Home Shop Flowers Bloomin' Blog Find Florists About FSN Contact FSN Florists Only!
Find Your Local Florist:
Home Shop Flowers Bloomin' Blog Find Florists About FSN Contact FSN Florists Only!

5 Jaw-Dropping Winter Centerpieces

Yes, your dining room table CAN look like that!

With the help of your local florist, of course.

This winter see how your local florist can totally transform a space. Take a look at these five gorgeous designs and how they bring a sophisticated style to the home.
[Read more…]

Succulent Inspired Trends

From home decor to fashion and especially weddings, succulents with their unique textures and bold forms have quickly become the hottest new trend. These durable little plants are easy to care for and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Keep reading to see some of the latest surprising succulent trends this season!

[Read more…]

How to Decorate for Fall With Flowers

A new season means new opportunities to decorate. Add a floral centerpiece to your dining room table and a few fall flower arrangements around the living room and it will feel like you have redecorated your home! Here are some easy ways to incorporate beautiful fall flowers and the shades of the season into your home decorations.

[Read more…]

Wedding Trend: Suspended and Hanging Flowers

Photo by: Ginger Lily & Rose

Bring innovative design and breathtaking views to your wedding day with the use of suspended and hanging flowers. This dramatic wedding trend can instantly add depth and elegance to an outdoor or indoor space. Find ideas for your wedding venue with these inspirational images. Remember to save the pictures you like so your florist can make your vision come to life!

Romantic

This beautiful photo shows how hanging flowers can give your space an intimate feeling.

Photo by: Mod Wedding

[Read more…]

Florists’ Tools of the Trade

Every job requires some type of tool.  A writer needs a pen and paper (or laptop). An artist needs a brush and paint.  A florist also needs a specific set of tools.  This not only makes life easier, but allows for the proper care of the flowers.  

Have you ever tried to cut flower stems and ended up with a horrible mess?  Florists avoid this and are able to have nice clean cuts because they use specific cutters.  Knives, shears, scissors, and wire cutters are all used.  Each one has a different job and serves a unique purpose.  Knives and floral shears are used to cut stems.  They allow for a clean cut without damaging the stem.  Scissors are usually saved for ribbon and wire cutters are used for…wire.lilyrosecarnationdaisy

There are also several ways florists are able to make arrangements stay exactly how they want them.  Floral foam, wire, tape, and glue are just a few examples.  Several flower stems can be taped together to create a fuller look.  Foam can be soaked in water, allowing the flowers to last longer after they are placed.  Wire adds stability, and can also be used to create a unique look in the design.


Creating beautiful flower arrangements is tough work.  There are many elements of design that are applied.  These tools help florists make sure your arrangement is perfect. Only at your local florist will you find beautifully hand-designed arrangements. Find a florist near you to order some fresh flowers today!


Find A Florist

FSN Shop Earns High Acclaim

Launched in the fall of 2008 out of Gwyneth Paltrow’s kitchen, Goop was originally conceived as a weekly e-mail newsletter. Now it has transformed into a popular website where readers can find suggestions about where to shop, eat, and stay from a trusted friend—not from an anonymous, crowd-sourced recommendation engine.

Goop publishes articles about the best florists across the country and even overseas. Lotus Designs, a FSN member, made their list of the top six florists in Boston, MA.  Goop praised this flower shop for their inherent talent in floral design.

Visit Goop’s website to see the full article.

Lotus Designs is a neighborhood shop located in Boston’s South End. They welcome walk-ins and deliver all over town (about a 20-mile radius from the store) provided your flower order is a minimum of $60-plus. And you can place orders online, too. Their cut-off for same-day delivery is 3pm. Lotus Designs carries a little bit of everything but they specialize in fresh cut flowers and orchids. They also do weddings and events.

David, a dedicated and loyal Lotus Designs customer spoke highly about his experiences saying, “I always order my flowers from your shop. My wife is always completely thrilled with the beauty of your arrangements and she is a pretty avid gardener. The quality of the arrangements is outstanding.”

At Flower Shop Network we love to see our florists recognized for their dedication to superior design and quality. Congratulations and keep up the hard work!

New Beginnings from The About Flowers Blog

Ready for the new year? We are too! Time for new adventures, new ideas, and more reasons to celebrate with flowers! Here is an article about 2016 floral inspiration from our friends at SAF’s blog, aboutflowersblog.com.

Old Rituals and New Beginnings
by J. Robbin Yelverton

Celebrations are used to mark significant dates and occasions and New Year’s Eve is certainly no new face to the party!  In fact, the celebration of Winter Solstice and the beginning of the New Year is one of the oldest. For most Westerners, that day of celebration has evolved and moved from the original December 21 to the beginning of the Gregorian calendar, January 1st. Other cultures celebrate the New Year on various dates, however, with all the diversity, there are some underlying themes.  The New Year is seen as a time to set things straight, wash the slate, out with the old and in with the new, and reflection and renewal.


New-Years-Old-Symbols-New-Beginnings
In recognition of the many symbols and rituals used to usher in the New Year, this arrangement has been carefully and thoughtfully created. A golden long and narrow rectangular container serves as the base of the design to represent the prosperity of the New Year…

To read the full article click the link below! And don’t forget to ask your local florist for an amazing arrangement to start your new year off right!

Read More

Designing With Mannequin Madness

As visual designers, it’s no surprise that we want our shops to draw the eye. Mos of us depend on our visually appealing store front window displays and the pictures of our designs that show off our skills on social media.

Customers are instantly invited in by design, and what better way to showcase your floral abilities than with unique displays from Mannequin Madness.

Recycled Art
Judi Henderson, owner of Mannequin Madness, turned an idea into a business when she found mannequins on Craigslist.

Quickly, her business of selling, renting and repurposing used mannequins turned from an inventory of 50 to 500. What’s unique about Henderson’s business is her use of mannequins as decorative pieces in floral arrangements and even as Christmas trees.

Design Madness
The company’s Pinterest has many floral ideas using mannequins and offers inspiration for customers in the floral industry.

“Many florists use my products for floral centerpieces, holiday arrangements, and fashion forward flower displays,” Henderson said.

Henderson believes that a shop’s display is an important aspect of a flower shop in order to draw customers into a sale.

“Displays catch attention which then turn to high impulse purchases,” she said. “Florists are competing with online all the time, this makes them unique. Your window is a 24-hour ad.”

From heads to torsos to full forms, Mannequin Madness has everything a florist needs to create a truly original work of art for their storefront.

Whether it’s a holiday tree dress display or an arrangement on a mannequin for a modern affair, look no further than Mannequin Madness!

Happy Floral Design Day!

At Flower Shop Network, we love our members and we wanted to take a little time today to tell you that we are blown away by all the art you share with us on our blog and Facebook page. Keep doing what you do because local florists ROCK!

Pictures starting from top left going clockwise:

Garden Gate Gift and Flower Shop from North Salem, IN

Oak Bay Flower Shop Ltd. from Victoria, BC

Jocelyn’s Floral Inc. from Cedar City, UT

Oran’s Flower Shop from Kingston, TN

Petals in Thyme from Wasaga, ON

A&A Floral Arts from Chicago, IL

Creative Design for a ‘Close-Knit’ Community

We often get stories from our florists about special arrangements they create for their customers. One unique arrangement created by the folks at City Trading Post in Winona, Mississippi has intrigued the community and showcases how this florist commemorates a fellow neighbor.

James H. “Doobie” Palmertree was the owner of the Palmertree Fence Company and passed away in early January. Known throughout the community, Linda Montague, owner of City Trading Post, knew she had to create something special when his family approached her for a funeral arrangement.

According to Linda, her flowershop is known for doing personalized arrangements and this order was no different. But there was one problem–Linda was away at a conference.

“I was in Alabama at a show and my son, who works on the pipeline, took the call,” Linda said. “He said, ‘Ma, I think I can handle this.'”

Curtis Montague helped his mother create a chainsaw 3D arrangement. For this creation he used styrofoam, pipe cleaners, a PVC pipe, and an actual blade cover donated by a local small engine repair shop that knew Palmertree. The shop created both a chainsaw arrangement and a picket fence arrangement for Palemertree’s funeral service.

The Montague family is no stranger to Linda’s flowershop business. Both her sons, who work on the pipeline, have been known to help around the shop every now and then. Linda’s daughter also helps out by decorating the windows and running the Facebook page.

City Trading Post has created many unique arrangements, like the chainsaw, for customers. From a pack of Juicy Fruit Gum to football jerseys made of flowers, this flower shop has done it all and is always looking for a new challenge.

City Trading Post enjoys showcasing their artistic abilities, but the ultimate goal, according to Linda, is to create something that represents the loved one and can bring the family together.