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HEARTFELT RECYCLING FOR BUDDING COMMUNITY SERVICE
Recently, Flower Shop Network attended the Texas State Florists Association Convention in San Marco, Texas. While there, we had a local San Marco florist, It’s The Tropics, come in and give our trade show booth some life with their fabulous tropical arrangement.
Once the show was over, there was really nothing we could do with it. We had a 14 hour drive ahead of us in an SUV packed completely full! I hated to just throw it away… Lucky for us, the TSFA came up with a brilliant idea to recycle the flowers from the show!
They sat out a ton of bubble bowl vases with curly willow and some greenery — arrangements just begging for fresh flowers! The attending florists were invited to build arrangements out of the flowers left over from the show. These recycled arrangements were then taken to a local hospital to brighten someone’s day. What a great surprise!
This is just one of the great ways the floral associations are helping local communities. This is a pretty common act for conventions like these, but it was fascinating to see our design recycled.
After being recycled, here are the 3 floral designs built from our tropical arrangement.
FSN’s Favorite Flower Arrangement For August
This summer is way too hot to be traveling; show your long-distanced, someone special you care by sending summer flowers! Your friend, mom or grandmother’s face will glow for weeks after receiving this stunning bouquet.
Use Flower Shop Network’s handy local florist directory to find your city florist and ask about summer flowers today!
FSN At The Texas State Florists Association Convention
This past weekend, July 23-25, Flower Shop Network had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Texas State Florist Association Convention in San Marcos, Texas. The theme was “The Green Life” and we learned a lot about what it means to be ‘green’ in the floral industry.
View ALL photos from the Texas State Florists Association Convention…
2010 Tour de France Bouquets
I must admit, I’ve never been a big fan of cycling before, but the 2010 Tour de France has really piqued my interests. Jamie, our Plant Expert, is really excited about it and the energy is rubbing off.
One of the most fascinating things that’s really caught my eye has to be the winner’s bouquets — they were all so unique. After a bit of research, the bouquets match the winner’s specific jersey, which in cycling means a lot. It was such a creative use of flowers, I just had to share!
Read More About 2010 Tour de France Bouquets…
FSN Congratulates Megan Rudloff — Winner of Texas Cup
Flower Shop Network would like to congratulate Texas floral designer, Megan Rudloff for taking home the prestigious, Texas Cup for floral design. The Texas State Florists Association’s Texas Cup is an annual floral design competition. The winner of the Texas Cup is awarded entry to the Society of American Florist’s Sylvia Cup Competition and the National Alliance of Floral Association’s Designer of the Year competition.
Congratulations again, Megan! We know you’ll go far!
Read more about Megan Rudloff, winner of the Texas Cup…
ASK THE EXPERT
Every week our Plant Expert answers YOUR most challenging plant care & identification questions.
Question About The Safety OF Fresh Cut Flowers On A Wedding Cake
Ask the Expert: Placing fresh cut flowers on wedding cakes My customer would like a cake topper with florals, and many flowers cascading at an angle around the cake. Is it safe to place the stem in to the cake and well as the flower resting on the cake icing?
Our Expert’s Answer
Answering the question “What is an edible flower?” isn’t easy. The answer can vary even within a particular bloom depending on the way it was grown and processed. The strongest factor is that the flower can not be inherently poisonous. This doesn’t mean that the flower necessarily tastes good.
The best way I can answer your question is to first clarify the difference between edible flowers and flowers that are safe to use on wedding cakes.
Edible flowers are those flowers that are safe to consume. Read More About Fresh Cut Flowers On Wedding Cakes…
Have you ever brushed up against a lily and gotten pollen all over your favorite shirt? To avoid the dreaded pollen catastrophe make sure you remove the pollen. When your lily bloom opens wide enough, take a soft paper towel and gently pop the anther (pollen) off of the filament. Then you can dispose of the pollen and avoid the messy pollen.
WE’RE SOCIAL
Love flowers? Follow us on the above Social Networks! We are always sharing the latest articles from our Bloomin’ Blog, as well as the most fascinating news on the net!
DESIGN INSPIRATION CHALLENGE
Congratulations to Hope Floral, Hope AR for winning Round 3 of our challenge. See more Round 3 entries.
Last month’s Design Inspiration Challenge proved to be a BIG hit with florists! With each round our contest gets bigger and bigger, thanks to our wonderful florists!
Design Inspiration Challenge: Round 4 is on right now! Check it out!
JUST FOR FLORISTS
MARKETING + COMMUNICATION: Recommit To Your Marketing Plan
Effective marketing is all about establishing a relationship with your customers. More so than money, time and planning are the crucial marketing components needed. Engaging your customer is the key. As a result, everything you say or do is a marketing tool and directly related to your sales.
Read more about the florists and marketing…
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION??
Florists: Do you carry a sketchbook? Do you even use a sketchbook? I already hear people whining, “But I can’t draw!” This is not a problem! You don’t need to draw.. you just need to remember. Next time you see something with an interesting shape, balance or even great colors together.. jot it down! Take a photo with your phone. You just need to remember what you’ve seen. Next time you need to whip up a masterpiece of floral design, turn to your sketchbook and…
More about using a sketchbook to get inspiration for floral design…
FLORAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR YOUR FLOWER SHOP
Floral backdrops are a great way to accent your environments. By advertising themes in your shop with environments and photos posted to Facebook, it encourages new ideas in your customers. Setting up these great party environments you can show many different ways of decorating with floral design. Whenever you think of a new party theme, change your environment.. This really shows you’re creativity and puts people in the party mood!
Read more about floral environments for your flower shop..
AUGUST 2010 — FLORAL CONVENTIONS AND FLOWER SHOWS
August 6-8, 2010: The 2010 Tennessee State/Central Tennessee Professional Florists Association Convention will be held at the Franklin Mariott Cool Springs in Franklin, Tennessee. Florists and non-member florists are invited to attend.
August 13-15, 2010: The 2010 North Carolina State Florist Convention will be held at the Embassy Suites in Greensboro, North Carolina. Florists and non-member florists are invited to attend.
August 19-22, 2010: The Arkansas Florists Association Convention and Trade Market will be held in Hot Springs Arkansas. Florists and non-member florists attending will enjoy the “Nightmare on Convention Blvd” theme.
August 27-29, 2010: The 2010 Southern Retail Florist Convention will be held at the Embassy Suites in Concord, North Carolina. Florists and non-member florists are invited to attend.
View More Floral Conventions and Flower Show on the Calendar.
What do you think of our new monthly newsletter format? Your opinion really matters to us. With your help, we can make the FSN newsletter just what you want and need. You can drop us a note in the comment section on the blog or email us at social@flowershopnetwork.com. We can’t wait to hear from you!
This month’s Quick Flower Care Tip is very useful. Sometimes we forget to remove the pollen and it gets on our clothing. Mary at Ideal Floral & Gifts had a great tip for removing pollen from your clothing – use a piece of tap to lift off the pollen.