Find Your Local Florist:Everything you want to know about flowers!
Flower Shop Network’s Networker Summer 2010 will be hitting your door this week. Florists and Marketing is the theme of this edition of The Networker.
Can’t wait! Here’s a sneak peak of The Networker Summer: Fiscal Fitness Recommit To A Marketing Plan.
Are there topics you would like to see in The Networker? Email your suggestions to TheNetworker@FlowerShopNetwork.com and we’ll send you a Flower Shop Network bag.
FSN is PROUD to bring you the NEXT Design Inspiration Challenge! Florists everywhere are buzzing about this new Challenge, we hope to see designs from each and every one!
BUT FIRST….
Our closest match ever! Our design team studied and critiqued each of the finalists until we finally decided on a winner. We really felt all of our finalists did a great job interpreting this design. The judges scores were so close, but Hope Floral wins by just 2 points! We loved the unique design they submitted. The ribbons and satin with blue and red flowers really show off the girls style. The proportions and balance were great. Hope Floral wins a beautiful award certificate, great FSN tote bag and is now a finalist for our grand prize! Congratulations!
We Would Also Like To Recognize:
2nd Place – MaryJane’s Flowers & Gifts (54/60 points)
3rd Place – Beautiful Blooms (50/60 points)
View all entries here…
We think everyone did a FANTASTIC job on their arrangements. It was so close, and a very tough decision!
FSN would like to thank everyone who was a part of this contest!
NOW BACK TO…
As always, we wanted to pick something TOTALLY different from all of our other challenges so far. This scene of a coral reef is a great muse to get your creative juices flowing! There are so many ways you could interpret this into a floral design! You could just focus on a specific section of the photo, or the entire thing. Those colors are incredible. Study this photo carefully and use your imagination to interpret it into a floral design. This inspiration is a great exercise for your color, textures and creativity. We hope these challenges are helping you to learn to see design in your every day lives.
We cannot wait to see what you come up with!
HOW TO ENTER:
Entering is EASY! Simply:
HOW TO WIN:
(This has changed a bit since the last contest)
You have 2 weeks to create and enter your challenge arrangement. Then, there will be two types of voting — think Idol. Round 1 is open public voting on our website for your top 5 finalists! Then those finalists move on to Round 2 where our FSN Design Team will judge them based on creativity, style and how well their design interprets that week’s inspiration.
How the judging works: Our design team will score each finalist on 3 categories: style, creativity, interpretation. Each category is worth 20 points for a total of 60 points. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at mandy@flowershopnetwork.com
Timeline:
Each winner will receive a great FSN tote bag and awards certificate, plus a special feature on our blog with their arrangement, a link to their shop’s website, an awards certificate and a great, big FSN tote bag! They will also be promoted on our Twitter and Facebook for one week. After 6 challenge winners (August) we will have a Tournament of Inspiration and our top winning designers will compete for a grand prize! (More on this later)
You are allowed to enter the weekly contests more than once, but only entered as a Grand Prize Finalist once.
In this fast-paced world, it can be hard to keep up with the latest and greatest floral design trends. Here are 7 easy ways to keep up with the latest in the floral design industry.
1. Attend Design & Trade Shows -Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like attending a design or trade show. Being in the presence of industry leaders and talented designers you are sure to bring home tons of new ideas.
2. Follow Industry Leaders on Social Sites – Are you into social networking? So are you favorite florists and others involved in floral design! Flower Shop Network on Facebook is a great example of a Facebook Page every florist should follow. We update our page daily with great tips, ideas, pics and even videos. (Our design videos on YouTube are a good way to learn new techniques from expert florists!) Other great Facebook Pages to follow are: AIFD Group, SAF Page or check out Flower Shop Network’s Favorite Pages for more.
3
. Attend Workshops & Educational Classes – Just like with any type of art and design, the styles are constantly changing. A floral design class or workshop is a great way to stay in touch with the latest trends in the industry. Floral design schools, universities and even conferences can be a great place to look for floral design classes. Most of these workshops you can finish in a weekend, but you’ll return with a lifetime of new design ideas!
4. Subscribe to Floral Magazines – An easy way to stay up to date with trends is by subscribing to floral design magazines. [Read more…]
5. Lilies
Lilies are popping up all over the place. This little beauty makes the list for being the most common of the June flowers. Why? Most lilies are able to survive with little care and are drought tolerant plants. This has enabled the lily to ‘escape’ and grow everywhere as if they were wild.
4. Calla Lily
Calla lilies’ bloom color may be pink, violet/lavender, dark purple/black, or white/near white. With this many variations, you’re sure to find one to complement any occasion. Calla lilies are very popular wedding flowers right now. Dressed in white and elegant — just like the bride!
3. Gladiolas
These were always my dad’s favorite garden flowers. Sometimes called the sword lily, these brightly colored beauties stand tall in a vase arrangement or even your own flower garden. Gladiolas are a great way to add height and color to your June decor.
2. Delphinium or Larkspur
The beautiful delphinium, or larkspur, is definitely a florist’s favorite. The flower has five petal-like sepals which grow together to form a hollow pocket with a spur at the end, giving the plant its name. These beautiful purple blooms can be seen wild in grasslands and beside roadways, but are becoming increasingly rare.
1. Hydrangea
Probably the favorite of all summer flowers, the hydrangea’s blooms definitely have a commanding presence. Hydrangeas have two types of flower arrangements: mop-head flowers are the large round flower heads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the head of a mop. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flower heads with a center core of fertile flowers surrounded by outer rings of showy, sterile flowers.
Father’s Day is just around the corner. Can you believe it’s here already? For all of the special things Dad has done, and will continue to do for us, isn’t it time to give something in return? Sending the the Floral Felicity flower arrangement — this months favorite here at FSN — is the PERFECT gift for Father’s Day. Its bright and vivid colors are just what Dad needs to remind him how much of a shining star he is to you.
Find The Floral Felicity Arrangement on Flower Shop Network…
Personalized & Creative Tribute FlowersFuneral flowers are not what they used to be, and for good reason. We have become so accustomed to personalization, why not customize our final tribute to a lost loved one? People everywhere are opting for sympathy arrangements with a more personalized feel.
This is a great custom funeral design for someone who was known for their love of music. Perhaps they were sent by someone in a band with the deceased. What a great way to honor those memories they shared together. Custom set pieces are great to pay tribute to the deceased favorite hobby or interest.
Read More About Personalized & Creative Tribute Flowers…
Every week our Plant Expert answers YOUR most challenging plant care & identification questions.
Question About A Seed Pod Found In St. Croix
I found this 18″ pod in St. Croix. Pictured is the inside & outside. Before it split open there were seeds in each of the little compartments and made a great rattle. Can anyone ID it?
Thanks. John
Our Expert’s Answer
Of course we can, John! Turns out this seed pod is from the most amazing fire-orange tree, appropriately named Flamboyant Tree. Read more and see pictures of this gorgeous tree from the Caribbean in this post…
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
This month, the FSN bloggers began one of our favorite projects ever — the bi-weekly Design Inspiration Challenge. This floral design competition is not for just ANY florist. We wanted truly inspired design; thus, the Design Inspiration Challenge was born.
Every other week, we will give you something inspirational (this week’s was a lesser-known van Gogh painting) and you design an arrangement using that inspiration. More about the Design Inspiration Challenge…
Increasing SEO For Your Flower Shop
SEO means Search Engine Optimization, or optimizing your flower shop’s website to best be found in search engines, like Google, Bing, or Yahoo Search. Now, this may seem like a daunting task, but it’s really quite easy to get started, and I bet you’ve already done more for SEO than you realize! More about increasing SEO for your flower shop…
Fun In The Flower Shop
Contrary to popular belief, a local florist’s work can be exhausting and stressful at times, especially for the owner. When is the last time you and your great employees really cut loose and had some FUN? Research shows that the more FUN you have in your shop, the happier and more productive your employees will be. Here are a few tips you can use to shake things up a bit. More about Fun in the Flower Shop…4 Unique & Creative Vase Ideas
Are you one of the many florists who gets stuck in the hum-drum of day-to-day floral design? Do you need a little push to look outside the box for new, inspirational ideas to get the creative juices flowing? In this article, we look at quick and easy ways to give your vases a little more ‘oomph,’ while rediscovering your muse and encouraging new business (Who wouldn’t want that!?). Read more about unique & creative vase ideas…
June 10-13, 2010: The Florida State Florists Association Convention will be hosted at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bay Front Palm Beach Gardens Marriott in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Florists who are members, as well as 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!
Yours truly (Mandy) from Flower Shop Network attended the AIFD Southern Conference in Chattanooga, TN last weekend.
What a spectacular event it was: fresh flowers, amazing setting, (the Chattanooga Aquarium is amazing, especially filled with flowers) and delectable food — I didn’t want to leave!
Friday was all about the student competition. Young girls from Mississippi State were a real showcase of upcoming talent in our industry. (Even the floral veterans were impressed.)
I was really looking forward to Friday Night’s reception at the Chattanooga Aquarium, however, I was a little unsure as to why were were having a floral event there. Within minutes, I understood — inspiration was everywhere! The vivid colors and beautiful sea life were pleasant refreshers to the senses.
I can’t think of a better way to open a conference called “The Attraction’s Only Natural,” than a night at the aquarium — wining, dinning, and mingling. But we all but took a side step as we all stood with our faces pressed to the 650,000 gallon aquarium glass, and watched the sharks swim by like children. A much-needed, relaxing evening to a busy weekend.
With muses dancing in our heads and our bellies full of the world’s best pastries, we all went to bed, eagerly awaiting the next day’s masterful presentations by leading floral designers.
First thing the next morning was our sponsored presenter, Linda Robinette, AIFD, CFD’s presentation. Entitled, PHI “The Golden Proportion,” it explored man’s primordial attraction to proportion through the Fibonacci theory. In other words, the mathematical reasons why something is beautiful. The golden ratio is 3 : 5: 8, or if you had 8 equal parts and divided them into 5 parts and 3 parts.
In floral terms: your entire arrangement is 8 parts, your flowers are 5 parts and the vase is 3 parts (for the average arrangement). Of course, design rules are made to be broken, but it is an interesting theory.
From Big Sky Country, Larry Kramer, AIFD, CFD showcased his amazing talent for building unique armatures. Larry explained that he lived 6 hours away from his nearest fresh flower wholesaler, so he has learned over the years to use each and every piece of his flowers. Reduce, reuse, recycle is [Read more…]
Ask the Expert: Professional looking Enclosure cards
how can I have these without a point of sale program? Bobbie
FSN Expert:
Professional easy to read enclosure cards are very important. Flower Shop Network makes it easy for our member florists to create professional looking enclosure card without a point-of-sale system.
All you have to do is go to www.fsnf2f.com and log-in. Once in the FSnf2f system on the right sidebar under Tools select Enclosure Cards.
You will then be able to enter the delivery date, information, recipient information including the address, and the card message. You will have the option of entering the sender’s name and address as well. You will, also, have the option of placing the sender’s email address on the card.
Once you have enter the information, you will be able to print the enclosure card using a regular sheet of paper.
You can create enclosure cards for orders received through F2F. Simply enter the order number and the pertinent information will automatically appear on the enclosure card. All you will need to do is print the enclosure card.
Don’t forget to watch the video on how to fold the enclosure card. If you have any questions, the wonderful people in the customer service department at FSN will be happy to help you.
This is just one of the many helpful tools Flower Shop Network provides to its members.
Here is the video showing how to fold the enclosure card.
[Read more…]
If you’ve followed FSN on Twitter or Facebook you should know one thing – the people of Flower Shop Network like to PARTY!
Maybe it’s one of our 5 trees, and 40 different stockings? Or it could just be the giant disco ball we have over all the offices? Whatever it is, I am glad this is my work home. It really feels like a family here and I think that’s why I love it so much! The Christmas lights all throughout the building give the entire atmosphere a festive glow you can only find during the holidays, and if I can’t be at home I am really glad I am here. I’m sure you will see it to when you take a look at these photos!
Find more FSN Christmas pictures in our Facebook Album.
Chuppah Flowers by A Fantasy In Flowers
Congratulations to A Fantasy In Flowers, a Jacksonville FL flower shop, for winning the first ever FSN Facebook Photo of the Week contest! The winning photo this week showcases a chuppah covered in flowers overlooking a lovely scene in Jacksonville.
The quality of these chuppah flowers is not surprising given the reputation of A Fantasy In Flowers. Let the story behind the photo speak for itself. Straight from the designer:
Thank you! This was actually daughter #4 of the Rabbi. We have now done the flowers for 4 out of 6 daughters with 2 more to go!!!! […] Actually 6 daughters and 2 sons. The youngest 2 daughters are still to be married!
Word of mouth gets around when 1000 words just won’t cut it for a photo like this. If you need a fantastic florist in Jacksonville Florida, stop by and see the florists at A Fantasy In Flowers. You’ll be amazed!
Want to submit YOUR photos to the contest?Attach the photo in a comment below and include contact information OR visit the FSN Facebook page to submit your floral industry related photos.
Read the official FSN Facebook photo contest rules.
