Expats
Clowning around with flowers
By Christine Laskowski and Du Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-25 13:40
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For those who have spotted a clown riding a motorbike through Beijing recently, we assure you that you were not imagining things.
The clown was just doing his job -making flower deliveries for Clown Fresh Flowers.
This innovative flower shop merges the pleasant surprise of a flower delivery with the humor and curiosity of having them presented personally - by a clown.
The gag initially sounds silly, but for owner Song Feifan, it is much more than a business. In 1997, at the age of 19, Song Feifan came to Beijing from Lingyi, a rural, mountain village in Shandong province.
He had learned a lot about Beijing from textbooks, which fueled a strong desire to see it for himself. But the transition was not easy.
"It was a really hard time," the slender, unassuming 32 year-old admitted, "I worked for six months, earning only 300 yuan a month."
But in 2003, Song found himself wandering around Wangfujing where he saw a little girl failing to sell roses to a couple passing by.
"My immediate thought was: 'If I were that little girl, how would I convince that man to buy his girlfriend that rose?' And for some reason, I thought of clowns."
Song sat on the idea for three years, and even opened a small restaurant in the interim, until finally in 2006 he decided to experiment selling flowers to tourists at Houhai.
So Song paid a tailor a visit and asked them to fit him with a clown suit; well, several suits.
"They didn't understand what I was asking," he told METRO, laughing. "So I told them what I wanted, brought photos and told them to make a few different suits, so I could pick the best out of them."
Knowing that his idea truly had business merit, Song opened his first store right before Mother's Day in 2006 on Jiugulou Street.
But Song did not hire someone to dress as a clown to make deliveries until he moved the shop to its second Jiugulou location. Apparently, not everyone's cut out for the job, and Song knows exactly what he's looking for.
"I'd found a student who had just graduated from university who was looking to do something different," Song said about his very first clown delivery employee. "I needed someone who was outgoing, not shy of speaking and acting in public, and really a very open person."
Wang Bingren, Clown No 01003, is 22 years old and has been working as a delivery clown for Clown Fresh flowers for six months.
He had just returned from a delivery to a wedding when METRO got the opportunity to speak with him, dressed in full clown garb, from the bulbous red nose to the baggy, rainbow jumper.
Wang's favorite part of the job?
"When the customer smiles after they receive the flowers, definitely," he said. "There's a Chinese proverb that says: When you give roses to people the fragrance stays with you," he said, adding.
"It's hard to explain the happiness I feel when I do this job. All I know is that it's infectious."
Currently, Song is the proud owner of three Clown Fresh Flowers franchises in Beijing with locations also in Haidian District and Guomao.
He has a total of 18 employees, seven of which are delivery clowns.
Delivery is free if the cost of flowers is over 80 yuan, within the Fourth Ring Road.
Flowers (namely roses, lilies, and daisies) are approximately five yuan a piece, and bouquets and arrangements range from 200-400 yuan for 20-33 flowers, and 700-1,000 yuan for 99 flowers.
On bad or stressful days, Song says he suits up and makes deliveries because it makes him feel better.
"Because I'm the boss, I don't have to," he said, "But there's something magical about wearing that costume. Once I'm out there delivering, I'm talking to people and I'm bringing a little happiness to their day."
"And this is what I want," he continued," to be a bridge between people."
