WHO DRIES THE FLOWERS BEFORE FRAMING?

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DEEPJOY
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WHO DRIES THE FLOWERS BEFORE FRAMING?

Post by DEEPJOY »

Hi All

A wee bit of help please?

Who dries the flowers before framing? I have a florist that wants to promote bouquet and flowers in general framing ideas for her customers.
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prospero
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Re: WHO DRIES THE FLOWERS BEFORE FRAMING?

Post by prospero »

Given a choice I'd skip it. :roll:
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Re: WHO DRIES THE FLOWERS BEFORE FRAMING?

Post by poliopete »

We gave it our best shot many years ago (our own flowers) absolute abject failure :oops:

Although I would never ever attempt it again I believe there are peeps who specialise :)

Peter.
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prospero
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Re: WHO DRIES THE FLOWERS BEFORE FRAMING?

Post by prospero »

It's a very tricky job to preserve flowers long term. Freeze drying is one method, but you need specialist equipment.
Even then they will most likely fade and they are extremely delicate.

Resin encapsulation is another way and it will provide physical protection. There are companies who provide this service but
you have the problem of getting the flowers to them in one piece.

The best way is to get them professionally photographed (while fresh and perky) and frame a print.

Whichever way you slice it, it's an enormous PITA. :cry:
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David
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Re: WHO DRIES THE FLOWERS BEFORE FRAMING?

Post by David »

I'd say unless you know what you are doing don't touch it. I tried it once and as above complete failure and won't be doing it again. There's too much that can go wrong.
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Re: WHO DRIES THE FLOWERS BEFORE FRAMING?

Post by kartoffelngeist »

I'll add my name to the "did it once and won't even consider doing it again" list.

Not worth it.
Thanks,

andrew
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Re: WHO DRIES THE FLOWERS BEFORE FRAMING?

Post by Not your average framer »

The investment required to dehydrate the flowers is not as much as you might think (large bell jar and vacuum pump), but there is no easy way of evaluating how effective the dehydration process has been from one bunch of flowers to another. If you can't determine how effective the dehydration has been, how do you control the quality of the process?

A lot of people have had this idea and perhaps it is a good niche in the market, but it's quite time consuming and therefore costly, which will probably limit the number of customers wanting this service and therefore may not be as worthwhile as hoped. Not only that, but if you and the florist are both expecting to make a reasonable profit from this, then you have to price the service accordingly.

It is my understanding that the flowers may also be sprayed with some specialist laquer to prevent petals, etc., from falling off over time. After considering all these factors, I don't think there are very many organisations in most localities offering this service, so if you can do you research and get it right, you may have the local market all to yourself.

One way of determining when the dehydration process is complete may be to insert a couple on fine pins into each plant stem and measure the electrical conductivity. This will give a measurable indication of the amount of humidity still retained in the plant. The temperature of the flowers during this process may also be something to consider, but you will need to research this too!
Mark Lacey

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