely.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:I'm gonna ask if you can't That's okay.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah, no, and what what I'll do is in the, in the show notes, like I said below, it'll have the link to the, the blog so you can actually see visual representations. And they actually, in the images of the blog, they actually have, products that are tagged in it, so they can actually see, like piecing it together. But then I'll make a, a little collection where of the things that we've talked about that people can see, uh, the, the items that we've kind of mentioned in here too. That's
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:So circle back
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Mm-hmm.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:you have two different kinds of textures of greenery. You have one Beyonce. Right. One backup singer, right?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:know, a couple of backup
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Or two? Two, two backup singers. You've got two backup singers and a you. That's your choice of, look at me listening, right? A berry,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:a
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:a filler. A filler, a berry, and a seeum or something like that. You're on your way, right? You are really on your way.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:And that's what this, again, I was trying to like give you all a heads up, but before I was like, this is not trying to tell everybody how to make every flower arrangement. Like you have to have
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:No, no.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:but this is like, okay, we're on our, we're on our little training bike, right? We're gonna pull out our things, our, our stems, and we're gonna build our confidence. This is, I think, a pretty fool proof way of trying to pull the right kind of stems that, that are gonna work together. That's not gonna make it overly complicated, and it will make them excited when they're finished making arrangements.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:I, I think we got this. We can do this.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah, we can do this. So here's
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Yeah.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:cha, challenge the people that are listening. If you have made arrangements or you do make arrangements in the future, I want you to post them on Instagram or
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Oh,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:'em on Facebook, and I want you to put'em with the ha. You can tag us in it and then put the hashtag fluffy, F-L-U-F-F-F-Y. I wanna
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:oh,
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:it.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:I.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:oh.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:A lot of times they tell you you need to look up these hashtags before you put'em out there, because sometimes people use things to do like things. Like I tried to use one for Christmas in July one time, and it was really cute, and then I looked it up and it was some xrated people had put out there. I
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well, fluffy.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:put this out
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Fluffy with an extra f.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:Well,
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:I mean, have you looked at that one?
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:no, but I'm sure
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:I don't know. You know what,
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Okay, well good luck with that.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:we'll look back at this in a, in a while and see what happens. But if you
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:Oh, geez.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:it and I want to share it with us.'cause I wanna see what you've done with these tips to see it.'cause I'd love seeing, um, this is, I haven't told y'all this, but um. I don't, I don't think I've told you it before, but one of the number one things that we get emailed in, uh, are people are so proud of what they've made when they get at home.
dwayne_1_04-02-2025_115137:mm-hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:and they, and they love to share pictures, and it's always so nice to see what people do because they'll put things together that I would've thought would've not thought to do. Uh, and I think it's always just, it's really nice to see it. So
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:Hmm.
jeremy-guest232_1_04-02-2025_115137:love kind of doing that. So, uh, share that with us and as always, we'll be back with a new podcast next week. If you have not downloaded our mobile shopping app, HouseFloral, it's down in the show notes below, as well as all of our social profiles. and we will see you all again next week. Thanks guys.
stuart-host483_1_04-02-2025_115137:All right. Bye.
