Talent BY JULIE MARTENS FORNEY EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT


My favorite flower: “It’s controversial, but it’s probably the carnation. A lot of people give it a bad rap, but they’re so versatile. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Just like florists, they have to wear many hats and look terrific in a funeral arrangement or bouquet.”


Alex Maier


Floral Processor House of Flora Flower Market Hartford, Connecticut


> Before shifting to floristry, most of Alex Maier’s job experience was in the medical field. “As a certified EMT, I have volunteered in ambulances, worked in hospitals, and dabbled in the funeral home industry,” he says. “Those jobs let me see the impact of flowers in people’s everyday lives.” But it was his work in hospice that


clarified his passion for flowers. “Being around people nearing the final chapter of their lives, I saw how flowers could touch someone. Patients would say things like, ‘Those are the daisies my husband got me for our first date in 1956,’ or ‘Those are the same roses my grandmother had in her garden.’ It moved something within me, and I knew I had to get into the floral industry,” he shares. The opportunity came when he


spotted a job posting at his local florist, 51-year-old House of Flora Flower Market. Alex wasted no time handing his résumé to fourth-generation florist


Tracy Parke. He was hired the next day. As he pursues a floral career, Alex is learning more about the industry, in part through events such as SAF’s 1-Day Profit Blast in Cranston, Rhode Island, in April. “I want to give a huge shout-out to the entire floral community for being so welcoming,” he says. “Everyone I’ve met has been so eager to see me start up and learn. People I don’t even know are so proud to hear I’ve just started. I couldn’t be more grateful.”


What surprises me most about this industry: “How DIY it is. If you have a problem with an arrangement or have to make an installation, you grab the super glue, duct tape, foam — and figure it out. I also didn’t realize how customizable things are. It’s not just flowers in a vase. There’s so much skill and expertise behind each arrangement. Health care has protocols. You follow a list of steps to reach a diag- nosis and treat the issue. In the floral industry, if you have a problem, you look into your brain, talk to others, and even- tually the solution comes up.”


14 FLORAL MANAGEMENT | July/Aug 2025 | WWW.SAFNOW.ORG


Biggest challenge I’m facing: “When you have a phone ringing, a designer needing a specific flower, and a customer who needs attention, it’s hard to prioritize because everything is so important. It’s even harder for me, because I want to do things 110% all the time. Experience is the answer, learning how to do a job efficiently but also prop- erly. Richard Brancifort, the shop owner, has been in the industry 50 years. He jug- gles all the tasks and looks like he’s doing it perfectly. It’s like watching Superman in action. The longer I work in this indus- try, the better I’ll get at it. It’s a matter of patience and having an open mind.”


Apps I can’t live without: “CapCut and Canva, the video and image editing apps. When I was a teen I was into the idea of content creating. I won- dered how people made such captivating and beautiful videos. It’s the music, the lighting, the filming — everything, really — and these apps facilitate a lot of that. They help me be efficient with creat- ing the shop’s social media content on Instagram, which is our No. 1 channel.”


My Best Advice: “I really dislike the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t- fix-it mindset. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you don’t like how something is done, but there’s noth- ing wrong with trying something new. Innovation doesn’t need a reason. Also, it’s important to look up to the people who have come before you. Their expe- rience is invaluable. They’re such a huge source of knowledge and can teach you things you won’t find in a book.”


Julie Martens Forney is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.


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