Participating in the Philadelphia Flower Show in 2024 was a whirlwind of creativity, learning, and connection. It was the perfect opportunity to bring my wood flower creations to a new & enthusiastic audience, and every moment, from designing my first 10×10 booth to crafting unique floral arrangements, pushed my business forward.
I was thrilled to be a part of the Marketplace, a curated space on the show floor featuring vendors offering everything from decorative garden wares to home décor and more. With such a vibrant and diverse selection, it was an exciting (and, let’s be honest, intimidating) place to showcase my work.
Preparing for the Show
Building Inventory: Late Nights & Lots of Dyeing
With less than two months to prepare for an 11-day event, I knew I had my work cut out for me. The first step? Sourcing an abundance of materials: vessels (flower pots), wood flowers, greenery, etc., all while balancing my regular orders.
Once the shipments arrived, I got to work preparing each vessel. That process starts with carefully unpacking and inspecting them for imperfections. Even the smallest flaw could compromise stability, especially in the next step: spray foaming.
Since spray foam expands significantly, each vessel needs 24+ hours to fully cure before another round of inspection. Only after passing these checks do I add my custom branding stickers and get them ready for the fun part: creating the one-of-a-kind arrangements that would fill my booth.
If you’d like to see more about my prepping process, check out this blog post.
Of course, prepping flowers is a whole other challenge. Hand-dyeing each bloom takes way longer than most people realize. When dipping, I have to separate each petal to ensure there aren’t any spots where the natural ivory shows. Also, every flower needs at least 24 hours to dry, meaning my craft room was constantly covered in batches of drying flowers. It was a long process of mixing colors, dipping flowers, and waiting for them to dry.
For this show, I stepped outside of my usual dark, moody palettes and went with more mainstream colors like soft blush, warm neutrals, and even pastels. Golden yellows and purples were especially popular, and even though they weren’t my usual picks, I loved how they turned out!
One of the standout items of my booth were my airbrushed hydrangeas, a technique I experimented with specifically for the show.
Seeing the colors come to life during the airbrushing & dip-dyeing process was incredibly satisfying.
Tooth Arrangements: An Unexpected Hit
Another surprise best-seller? My oversized ceramic tooth arrangements! While they’re always a hit at shows like World Oddities Expo and Monster Mania Con, I didn’t expect them to fly off the shelves at the Philadelphia Flower Show… but they did! I sold so many that I had to bring more and make them on-site. Multiple attendees watched me create a tooth arrangement and bought them up before I could even put them on display. It was amazing to see such an unexpected audience appreciate my weird and whimsical florals!
Designing My Booth
Planning the Layout
Designing a booth for such a massive event required a lot of thought. I even taught myself a 3D modeling program to experiment with different layouts to try to maximize visibility and enough space for foot traffic.
Requirements for the Show
Participating in the Philadelphia Flower Show came with a pretty long set of requirements. For example: vendors were required to have extensive insurance coverage to protect their businesses and customers, every booth had to include flooring to maintain a polished look throughout the Marketplace, and there was a lot of paperwork to complete within the vendor portal. Also, for vendors who needed electricity, there was quite a hefty additional cost to have it installed.
A Mid-Show Pivot That Saved My Sales
My booth, after moving everything to the front.
Sales were great for the first weekend, but then Monday was just okay, and Tuesday was brutal. I knew I had to make a big change before the show opened on Wednesday.
Originally, I had set up my booth as a walk-in space, but the vendors on either side of me had corner booths, with their displays along the edges. I think this unintentionally made people hesitant to step inside mine.
On Wednesday morning, before the doors even opened, I decided to move everything to the front of my booth—and the difference was immediate. More attendees stopped to check out my flowers, engagement skyrocketed, and sales bounced back to nearly weekend levels! It was a powerful reminder that booth layout, reading attendee behavior, and staying flexible are just as important as the products you’re selling.
The “Friendors” Who Made the Show Special
One of my favorite parts of the show was connecting with fellow Marketplace vendors. These talented creators, in particular, made the experience even more memorable:
Kirsten of Beyond the Wildflowers: transforms fresh flowers and antique glassware into timeless resin creations. By preserving blooms in resin and pairing them with vintage treasures, each piece becomes a stunning blend of nature and history, perfect for decor or keepsakes.
Maddie at Dainty Studio: a floral preservation and design business where Maddie turns fresh flowers into stunning pressed keepsakes. Alongside her preservation work, she designs apparel and accessories featuring Philadelphia-inspired designs.
Dajha of Merle’s Garden: creates handcrafted skincare and body products that nourish and indulge. From rich lotions and sugar scrubs to custom perfumes and fragrance-free options, each product is designed for everyday luxury and self-care.
Beyond their amazing artistry, they became a support system throughout the event. We shared tips, encouragement, and even participated in a daily bingo game to keep things fun.
Key Takeaways from the Flower Show
Booth Layout Matters. People may be hesitant to step into certain setups, especially when delicate products are involved. As previously mentioned, I think my neighbors’ setups impacted how attendees treated my booth. Keeping everything accessible from the front of my booth made a big difference.
Community is Everything. Connecting with fellow vendors made the slow days, especially when I began doubting myself, easier. It’s great to have people you can lean on who are going through the same experience.
Experimenting Pays Off. Trying new colors, techniques, and booth setups helped me grow as a creator and vendor. Being open to advice and suggestions, and keeping my layout flexible throughout the show really helped.
I can do hard things. After tackling the Philly Flower Show, I’m no longer intimidated by any market that comes my way. If I can handle that, I’m confident I can take on whatever else comes next.
Final Thoughts
Looking back on my experience at the 195th Philadelphia Flower Show, I’m incredibly grateful for the connections I made, the lessons I learned, and the chance to share my work with such an amazing audience. That’s why it’s bittersweet to be sitting 2025 out. I won’t lie, the FOMO is real! Seeing the excitement build again makes me miss being a part of it.
While I won’t be there this year, I’m not writing it off forever. Whether it’s returning to the Marketplace or trying out the smaller Makers Market, I’d love to be part of the show again in the future.
For now, I’m channeling that energy into new events, fresh designs, and more ways to share my wood flowers with you. If you’re looking for me this year, check out my 2025 market schedule. And don’t forget to check back! I’ll be adding more events throughout the year.
