INSPIRATION & EDUCATION

How Silk Flowers "Grow" - My Visit to a Silk Factory in China

By Sarah Botchick

Since my parents started Pioneer Wholesale Co. 3 years before I was born, I have been around silk flowers my whole life. I am sure I have looked at hundreds of thousands of artificial flowers in my life. However, on a recent design/purchasing trip to China, I got to really SEE silk flowers for the first time. This time we hesitantly asked the factory owner if we could tour the complete production facility. I was nervous – I didn't want to insult him or have him think we were mocking their conditions. Much to my surprise, he proudly showed us his facility and gave us a long, detailed tour, stopping so that we could take pictures of every step. I am in absolute awe about what it takes to create even one silk flower bush. I hope the below chronicle will help you all to understand how the artificial flowers that you use regularly “grow.”

For me, this was a life changing experience. It made me appreciate my life and my job. It made me appreciate what it takes to keep your company, our company, the business of our vendors, all afloat. We are all connected. What affects one of us affects us all. We are all dominoes, trying to keep standing. We all need each other, we all need to understand what the other is going thru. I now know why I can't necessarily have the exact flower that I think we should sell or that a customer might ask for. I now understand why the shading might be a little off from time to time. I understand why the samples or the shipment might run a week or two or three behind. I understand my vendor better, he understands us better, and hopefully my readers all have a new perspective. Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed this journey. This is just a fraction of what goes into making the artificial flowers that you use (we didn't even talk about the design process!) Please let me know if you have any more questions!