Far East Orchid is a wholesale florist located along Thomson Road. They do sell fresh flowers, but as a paper florist, I usually bypass the cold room altogether aha. Basically FEO sells everything a florist would need, baskets, ribbons, different types of wrapping materials, vases, etc. I would be lying if I said I wasn't overwhelmed at times, so here's just 5 things I focus on getting.
5 THINGS I BUY FROM FAR EAST ORCHID
1. FLORAL WIRE So far, FEO is the cheapest seller of floral wire. Downside is, you have to buy them in packs of 100 or 200pcs, and, they do not sell #16. You'll find these at the back of the store where all the wrapping papers are. Here's where I stock up on my #18, #20, and #22 wires, especially #18 (usually 1 pack of 100 lasts me only 1 or 2 months aha).
2. FLORAL TAPE Unfortunately I forgot to snap pictures, but to find the floral tape, you have to go into the air-conditioned room on the right when you enter the store. The floral tape rolls are stacked in the metal cabinets right along the wall in the corner. 2 rolls cost $2.34.
3. FOLIAGE FEO sells a decent variety of synthetic foliage of pretty good quality, though some are pricey. Again, I apologize for not snapping photos. :(
4. WRAPPING MATERIALS FEO sells ROLLS AND ROLLS of different bouquet wrappings. Honestly there are so many different kinds, and being someone who isn't very knowledgeable about wrapping materials, its quite overwhelming. To simplify matters, I usually stick to kraft wrap, but occasionally I'll buy different rice paper wraps to experiment with as well. Oh, and ribbons too.
5. FLORAL FOAM Now, I'm not a fan of floral foam, as its been said that they're not great for the environment. I'm trying to use less of these nowadays, but with some arrangements, you can't really create the structure/ layers you want without floral foam. FEO sells a huge assortment of foam in different shapes in sizes, but more often than not I buy the normal brick-sized foam and cut them myself at home.
All in all, I would say a trip to FEO is warranted once you're planning to make more flowers and need to stock up. Otherwise, most of the materials can be found in other smaller craft stores or florists. It makes a fun trip though, you can grab some fresh flowers along the way too!
Keep Blooming,
Eileen