'In heart and soul I'm still a florist: 34 years I've had my business and this store in Amsterdam for 29 years now. I also have Studio Menno Kroon in Cothen, a place where we do many larger projects, organize events and receive clients.' Menno Kroon, on this sunny Monday afternoon in May, is alternately enthusiastic and troubled: the time for inaction is over he states. Radical changes are needed in the flower profession; from a complete overhaul of professional education to a more honest growing process.
What does good entrepreneurship mean to you as a florist? "You have to be able to do math. Really, that's where it starts. All my life I've been calculating my hours, my waste, my parking costs, my transportation. Otherwise you don't have anything left over. And then you can't pay good people either.'
'But you also have to be creative, understand your craft and know what commerce is. Understand what sells, what stays put, what people want. Your store has to be an experience. And you achieve that by having a feel for what is going on in the world. Walk through a city, what's going on? What do people look like? What stands out? That's where it all starts.'
'In addition, you must continually renew your organization. Keep your team fresh. You need people on your team today who understand Instagram, photography, layout. Your quote has to be right, with good photos attached. My people think with me, take responsibility. And that also requires me to give them trust, and space.'
What makes your store special? "Exclusivity. The location is small, but very powerful. We utilize every square meter. Everything is about atmosphere; from the fragrance policy to the lighting. We completely change our store three to four times a year, then we take everything out and start over. Sometimes because of a new collection, sometimes because of a theme like Valentine's Day. But it's also about events in the city, like 750 years of Amsterdam. Then we have something special made for that. Good presentation; displaying makes you covet. You have to work on that every day.'
'During the Christmas period the whole store is one big bauble. A very specific period when you sell fewer plants - also because we don't have space to put them down then, I always have to make choices.'
'This morning I heard on the news that it's going to be a very hot week. And it's also vacation time so then you know you have to buy fewer flowers. But you also know that with nice spring weather people are going to put pots in the garden or on the balcony. So you make sure you have a lot of cozy outdoor plants, because they're more likely to buy that than flowers.'
'I'm constantly looking for "I don't know what"'
What are inspirations for your store design? 'Sometimes it comes from a beautiful pot from Italy, sometimes from a museum exhibition; around such a collection I build a whole atmosphere. In addition, we have been selling very beautiful things from the beginning; vases, pots and everything in between I try to give my own stamp. I also work a lot with artists, to make special products. These are all unique things, and it's always going one step further. I'm constantly looking for 'I don't know what,' I always say.
'Very expensive things are sometimes beautiful but there is not always a lot of turnover rate in them. Look, there's a very nice Japanese plate against the wall there, for example. Those are often loners, nice to have there, but I'm not going to make a living with that. So you have to know how to make a good mix.'
What is your handwriting? 'Pure. Natural. With heart and soul I am a florist and my basic approach is to always sell fresh and beautiful flowers. I find that very important, and we always get a lot of compliments on that. And I also pay attention to quality and shelf life. Good flowers have become more expensive, expectations higher. So if you offer something, it has to be right. It's no good if a bouquet hangs limp after a day'.
'As a florist, you have to understand what you are selling and be able to buy well. You used to be able to get everything at the auction. Now you have to go anywhere: to growers, to brokers, in Ede, in Boskoop. But our tulips come from a grower; we have a special address for that. I like flowers as they are and use almost no filler greenery. A bunch of Fritillaria in a nice vase, without anything else, is beautiful. No fuss, we are real flower people.
What role does sustainability play in your work? 'I try to do everything as cleanly as possible and am also conscious of sustainability in presentation and purchasing. My packaging has been adapted. The customer appreciates that more and more, but it has to remain realistic. There are too few organic flowers and, moreover, it is a range that does not quite match what the customer is looking for.
What do you see as challenges for the flower profession in the Netherlands? 'What still happens a lot now is growing too early, overproduction, too much plastic. So let's first try to improve quality in the growing process by using less pesticides, growing more slowly, using less gas. Therein lies the profit. And that whole route requires an honest story to be told. No greenwashing.
'The location is small, but very powerful'
What kind of place is Studio Menno Kroon in Cothen? 'Cothen is my second location, just outside the city, which I built myself. I bought it 23 years ago as a bare piece of land with a house and some sheds. Now it has become a special place, with a large shed, a walled garden and mature trees. Everything we can't get rid of in Amsterdam, we do there. And I live there, too. It's a place where everything comes together.'
How does Cothen differ from your store in Amsterdam? 'Amsterdam is retail, dynamism, visibility. Cothen is tranquility, preparation, behind the scenes. In Cothen everything comes in, is sorted, priced, prepared. Large orders, rentals, construction of projects - that happens there. It is our creative and logistical base of operations.'
What kind of events take place? 'From weddings to corporate events, dinners, photo shoots. We also host clients there to talk through weddings and special projects. Anything on a larger scale goes through Cothen.'
'But an event can also take place in another location. Like a wedding last summer in the south of France. Using products from the area such as olive leaves, lots of lavender and herbal plants, we did very much our own thing there, then it's about the vibe you create, the feeling and expression you put into it.'
'And of course we give that attention when we organize an event in Cothen. The location is very special. And then with all those extras - because the most beautiful flowers are already there in the base. But then we fill extra pots with summer plants so it just looks super cared for. It doesn't matter what we organize there; it can be very rural, but if they want it uber-chic, that's also possible.'
How do you see your company's future? "I'm not going to quit. Maybe less hard work in time, but I'll stay involved. Sander is growing with the company now. And I'm guiding that. Plus, because of the know-how, I would consider it a shame to suddenly quit now. Besides, I would never want to lose the store, which is really a safety net for all kinds of other assignments.
'I am always looking for the next step. I like timeless things that will still be beautiful ten years from now. But I also like to know how young people experience things. They spend money differently, have different sensitivities.'
'On Saturdays I am always in the store myself. First, for my team - everyone has been working here for quite a long time, also because we just have a good relationship with each other. And secondly for the customers. During such a day in the store, I also hear what is going on.'
'No fiddling, we're real flower people'
What does the future of the floral profession look like? 'The flower profession is sick. A lot of flower stores have already disappeared, and many more will go away if we do nothing. If we want the profession to exist in the future, we have to act. And quickly, too. It's five past twelve!
'The image of the profession is bad. People say, "Do you have to learn for that? That's just not true. There is a total lack of allure, but also of pride. While the profession is so special. And yes, it is also about money. The salaries in the flower trade are far too low.
So what should such a trajectory look like? 'We have to give the flower profession a whole new impetus. And that starts with the courses; they just don't fit the image of the times anymore. There are almost no new enrolments. So rigorously close all current training courses and start again because the gap with practice is mega large. What is needed is a master bindery education with real allure that is right for what we need as a society. You have to find people who understand the sector and look further and set a new (international) standard - from which a derivative can then also be made for the middle level. But first the top has to be right.
And it shouldn't just be about flowers. As I said before, nowadays you also have to understand photography, Instagram, commerce, speak your languages, make an appealing offer. It is much broader than just flower arranging; it is about training young professionals with an entrepreneurial outlook.
Would you like to play a role in that yourself? 'Maybe in a few years, right now I'm too busy. But I do see that there are few others who will pick it up. You actually need someone in our profession like a Lidewij Edelkoort who is a predictor and researcher of new trends in fashion and design.'
Are there any bright spots? 'I see a new generation emerging that is looking for meaning, for authenticity. That is hopeful. But we must have something to offer them.'
It's about training young professionals with an entrepreneurial outlook.
Menno Kroon works with a close-knit team of fifteen full-time employees at two locations
Atelier Menno Kroon Amsterdam
Cornelis Schuytstraat 11, Amsterdam-South
Studio & Events Estate Cothen
Kapelleweg 1b, Cothen
www.mennokroon.nl
Insta/Facebook Menno Kroon
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