“With all the existing differences, that might be the most striking: the mental resilience of entrepreneurs in this field, all around the globe. That really gets me."
John Elstgeest, who usually travels around the world to promote flowers everywhere, makes his 'grounding' useful, by interviewing people in the sector from all the continents. Growers and breeders in Africa, South America and Europe, traders in the Netherlands, China and the United States, a florist in England, a brand manufacturer - he listens to them all. He posts the conversations online, for everyone to profit from.
Clockwise, starting top left: no matter how big the crisis, Juan David with Deliflor Colombia, speaking with John Elstgeest and Jose Manuel with the Colombian grower Capiro, likes a laugh; Michael Black with Jet Fresh Flowers tells about the Miami flower trade; Peter Kertesz walks the viewer over the ornamental market in Kunming, China; Wouter Duijvesteijn with Beyond Chrysanten, who was first in the series and described the situation in his company last week.
“Peter Kertesz, an American in China, walks around the Kunming market, and I saw flowers there that I didn't even know were grown there. Michael Black with Jet Fresh Flowers comes up with ways to promote his flowers that might be quaint, but how amazing are they!", tells John. "You can learn so much from each other, in this time as well as any other, maybe even more because everyone has to face the same challenge."
After a dozen conversations, what is it that strikes him the most? "It's remarkable to see how a lot of things seem to be repeating in different countries, how everything follows each other. Like the virus: first China, then Italy, then the Netherlands, then England, then the United States started to take it seriously. the flower trade follows a similar pattern. The first week everything stops, the second week people estimate the damage, and after that they start trying things. Grief, accept, move forward. We have to come out better, is the common opinion. We're always in a hard business, and this isn't going to knock us down."
But the problems are big. China may have started up again, the grower who didn't get his bulbs or other starting material, is going to suffer from this for months. Markets are upside down, whole chains are interrupted, and the insecurity is huge everywhere, because what happens if measures get even stricter? "What's a big and worldwide problem, next to that, is the imbalance between demand and cargo capacity. The demand is there, but there are no flights. Or there are flights, but they charge up to five times more. It's totally out of proportion."
Maybe the outcome of all the conversations together is a bit colored, because the people he spoke to are of the combative kind. Not everyone sits behind the camera laughing, so to say. "Still, I hope people can learn from each other, and with this project I have no other goal than to help with that. The time that flowers sold themselves is long gone, but there are still chances. Chances might be in diversifying, in tapping into new markets, and certainly in highlighting the healthy qualities of our products. Flowers and plants are healthy, they make a house a home. They are physically and mentally healthy for the people in it."
You can see and listen to the conversations here.