When you want to look fashionable and effortless, one of the first pieces of advice you’re given is, to accessorize! Like people, homes and interiors look their best when they’re decorated and styled. Artificial flowers, also known as faux flowers, are one of the best accessories a home can use. These decor items add color, dimension, and atmosphere to your home environment while being low-maintenance and more versatile than their real counterpart.
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Artificial flowers aren’t a new phenomenon. It’s believed that people have been using silk, cotton, and linen flora to decorate their homes and venues starting as far back as years ago!
Fake flowers are not a modern invention. Artistic replications of flowers can be found in historical records as far back as ancient cave art. We know the ancient Egyptians used faux plants in headgear, to adorn their outfits, and to decorate their homes.
That said, the first recorded use of the silk flowers that are so ubiquitous today was in Ancient China, where noblewomen in the imperial court used paper and then silk flowers – produced by silkworms – to decorate their elaborate hairstyles. Midway through the 6th century, as trade routes began expanding, China’s silk monopoly was disrupted, and the idea of delicately spun faux flowers spread to other parts of the Asiatic continent.
Silk flowers now have a storied cultural history in countries like Japan and Korea, and in modern times are available all over the world and accessible to the average person – not just emperors and noble ladies! The evolution of artificial flowers has created a diverse market of products and timeless accessories made with materials like satin, cotton, paper, nylon, polyester … and, of course, silk. Because silk is intimately tied to the faux flower origin story, many people use “silk flowers” as a catch-all term, even when the material isn’t really silk anymore.
The history and popularity of a thing aren’t reason enough to invest in it. Let’s talk a bit about just a few of the many benefits of using artificial flowers in your home.
One of the main benefits of choosing artificial flowers over live clippings is their lifespan. Of course, fresh flowers, when they are high-quality products from a reputable company, can last you anywhere from three days to two weeks. Faux flowers can last years, with far less care and attention necessary to keep them looking their best. When they are well-maintained and high quality, anything from our real touch phalaenopsis to our hanging silk cherry blossoms can become an all-season aesthetic addition to your home.
While real flowers can be at first glance more affordable than their artificial counterparts, they rack up replacement costs over time. Unless you’re planning for a one-and-done event where the floral freshness of a real bouquet will bring that extra magic to the room, the higher up-front cost of artificial flowers will become worth it after multiple re-uses.
They can be made to order, and don’t require any additional money spent on plant sprays and botanical accessories to stay alive. All you need is a styrofoam base and a pretty pot, and you can call it a day!
When you buy real flowers, there is without a doubt some maintenance required. From cutting the stems to changing the water to pruning when necessary, each floral arrangement has different needs and a different temperament. Keeping track of what plant to water when, which bush you need to trim, and what flowers need extra fertilizer to stay full and blooming can be a pain for someone without a green thumb. Not to mention the task of cleaning up and disposing of the flowers once they die!
With artificial flowers, you don’t have to worry about sunlight, water, or plant food. You can put these pieces on display in any part of your home and trust that they won’t wither away and will always look their best.
Many people who suffer from seasonal allergies, especially to pollen, can breathe easy knowing that the beautiful faux flower display in their living room won’t clog up their sinuses. All faux flowers are hypoallergenic bunches, unless you’re allergic to the material they’re made with — and there are so many of those to choose from, you always have options!
While faux flowers are hypoallergenic, they can collect dust in a dusty home. One way of managing this issue is by using our
Because of this, artificial flowers are also safe to use as decor in medical facilities, around animals, in veterinary clinics, and, of course, in your home or office. If you love the idea of having flowers in your home but are at a disadvantage because of your allergies, artificial flowers are the ideal solution for you.
Who says you can’t have peonies in February or lilacs in September? One of the greatest benefits of artificial flowers is their customizability and season-round accessibility. You can have your favorite flower decorating your space no matter the month, and if you source it from a high-quality wholesaler like Wholesale Flowers and Supplies, you can guarantee it will look almost as fresh, beautiful, and authentic as the real thing. Finally, if you want to reuse them for a different event or style of decoration, you can paint over the original color with spray paint!
Whatever the season or reason, our faux and silk flowers are versatile, affordable, and intricately crafted decorating accessories that can be customized to suit whatever your venue’s needs are. Faux flowers are useable both indoors and, if shaded well, outdoors, can always also be repurposed, and can be custom-made according to your preferences. If you need flowers for a wedding, funeral, birthday, or anniversary, artificial flowers are an amazing option to consider.
Silk flowers are an artistic representation of the beauty found in nature. At its core, the combination of color, shape, and size of flowers adds art to our homes and events. We revere them as artistic tools, and therefore their quality and color are extremely important.
Silk flowers are botanically correct. Our silk flowers contain the same attributes as their fresh counterparts. Petals may be hand-painted to resemble the natural color variation. Foliage is the correct shape and shade you’d find on the bush or plant. Even the materials we use – fabrics, plastic, polyurethane, and more - are selected to provide the most accurate texture.
Silk flowers are trend forward. We do allow for an exception to rule #2. Sometimes the beauty in faux flowers is controlling the colors and materials to fill a need for home decor and wedding color trends. This spectrum varies. For example, it could be a color found in nature, like blush pink, applied to a sunflower that wouldn’t grow that way naturally but could be easily imagined. This allows designers to get their size, texture, and shape needs met while staying in a color story. We also know there are some truly avant-garde fashions that need unique materials, like a turquoise ranunculus.
Silk flowers are a complement to fresh flowers, not a competitor. There are benefits to both fresh and silk flowers. Both have their place. And in events, we see mixing silk and fresh can save time and provide peace of mind. In areas like a flower wall, lifelike silk greenery and florals can be beautifully paired with fresh floral accents. This helps to achieve a price point and a timeline for labor that is manageable, along with great reusability. Because of this, we again remind ourselves of rule #2. Only by creating botanically correct artificial flowers can our customers mix real and faux flawlessly.
But not all products are created equal. Consider the following traits when shopping for supplies:
The company is the world’s best Wholesale Artificial Flower supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
What makes a quality silk flower? Pioneer Imports & Wholesale’s owner, David Botchick, answers this common question and shares his expert advice on selecting silk floral supplies.
David says one of the first steps to choosing a quality product is something he learned as he was starting off in the business and buying wholesale silk flowers. Go with your instincts. When you look at the flower, if you like your initial view, that’s step one. Don’t look twice because your customers won’t either!
Beyond the initial visual appeal, check the construction of the flower or bush. The wire stems should feel sturdy and strong. Foliage should be securely attached, and pop-on style leaves should not come off easily.
Next, move on to the flower head. Quality artificial flowers have many layers and great detail, which combine to create a more realistic-looking product. Although a bit of fraying on silk petal edges is normal, it should be minimal.
The process of selecting quality artificial floral bushes is similar. Many florists prefer to purchase wholesale silk flowers by the bush, later cutting them into individual stems for arrangements. This often results in a lower cost than purchasing individual silk flower stems, an important factor in today’s business environment. Just make sure you are using the right tools—bunch cutters or wire cutters—so you make clean cuts and don’t harm the visual or feeling of the flowers and foliage.
Now that we know the basics about today’s silk flowers, why else do you need this guide?
“By understanding silk flowers’ features and benefits, it gives you more tools in your toolbox,” says American Institute of Floral Designers professional Tom Bowling AIFD, PFCI: “More opportunities and more creativity.”
Like any artist, having a variety of media available, and understanding how to use them, opens the doors to innovation.
“We’ve experienced a lot of supply chain challenges in the past few years, and that’s not going away anytime soon,” continued Bowling. “I’m talking about supply and demand of certain colors or varieties of fresh flowers that are often used in all segments of our industry, from everyday to wedding and event work.”
Protecting yourself from the volatility of supply, and potential inflated pricing, when there is a limited supply, is key for a profitable business. By becoming more familiar with silk flowers, designers find a backup, or even better, a source for some materials. This results in less stress in seasonal and event purchasing.
Faux materials have consistent quality, color and availability year-round. This allows for better planning—the key to any profitable design business. By getting the materials in, teammates can work ahead, reducing labor costs by working “normal” hours.
Even before the supply chain issues of the s, the cost of fresh flowers could become cost-prohibitive for clients. When the same colors and style can be achieved with permanents, everyone wins.
Now that you’ve gotten more familiar with silk flowers and why they are important to a profitable business, we had some notable designers share some ideas for using them today.
Flower walls have now hit the mainstream, and designers are sure to get a lot of requests for them. Faux materials are important to creating these walls on time and on budget. Create bases for backdrops, arches, and flower walls in permanents, and then add water tubes or floral cages to the base to achieve a personalized look for the client.
And, for clients who are looking for the emerging trend, “We are seeing changes in wedding backdrops, arches, flower/foliage walls,” said Tom Bowling, AIFD, PFCI. “Different armatures of permanent materials that hang over a bride’s table, and different shapes and sizes.”
Trending today are hexagon or hoop forms instead of traditional arches. “You can create this base form in permanent flowers and then add water tubes or floral cages to the base to achieve the look, feel, and fragrance the customer desires,” explains LaFever.
Unique shapes on-trend mean unique mechanical challenges. When working with the wire and polypropylene of permanent florals, you don’t have to worry about crushing a delicate living cell structure. Weaving, spinning, and twisting are without consequence to the flower’s longevity. Permanent structures save you time and ensure stability and transportability event after event.
By building a neutral base of artificial foliage and flowers, these structures can be repurposed. When adding fresh flower insertions, it achieves the goal of the perfect color palette, fragrance, and texture your clients desire. Layering fresh and silk flowers can be seamless with today’s available product. To get the best of both worlds, combine silk and fresh.
Tablescapes allow for a combination of materials—mixing containers, candles, found objects, and flowers to create a mood for the event. Silk florals can work well in those objects that aren’t sized or made for the industry. Unusual containers may not be watertight, so filling them with fresh flowers isn’t an option. Found objects like old books or sheet music that bring a mood together would be damaged by fresh flowers and water, but working with silk is safe.
The bonus is…much of the design work done with faux materials can be reused or resold for another event.
Now that you see the real opportunity for silk flowers, we know you need to make sure it appeals to your customers. You’ll find they are more perceptive than you may have thought!
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Simulated Cactus Supplier. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.