In the Spotlight: Featured uBloomer, Geena Bennett

A couple of months ago uBloom reached an exciting milestone…5000 registered members! At that time, we briefly introduced you to the florist who officially became our 5000th member…Geena Bennett , owner of Orem Floral & Gifts in Orem, UT. Last time we saw Geena, she was attending J’s Utah workshop and accepting an awesome JTV gift package from J! Today, I thought it would be fun for us to get to know Geena even better…so I made her our NEW Featured uBloomer! Check out my interview with her...Geena, how did you hear about uBloom.com and what were some of the reasons you joined our community?I heard about uBloom from an email Esprit Wholesale sent to our shop. They told us to sign up for better seats at the design workshop. So, I decided to check it out and register since I am always loving to learn new things to better our shop.What is your favorite thing about uBloom?I love the videos! I also enjoy all the helpful tips and great information that the site offers.How did you discover that you were uBloom’s 5,000th member?I honestly had no idea until J presented me with the package and announced that I was the 5,000th member at the design workshop I attended. Apparently, the girls at the shop knew, but since I had been home sick for a few days, I had no idea that was going to happen…so it was a pleasant surprise!Despite the fact that you were not feeling well, you made it to J’s workshop in Utah. While at the workshop, J presented you with a JTV products package and conducted a short interview with you (which he captured on his Flip video). What was your reaction to all that unexpected attention?It was a lot of fun and very exciting to be able to learn such great information from J…from both the workshop and the amazing videos I received. I was a little embarrassed about all the attention as I was not feeling or looking my personal best and almost did not make the show. Overall, I was very honored to receive the great product package and be able to learn from such an amazing designer!How did you get started in the floral industry?I got into the floral industry by working (very) part time as a bookkeeper for our shop’s former owner. I did that for almost a year before the owner decided he was ready to retire and sell the shop. At that point I had helped out with a few holidays and had learned boutonnieres and corsages. He had been asking the designers if they wanted to buy the shop and then told me I should buy it. I laughed about it, then, after discussing with my parents, we decided to go for it. It’s been a lot of learning since we didn’t have any prior experience with the floral industry - yet alone retail. I am still learning a lot of things and have great designers who do wonderful work.Where do you draw your inspiration from?I get most of my inspiration from websites, blogs, magazines, and online images of my favorite flowers. There are always such great floral designs from these sources that inspire me…and uBloom has become an incredible tool and inspiration for me as well.What is your favorite flower and why?That one is so hard for me. Honestly, I have so many different moods and I have flowers that match my moods.Bells of Ireland: I’m in love with their smell and how simple and yet, complex in detail they are. They have such a fresh smell and look to them.Gerbera: A fun and energetic flower that makes me happy, carefree and feeling young!Calla’s and other Lilies: They have such elegance and class with a bit of mystery and a hint of seduction.How would you describe your favorite design style?My favorite design style…I would have to say it’s the Garden Style since there are so many different ways to design a Garden Style arrangement. It can be traditional, contemporary or whatever fits the mood.What varieties of flowers and flower designs are "Best Sellers" at your shop?Gerbera’s are always hot sellers along with our Gerbera Topiary designs.What has been the most effective marketing strategy for your shop during this recession?Honesty and Understanding have been the key focus at our shop. We work within people’s budgets and try especially hard to make sure that our customers don’t ever feel that their budget is too small.Share a personal and/or business goal you have set for yourself.A personal goal of mine is to learn in-depth all the aspects of design and gain the self confidence in myself to trust my instincts and go with them.When you aren’t designing flowers and running a business…what are some hobbies or interests you enjoy on your "down" time?I enjoy running, spending time with my husband and kids, camping, going to the family cabin, 4-wheeling and researching different interests online.To see more of Orem Floral’s beautiful flower designs, check out their Blog!