Typical Day
The big "Cornflower," "Denim," "Periwinkle," and "Cobalt" (blue, blue, blue, and somewhat darker blue) helium balloons are a bit much in the display at the entry into Flower Power, the floral design studio where Daisy Blossom works. They were Sven's idea, so she keeps her comments to herself.
After all, Sven is the real floral designer who still regards Daisy as an assistant, even though she does most of the work while he's on the telephone trying to find more colors to add to his palette of balloons or ribbons or note cards. Really, can the customers tell the difference between "Kansas Grain" and "Oklahoma Wheat"? And where does "Yellow Brick Road" fit into this scheme? "Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown"? "Ruffled Clam"? "Mauvelous"?
Daisy's been working for Sven long enough to know that he really is the best floral designer in town, but not long enough to learn to tell the difference between the "Red Rose" and the "Rose Red" ribbon. What scares her is that she's beginning to believe that there might actually be a difference.
Daisy didn't come here for the colors. She's here for the flowers, and enjoys outfitting her customers with the flowers and floral design that will best suit their needs. Yeah, Sven has the schtick to make Flower Power a trendy operation, but Daisy still has a blast "assisting" Sven with composition of "his" work.
Flower Power opens early so that the staff can be there to process early deliveries of incoming flowers. Between deliveries, they often work on larger jobs like weddings and funerals. Since no one's getting married right away or has recently become deceased, Daisy is putting together mixed bouquets for guys who have some groveling to do with their respective wives when they get home.
While she loves the creativity of the larger jobs, it's fun to spontaneously slap together some flowers that work well together, particularly when there isn't an impending holiday to dictate what flowers and colors get used. This allows Daisy to be less of a flower artist and more of a flower artiste.
Suddenly, someone rushes into the shop, frantically pushing aside the blue, blue, blue, and somewhat darker blue balloons. Mrs. Liliuokalani has a daughter who's getting married, and according to their religious custom, she's doing so in two weeks. The side benefit for her is that it gives the groom less time to change his mind.
Mrs. L. wants white, white, white, and more white. Sven leaps into action, showing her ribbons, bows, and notions in "Snow," "Spanish Lace," "Alpine Frost," and "Glacial Marshmallow." If Daisy were doing the talking, she'd just say that they're all white; but Sven has this whole "harried artist" vibe about him that lets him pull off the phrase "Glacial Marshmallow" without looking like he's a few marshmallows short of a s'more.
Mrs. L. may be rushed, but she's accommodating. She came in for Sven's expertise, and boy, is she getting it. She'll be happy with roses, lilies, gladiolus, baby's breath, carnations, and just about anything else that blooms white.
She only needs an estimate for now, so she tells Daisy what she has to spend, and what she wants done. Sven listens quietly (for a change). He wants Daisy to take care of the business side of business. He'll do his thing later.
The project for Mrs. L. came just in time, before Daisy either got bored with the mixed bouquets or ran out of space for more in the refrigerator. When she finishes with Mrs. L., she'll start on the math of taking everything that Mrs. L. wants and making sure it'll fit the venue for the wedding and reception.
Most of the "inert" materials, like ribbons and floral wire, are already in the shop; but she'll still need to get a start on ordering all the white, white, white, and more white flowers from the growers and wholesalers. White is always available, and is routine to floral designers, but getting this much of it will take a bit of work. There are no "white flower rustlers" to gallop around and herd them up for you.
As rushed as this project already is in regard to acquiring the materials, the actual assembly of the floral arrangements must wait until just days prior to the wedding. Flowers are too perishable to get an early start on. This will drag out the fun for the full two weeks.
For now, Daisy determines what can be done within budget. Mrs. L. is happy with what she gets, and is open to suggestions for a bit more. Daisy's sure there'll be a lot of back and forth telephone calls practically up until the time that vows are exchanged, but she's got enough information from this brief consultation to get started.
What seemed like minutes to those involved really took almost the second half of the day, leaving only an hour or so for Daisy to get started. She's pleased to know that she'll have something more exciting than mixed bouquets to work on in the morning.
Mrs. L. leaves the shop less hectically than she entered it, and even comments on the delightful blue balloons that seem to be obstructing her departure. Sven forces a smile and waves quietly as he mutters to himself, "They're 'Cornflower,' 'Denim,' 'Periwinkle,' and 'Cobalt,' you ignoramus."