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We are entering the fourth week of a drastic new normal we never saw coming. It’s been overwhelming, debilitating, frightening and left many feeling hopeless. Over the last three weeks wholesalers and flower farmers domestically and internationally have had to make difficult decisions to cease their operations or pivot to accommodate the change. Each day continues to bring us change with how the farms and wholesalers are operating. While no one knows how long this crisis will last or what it will look like on the other side we have to prepare ourselves for what that new normal may look like. What’s our Plan B for domestic floral sourcing? I’ve spent the last three weeks trying to provide as much information as I can with updates on Instagram and Facebook - pushing details as quickly as they were coming out from farms, organizations and wholesalers. Many of you have reached out for assistance to know where to find flowers as your normal chain of supply changed. I hope I’ve helped guide you in the right direction for your current situation and appreciate that you sought a new way to continue. The only way any of us will come out of this situation successfully is thinking differently and evolving - however that may look for you as a designer, flower farmer or wholesaler. The playbook is being written daily and pivoting is key. You can find the links below to flower farms shipping direct to retail and designers below. Some are doing this temporarily and some are permanently. This is not a comprehensive list of all the farms throughout the U.S. but a free resource provided by The California Cut Flower Commission of California farms and also a list provided by Certified American Grown Flowers of their coalition of member farms. If you are looking to connect with flower farmers in your local communities I encourage you to check these free resources: If you are looking for wholesalers still shipping to retail shops and designers here are the ones that I know of as of today that are shipping California and locally grown product: If you are a farm that is shipping, or know of a wholesaler that is shipping domestic product please reach out and let me know! We are in this together and the best way to stay strong and grow from this is to keep the communication and information flowing! Education and knowing your options is key. As always let me know how I can best serve this community - never hesitate to connect with me! Be well and stay strong floral friends, Kelly
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