Roseland

Wholesale Luck

I have eventually found what seems to be a wholesale supplier to the florist trade. When I first went to find it, I discovered its hours were very different from normal shopkeepers' times, and it was closed. Today I found it open. But I nearly didn't even get in. I couldn't supply the correct numbers as a business. However, I think that because I couldn't speak the language, the woman gave up and let me go through, giving me the special number after I assured her I only wanted to buy floral tape. Or perhaps it was the pink umbrella and matching rosebud that pursuaded her! There were lots of pink things, many of which I've seen in some of the stores in Düsseldorf. It seems that pink, including pink felt ornaments, and purple will be fashionable this Christmas!

Florist Supplies

I encounter mini-adventures in my never-ending search for materials. My quest for green floral tape has taught me new vocabulary and is also taking me all over the city of Düsseldorf. This tape is used by people who make artificial flower arrangements. It is usually green, and it sticks to itself when stretched and heated by body temperature. It is crucial for the felt roses we are making for Malkasten. I brought some with me from Shetland, but we used it up by the end of the Kunstpunkte Open Studios.

I spent most of the week following the Kunstpunkte visiting every florist shop I passed, including the flower stalls in the central market, holding up my last few inches of precious green tape and asking if they had any to sell. One florist finally came up with some and sold me one roll for 3 Euros. It is wider and more plastic than the one I buy in the UK, but it works the same way.

After much sign language I figured out a name and location of a shop that might have it. To my utter amazement, I found the shop. They don't sell floral tape, but incredibly I did find pink felt ribbon at a knocked down price.