Interview with Julie Poeltler AIFD PFCI, IMF, CAFA on the importance of Education and more...
Vonda gets a rare face-to-face interview this week with Julie Poeltler AIFD, PFCI — Teleflora education specialist, AIFD Symposium main-stage presenter, and owner of Julie's Fountain of Flowers in Lone Tree, Iowa, a town of about 1,500 people just outside Iowa City. Julie has been in business for 40 years, travels the country teaching design and business, and is one of the instructors in Flower Prep School. So why does someone with her credentials still sit in the audience at design classes? That question is the heart of this episode.
Why the "specialist" still takes classes
"I don't know it all — that's why I like going to classes," Julie says. Floral designers get creativity blocks just like writers get writer's block, and her rule for any presentation or Zoom class is simple: you only have to take away one thing. That one thing unlocks the block. She tells the story of a bride whose storyboard color palette she just couldn't crack — she stewed on it for months, then walked into AIFD Symposium the following July and there it was, right in front of her. She came for something else entirely and left knowing exactly how to make that wedding work.
Education also revives old favorites. Both women light up remembering Joyce Mason-Monheim's recent Halloween program with cobwebs and styrofoam — a technique they'd done years ago, presented with such enthusiasm it felt brand new. Sometimes it's the presenter's energy, as much as the technique, that sends you back to the shop inspired.
The Kodak warning for "know-it-all" shops
What about the successful shop owner who says things are going fine, so why learn anything? Vonda reaches for a pointed comparison: Kodak. The biggest, strongest company in its field thought it had it handled — and it isn't the big guy anymore. Shops that skip education miss trends, new varieties, and new products, and can end up "sitting back in the dust." Julie adds that showing up matters beyond your own learning: whether you're helping in the back room or sitting in the audience, being present supports the presenters and makes the whole industry stronger. And after months of COVID cutting off handshakes and hugs, attending a class — even virtually — restores a connection the industry badly missed.
A moon rock and 40 years of luck
Asked for her business secret, Julie tells one of the great stories of the episode: decades ago, a cute, bearded, motorcycle-riding gas station attendant who was moving back to Detroit gave her a brown, pockmarked rock he claimed was from the moon, promising it would bring her luck in business. She believed him. The rock has never left the store, and she swears it's the reason for 40 lucky years. Her more practical secret comes out when Vonda asks about her biggest challenge: when you have a bad day, go home, take a shower, "wash away the day," and start tomorrow with a whole new attitude — because dragging yesterday's attitude in just keeps the spiral going.
Door knockers, open-air markets, and pandemic creativity
When Iowa closed her shop in spring 2020 and labeled her "non-essential" — a word she wrote the governor about — Julie got creative. A florist friend in Sioux City suggested DIY doorstep pickup, so Julie sold $35 Easter baskets with two bundles of tulips and goodies from around the store. When customers wanted no-contact delivery, she rolled beautiful paper into cones, added ribbon, filled them with tulips, and invented her door knocker bouquets — which got more glamorous as she raided her unused prom supplies, and which customers went crazy for. She repeated them for Mother's Day, ran an open-air market outside the shop, and is planning porch pots and wreaths for Christmas plus a virtual open house.
Her message for shops right now: everybody, in every industry, is being forced to get creative — and that's the good she's taken from this rollercoaster. "This is the time you've got time to get creative and do things you've never done before."
Lori's Julie story
Lori closes with a confession from the 2018 AIFD Symposium, where she and Vonda's daughter-in-law Erica were helping on Vonda's team. On her very first snip, Lori sliced her finger open — and Julie calmly whisked her away with strict instructions: "Do not alert Vonda." Three band-aids later, Lori kept cutting. It's classic Julie: encouraging, funny, and a natural teacher, which is exactly why she serves as Flower Clique's strategic creative advisor. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram at Julie's Fountain of Flowers, and catch her Teleflora webinars. (Her favorite flower, for the record: freesia — and per J Schwanke's advice, don't cut the stems; just place them in a vase and let them bloom bottom to tip.)
Key takeaways
- Go to every class looking for just one takeaway — one idea is enough to unlock a creative block.
- No shop is too successful to learn; even Kodak got passed by. Education is how you catch trends and new varieties before your competition does.
- Bad day? Wash it away and start tomorrow with a new attitude instead of carrying the spiral forward.
- Constraints breed creativity — DIY pickup baskets, door knocker bouquets, and open-air markets all came out of a forced closure.
- Showing up at industry events strengthens the whole industry, not just your own skills.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist