Well I did it, I got a job as a floral designer in a shop....and then I quit it!!!! Life sure throws you some curve balls and this was definitely one for me. I got this job at a local greenhouse that had a floral shop within it. The environment seemed perfect and started out okay with all the positive feelings of orienting to a new job. Then the trial period of the job began and I was still enjoying it. I was getting to design tons of different pieces and help customers which I love. Compliments were given and I thought so far so good.
Then it was day two, three, four, and so on and well it wasn't the job that I pictured anymore. I was being berated, told to turn orders away or just flat out lie to customers, and asked to do designs that were nothing like the customer had ordered which made me very uncomfortable to associate my name with. I hate not doing work that a customer wants or substituting to the extent that a design looks nothing like what is wanted. When I brought this up I was ignored and pretty much told to do it this way. I wasn't being listened to or given any sense of direction of what the floral shops mission was. I came home crying or mad every day and it hadn't even been a week yet. We were still in the trial period of the job and they had already offered me a job to stay on, but I didn't feel like this was the right fit for me anymore. I asked for a meeting with the manager and had one, it just made it even more clear to me that this job was not for me if I wanted to fill fulfilled by what I was doing as a designer. So I thanked them for the opportunity and quit.
Sometimes you have to decide if something is really worth it and in this case being a designer in a negative environment was not for me. I love designing and being in a floral shop setting with people who are just as passionate about the job as well as working with customers to make them their dream designs. In this case I just wasn't willing to sacrifice my beliefs in how to be a great floral designer for the sake of making an extra dollar. I've worked in great floral shops and now have had a negative shop experience which I have already learned a lot from. I still am doing independent designs and orders, but will be on the lookout for a job in a new, better floral shop.
