Find Your Jamie from FSN had a great opportunity to interview Tim Huckabee, president of FloralStrategies at the 2011 SAF Growth Solutions Conference in Dallas. FloralStrategies is the only on-site training program in the entire floral industry that teaches critically important customer care skills. [Read more…]
The Importance of Flowers For Cremation Urns
April 26, 2011 by 4 Comments
The iconic, casket flower arrangement has become a staple in our funeral flower traditions. Open or closed casket, the large spray of lush flowers and foliage has a way of calming our spirits in a time of loss. Beautiful flowers have a way of enhancing the atmosphere at somber events. Additionally, it gives guests something to talk about that is comforting and uplifting.
But what if there is no casket?
What if the deceased chose to be cremated, can you use flowers on a funeral urn? Absolutely! Florists everywhere are creating magnificent floral displays for funeral urns that are equally as impressive as the traditional casket spray.
Cremation flowers can be personalized to celebrate the life of the departed by using the their favorite flowers and colors. Incorporate favorite hobbies and pastimes into your flowers. If they were an avid gardener or loved to fish, use some of their equipment within the flowers to better represent them. Treat flowers for cremation urns just the same as you would in planning for casket flowers.
Below, Robbin Yelverton of Blumz… by JR Designs in Detroit & Ferndale MI walks us through creating flowers for cremation urns.
Behind The Scenes At The Illinois State Florist Convention
March 15, 2011 by 1 Comment
We just got back from the Illinois State Florist Convention in Springfield IL. The theme was “Let it Rock” and a rockin‘ time was had by all! We enjoyed great presentations, delicious food, and wonderful shopping at the trade show. Above all else, this show had the most floral designs I think I’ve ever seen at one show — table after table of jaw-dropping, show-stopping floral ART!
These shows are so important for florists to come out and be apart of the experience. Not only will you learn all of the NEW things happening in our industry, you will be filled to the brim, if not overflowing with creativity and NEW ideas. While at the show, I met up with Rae Griffith, President of the Illinois State Florists Association. She was kind enough to give me and all of our Flower Shop Network followers a walking tour of the whole show! I wanted our florists who had never been to anything like this to see just what they’re missing! Come on out and recharge your creative batteries at your state floral convention! Be sure to check out the video below! [Read more…]
FSN at the Great Lakes Expo 2011
March 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment
This year’s Great Lakes Floral Expo was a big hit! Flower Shop Network had a fantastic time meeting many of our Northern florist friends.
In the above video, Loranne Atwill of Flower Shop Network interviews Rod Crittenden, executive vice president of the Michigan Floral Association. Rod tells FSN followers all about the incredible show they’ve set up this year. Florists enjoyed an amazing design contest, 7 design workshops and an all-day workshop by J. Swanke. There were 10 business sessions, 6 stage design shows, and more! (View video on YouTube)
As a florist, it’s so important to stay on our heels when it comes to business. Attending these floral conferences is the best way to stay ahead in this industry.
We can’t wait to see YOU at our next convention!
How To: 2 Great Floral Pocket Square Designs
November 17, 2010 by 3 Comments
Just a few weeks ago, we featured a story about the new trend, floral pocket squares. Many wedding florists are offering the floral pocket squares as an alternative to boutonnieres. Floral pocket squares are a great look for weddings, proms, and special events. Here are two great styles to try today!
How To Make A Floral Pocket Square
To make your pocket square, you will need:
- Craft Foam
- Scissors
- Floral Glue
- Floral Design Elements (flowers, leaves, whatever you would like to use to design your pocket square)
To make the pocket square:
- Cut your craft foam length way to fit into your pocket. This should leave about 3 inches for designing.
- Next, plan your design by laying your floral design elements in the places you are planning to put them. This way
you can judge if you need more flowers, foliage, etc. - Begin to slowly glue down your design elements making sure to cover all the way to the edges of your craft foam.
- Once you are finished with your design, insert the newly-made pocket square into the suit jacket pocket and determine how much you need to trim off the bottom.
- Trim the bottom of your pocket square to fit inside the pocket.
- Watch my video above for detailed instruction!
Thanks for checking out this design technique video, find more design videos on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe!
This post is brought to you by local New York florists.
Not in New York NY? Use Flower Shop Network’s handy directory of real local florists to find a florist near you!
Marketing Ideas From The Top At Tennessee State Florists Convention
September 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment
At the Tennessee State Florist Convention, FSN had the great chance to interview two great marketers in the floral industry, Rick Rivers and Ryan Freeman. They give us ideas on how to expand our ‘ponds’ or online customer base. Also ideas on promoting your shop both on and offline.
Rick encourages florists to build a pond around their customer pool and keep those customers for yourself. You can’t let your competitors fish your pond out! To build this pond, florists can use a multitude of service platforms like social networks, reminder services, great customer service, and staying in touch all year long.
Ryan recommends having your own website, and promote this through other platforms. You can’t put all of your resources into a third party site, like Facebook, because you never know how things are going to change. Use services on and offline to promote your website.
Floral Design Events: The Harwood Cup Competition
September 4, 2010 by 1 Comment
The Harwood Cup Competition at the Southern Retail Florists Convention is a very challenging interpretation competition.
Each contestant has 2 hours to interpret a chosen artwork — in this case, a beautiful raku ceramic vase created by Kerry Gonzalez, Winston-Salem, NC. Designers push their creativity to it’s limits for this challenging competition. Each entry was completely different that the last, from color to materials to size…
Flower Shop Network got to see this competition first-hand over this year. Check out our mini-documentary all about this competition, as well as interviews with the winner and runner up!! Great inspiration for florists everywhere!
This article is brought to you by local Winston-Salem NC florists.
Not in Winston-Salem? Use Flower Shop Network‘s handy directory of real local florists to find a florist near you!
Florists: What Great Things To Expect At Floral Conventions
September 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Flower Shop Network and Suzanne Baillie talk about the exciting events going on at the Southern Retail Florists Convention in Concord, NC. Florists from 17 states visit this show— lots of great networking opportunities for florists. There are competitions, hands-on workshops, educational presentations, marketing seminars, and much, much more!
No matter where you live, there is bound to be a floral show near you! We hope every florist has the chance to visit at least one show this year! Just listen to all of the great things you can do:
This post was brought to you by local florists in Concord, NC.
Not in Concord? Use Flower Shop Network‘s handy directory to find YOUR real local florist.
2010 Southern Retail Florists Convention Promo Video
August 31, 2010 by 1 Comment
Over the weekend, Flower Shop Network attended the 61st annual Southern Retail Florists 
Convention in Concord, North Carolina. While there, we saw hundreds of unique and creative floral designs, learned lots at the symposium presentations and hands-on workshops, and were inspired by the design interpretations of the prestigious Harwood Cup Competition.
I will be posting blogs all this week highlighting some of the great ideas we got to see and learn about at the event — bridal bouquet trends, sushi flowers, mini arrangements — Plus great coverage of the unique Harwood Cup Floral Design Interpretation Competition, and much, much more!
These events are very important for florists to come out and enjoy! Get in touch with YOUR industry – support your floral shows!
