The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Net Escape: Never mind the Web--Getenet Abahoy does some old-fashioned browsing among the new releases at Willow Glen Books, where customers foresake the information superhighway for the Sunday-drive pace of a good read.

L'Daisy Patch provides a fertile ground for interns

Store participates in floristry program at Mission College

By Michelle Ku

Good floral designers aren't born: They're nurtured until they blossom in creatively fertile settings like Mission College's Retail Floristry Program.

To make sure her students reach full flower, program coordinator Bonnie Chome sends them out into the retail world to gain work experience as interns. This fall Chome added Willow Glen's L'Daisy Patch to the list of 28 stores where her students receive on-the-job training.

L'Daisy Patch, which specializes in dry and silk flowers, will be the second silk specialty store involved in the work experience program, Chome says. "A lot of the other florists [in the program] do silk flowers also, but their primary business is in fresh flowers," she adds.

Interns at L'Daisy Patch will learn every aspect of working in a flower shop, from arranging flowers to ordering and pricing. From now until the school term ends in December, L'Daisy Patch interns will work a minimum of 25 hours on a volunteer basis.

The store was chosen to participate in the internship program because of its reputation and the quality of the floral designers on staff, Chome says.

"L'Daisy Patch sets a wonderful example of how a shop should look," she adds. "A shop should be appealing and inviting. It should leave you with a feeling that you were treated special as a consumer and definitely leave you with the desire to come back. I believe it does that."

Two of the floral designers at L'Daisy Patch have experience in the Retail Floristry Program. Karen Fox graduated from the program this past spring, and Karen Nadler will graduate from the program in spring 1999.

"Bonnie respects our work and our reputation," Nadler says of her instructor. "That she would want and trust us to teach her students is an honor. It's a way for [Fox and me] to give back what we've gotten."

L'Daisy Patch owner Laura Augusta says she's also honored that her store was chosen to participate in the program and is looking forward to working with the interns.

"Designers are like artists," she adds. "Every artist has a different style. All three of our designers have their own individual style. The interns have learned all the principals and fundamentals of flower design, and now they'll learn how to put it in practice."

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