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!

Blog Spotlight: Central Square Florist

February Blog Spotlight

It’s the monthly blog spotlight, and we’re back with yet another content-rich blog for you! We scour the internet every month to find a florist blog that provides both good content and valuable ideas. This week we’d like to introduce David Levine of Central Square Florist in Cambridge, MA. Here’s a very informative post to wet your whistle.

THE RUSTIC HOLIDAY TABLESCAPE DIY

Whether you are hosting a celebration or visiting as a guest this holiday season, make it beautiful with flowers. Let us help you find ideas for how to create the perfect holiday interior with our DIY Tablescape recommendations. This is the final of our four tablescapes we will be featuring this month, the Rustic Tablescape.

holiday-4

To create this table, you will need:

  • A beautiful centerpiece
  • Baby’s Breath
  • Evergreen Branches
  • Willow Branches
  • Burlap fabric
  • White tulle fabric
  • Twine
  • Mini candy canes
  • Strands of mini white lights
  • Candles
  • Scissors

Bringing the snow and evergreens inside will make your house feel like a rustic cabin in the woods. We use tulle and burlap to emulate these textures and lights to create a dreamy landscape that will help your guests get into the winter spirit. If you are not setting your table this holiday, you can bring a host gifts that will fit with the decor.

 holiday-2 holiday-5

To make the table runner, we took a long piece of burlap, roughly 1.5′ wide and cut it to fit our table lengthwise. We lined the sides of the burlap with tulle and used twine scissors to create a scalloped look along the edges. We used a variety of candles to add drama and richness to the setting. Wrapping the candles in fresh evergreens helps make them pop off of the table. Down the center of the table, we placed a gorgeous centerpiece which uses a variety of fresh flowers mixed with evergreens, willow branches, and wood to compliment the tablescape perfectly.

holiday-1 holiday-3

Using twine to tie the napkins, we placed a sprig of evergreens, a sprig of Baby’s Breath, and two mini candy canes. The evergreens add a touch of green, the Baby’s Breath compliment the tulle and add a feminine note, while the candy canes add a punch of color and whimsy.

Central Square’s Golden Holiday Centerpiece would be the perfect arrangement to accompany this rustic tablescape. Check out our selection of hand picked holiday flowers and gifts to find the perfect centerpiece for your table or a beautiful arrangement to present to the host.

Don’t forget to enter our Pin to Win Holiday Contest and follow us on Pinterest.

Also see our holiday video, which features this tablescape!

Big on DIY

What an excellent example of a DIY post! It was both informative and entertaining, and I especially enjoyed the video. But that’s not all David has to offer on his blog. He also ran a Valentine’s Day contest and posted some gift ideas for those still looking for the perfect item for their significant other.

If you’re in the Cambridge, MA area, you definitely need to see what Central Square Florist has to offer. But even if you’re not, you can still get some excellent and useful information!

Are you a florist with a blog that you’d like to see featured? Leave us your information in the comments below!

Lasting Florals in Vogue!

Lasting Florals Head Piece

If you’ve ever wondered how to get your work into Vogue magazine, Deborah Mooney’s path is probably an accurate, if difficult to emulate, blueprint. In essence: be talented, work with talented people and have a heaping helping of good luck!

The Value of Hard Work and Reputation

Deborah wasn’t trying to get into Vogue. Rather she did what every local florist does every day, accept an order and do her best to make it amazing. It’s that “everyday” quality that makes this story so wonderful. It’s a tale of hard work, of taking advantage of opportunities and striving to make the most of them. It’s about a talented local florist whose toil through the years earned her the respect of her community and a simple request that led to a most unexpected honor.

Answering the Call

Deborah’s work speaks for itself. She’s been operating locally in Midlothian, VA, since 2001, specializing in weddings and special events and working an average of 30+ weddings a year. And when local make-up artist Lulu Schwall put out a request for a local florist to help with a photo shoot, Deborah jumped at the opportunity.

Lulu put Deborah in contact with photographer Jyoti Sackett who requested three unique pieces she could pose together with her models. After getting the details, Deborah went to work. Once they were ready to go, Deborah shipped them out and went on with her day, never giving the project a second thought. Why would she? After all, she had been given no information to indicate the project had such potential. Quality work is business as usual at Lasting Florals.

A Pleasant Surprise

Time passed and Deborah had largely forgotten about the three pieces she’d designed. She had other projects to occupy her time and talents. Weddings, holidays and social events all conspired to keep her plenty busy.

And then it happened.

Out of the blue, Deborah was contacted by Jyoti Sackett who informed her that one of the photos featuring the headpiece she’d designed had been selected to appear in Vogue magazine. To say the least, she was shocked and very excited!

Deborah has done impressive work in the Midlothian area, and because of her dedication to her craft she received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have her work shared with the world. It’s this kind of work ethic that embodies and defines not only Deborah but all local florists. Congratulations to Deborah Mooney and everyone at Lasting Florals. We are proud to have you as members of Flower Shop Network.

 

Blog Spotlight: Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co.

Blog Spotlight Banner

Florists are the authority on all things floral. For most it is their passion as well as their job. These men and women overflow with knowledge about flowers and share that information on their websites every day. They describe events they’ve decorated, arrangements they’ve designed and even classes they offer. There’s no end to the information you can glean when reading blogs by local florists.

Because of that fact, the Bloomin’ Blog is choosing the blog of one florist each month to spotlight. If you need floral ideas for a wedding, a party or just for your home, there’s no better place to go than the source, your local florist!

For this month”s Blog Spotlight, we’re taking you all the way to Princeton, NJ to visit not one but two blogs by Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co!

Monday Morning Flowers

Our first example comes from the Monday Morning Flowers main site.

Floral Cake Making

“It’s not too late to sign up for our next in-store workshop! Join us in our Princeton location next Wednesday, January 15th, 2014 from 6-8PM for Floral Cake Making. Learn how to make your own cake made of flowers. Perfect for a gift, decoration or party piece. Let us teach you all the tricks to making these fun cakes while you enjoy wine and refreshments!

cake class picture

This class is only $55 per person and includes $10 of Monday Morning Money to spend however you like! Call our shop today at 609-520-2005, or sign up online at www.sendingsmiles.com.”

Weddings by Monday Morning WeddingsCranbury Inn Wedding

This piece is from Monday Morning’s wedding blog.

“We love doing themed weddings, especially a Christmas one.

Last weekend had us decorating the ceremony and reception area of the Cranbury Inn for bride Danielle and Groom Jason. There might not have been snow on the ground but the setting was warm and festive. My favorite part of the wedding was the place card table which was created using three very large vases filled with winter ilex berries, water and a floating candle. So dramatic!

The aisle was decorated with tall vases filled with water, floating cranberries and our hanging Juliette candle holders. So pretty! After the ceremony when the room was quickly changed over, these vases were then placed along the edge of the room to add a touch of warmth and a pop of color. The centerpieces were created with fresh cranberries, red roses, red berries, winter greens and fresh holy. A small but dramatic touch to the tables. Such elegant but simple wedding decor for the perfect Christmas Themed Wedding.”

As you can see from the examples above, Georgianne Vinicombe uses her blogs to not only promote her business, but also to reach out to her community by offering classes and educational tidbits. The blogs intrigue and educate her readers about flowers and how she uses them to best effect while also mixing in a little advertising. Great job!

Thanks to Monday Morning Flowers and come back next month for another Blog Spotlight!

Calling all florists! If you would like to see your site featured in our Blog Spotlight, leave your website information in the comments below! 

FSN Member wins Second Annual Buckwald Scholarship!

We would like to congratulate Lavender Hill Florals of Jeffersonville, IN for winning the second annual Buckwald scholarship! Way to go, ladies!

About the Buckwald ScholarshipLavender Hill Floral

The Gary Buckwald Scholarship for Excellence in Floral Sales and Service consists of $10,000 worth of training, coaching and mentoring over the course of a year for a florist and her staff. This scholarship, the result of a collaboration between the Society of American Florists and Floral Strategies, has an application process open to any retailer who has been in business for at least 18 months. Tim Huckabee, president of Floral Strategies, says that they attempt to discover a retailer who “genuinely wants and needs the training, and is willing to put what they learn into practice.”

It is a recent award, but its lack of age is no knock on its incredible value. The tremendous benefit of having the opportunity to receive top-notch personal training from Tim Huckabee cannot be overstated. Tim will be making several trips out to Lavender Hill Florist over the next year to work with the staff on their sales and customer service skills.

Congratulations Lavender Hill Florals

This is both a great honor and great opportunity for FSN member, Lavender Hill Florals. We are excited for them and know that Tim will lead them down a path toward even greater success!


Posey Peddler – A Florist Improving Customer Service!

Posey Peddler FlowersAs part of Customer Service Week, (October 7th-11th) we wanted to share with you one of our members who is working hard to boost customer service and sales in their flower shop.

A Local Florist Taking Action

Bridgette Mills Arnold, a 30 year veteran of the floral industry, is the owner of Posey Peddler in Joneboro, Arkansas. The shop has been a fixture in the Jonesboro area since 1998 and serves the local community with custom gifts, flowers, plants and home decor.

Recently Bridgette brought in customer service and sales guru Tim Huckabee of Floral Strategies to conduct a workshop with her employees.

Why Floral Strategies?

Floral Strategies is the only on-site training program in the entire floral industry that teaches critically important customer care skills. This specific training empowers flower shop workers to give extraordinary customer service. As you can guess, this makes for happy clients that keep coming back.

Celebrate The Learning Experience!

FSN visited this bustling flower shop during their training seminar. Check out this video of Posey Peddler’s day with Tim Huckabee.

FSN Members: CLICK HERE to login & learn more ways to improve customer service and sales with specific tips from Tim Huckabee.

[Read more…]

Passing on the Passion: Gardening and Grandparents

Jean Walker’s life is narrated by loving and trusted voices from her past. “Always plant potatoes on Good Friday,” Grandma whispers as Jean opens a sack of seed potatoes. “And don’t forget to plant marigolds around the vegetables, they keep the bugs away.” As Jean reaches for the roses, Grandpa reminds her, “Don’t forget the cow pie, Jean. For roses, a good ole cow pie is just about the best fertilizer you can have.”

Of course Grandma and Grandpa are gone, the voices in Jean’s ears merely the echoes of a sweet memory, but the spirit of their love continues. They inspire Jean’s planting decisions and provide guidance in her work. Because two people shared their heartfelt love of growing things with a curious young girl, Jean is able to offer them a living legacy with every seed she plants.

The Greenhouse

And planting seeds is a large part of what Jean does! She is the proud owner of Walker’s Floral and Greenhouse, a full-time florist shop and seasonal greenhouse. Because her grandparents taught her from a young age the best way to plant and grow a garden, she’s been able to make the business work by following their example. This affords her a unique advantage in her area as she is not only a successful florist, but also a provider and wholesale distributor of naturally grown flowers!

Running a greenhouse is challenging work, but Jean enjoys putting in the time. It’s due to the most powerful emotion we know, love. She harbors a simple love of all things natural, of nurturing a fragile sprout into a strong and vibrant plant and of spending time with her beloved grandparents in the only way left to her, reliving their memory while engaging in the work they taught her.

The Shop

Jean also has a driving passion for her floral business! For her, there’s nothing like walking up to someone’s door and seeing the smile a beautiful arrangement elicits, or noticing the light in a bride’s eyes the first time she holds her perfectly arranged bouquet. It’s those little moments that let her know she is doing a good job and spreading some joy along the way.

And yet, as fulfilling as those moments are, when the greenhouse is closed Jean harbors a desire to get back to digging in the dirt. It’s not the feel of grit under her fingernails or the loamy smell of fresh-turned earth, though those are enjoyable in their own right, it is a desire to spend time with the loved ones she has lost. Every spring their voices surround her, enveloping her like a warm and comforting blanket. They come to help make the plants grow strong and vibrant and fill her heart with warm memories. They may no longer draw breath, but as long as Jean lives, their voices won’t be silenced.

Lobby Designs That Get Attention From Crossroads Florist

Here at FSN, we love pictures. I mean we really love pictures. Florists from all over our network send us the best and brightest of their work, and we just can’t help but share.

Because they never fail to share their incredible work with us each week, I had to showcase some of our 2013 favorites from:

Crossroads Florist in Mahwah, New Jersey

And trust me, it wasn’t easy to narrow it down! Each week, we are given a little glimpse into the creative environment at Crossroads Florist with these show-stopping lobby arrangements. This is accessible floral design that is commanding, fresh, and always utilizing the space with robust textures and varying heights.

Check out these inspiring photos of weekly arrangements that greet customers front and center as they stay in the local hotel.

Inventive, exciting, and always gorgeous!

Allium Invasion by Crossroads Florist, Mahwah NJ

“Allium Invasion”

Reminiscent of an artistic gesture drawing, this arrangement features allium captured in sculpted bright green midollino sticks.

Sunflower Carousel by Crossroads Florist, Mahwah NJ

“Sunflower Carousel”

Happy sunflower faces in colorful jars radiate from a wrought iron stand grounded by earthy moss balls.  [Read more…]

A Black and White, Long-Hair Cat Walks into a Floral Shop …

No, that’s not the start of a bad joke, it’s the opening line of a beautiful story.

In the Beginning…

Dixie About five years ago, a young couple named Dustin and Lauren White opened their own floral business, Doniphan Flowers & Gifts in Doniphan, MO. Tremendously friendly people with a great passion for their store and the floral industry, they called on their collective experiences to forge their way through the first few years of owning and operating a new business. They did well. They were becoming successful and well known throughout the Doniphan area, and they thought their lives were full. They were wrong.

A Twist of Four-Legged Fate

One bright, spring morning as they arrived to open the shop, they noticed that one customer had decided to come early. A six month old, black and white kitten was nosing about the dumpster, looking for food.

It wasn’t unusual to find stray cats in the area, but most were just this side of feral and ran at the first sign of people. This one was different. She didn’t flee when they approached and was in fact quite friendly. She was skinny and thin, bedraggled in every sense of the word, and yet something about her prompted them to want to help.

With little deliberation, the couple brought the kitten inside, intending to feed it and perhaps help to find it a good home. As tends to happen in life, one day turned to two, then three, then six. It wasn’t long before they realized that they had already found a good home for this felicitous feline. They decided to name her Dixie, tied a bow around her neck and never looked back.

[Read more…]

FSN Surprise Visits Hollyhocks Flowers & Gifts

Hollyhocks Flowers & Gifts, St. Louis MO

Recently, while attending the SAF Growth Solutions Conference in St. Louis, Brock and Loranne Atwill, owners of Flower Shop Network, decided to pay a surprise visit to one of our member florists to see what was happening in her flower shop.

Susan Kenny, owner of Hollyhocks Flowers & Gifts, welcomed the FSN crew with open arms. After a tour of the shop, the conversation turned to business, and according to Susan, business is good!

Susan has recently found great success in reaching out to the strong Hispanic influence in her community. She has hired a translator to help in the shop and created flyers and other promotions intended to branch out her network in these demographics. She is really proud of her shop’s diversity and is ready for even more.

Brock and Loranne really enjoyed the visit with Susan at Hollyhocks. Just goes to show, you never know when FSN might drop in on you!

Weathered & Worn – The Perfect Look for a Rustic Wedding

Rustic Wedding Entry

Welcome in the worn look with these incredible wedding photos shared by Martha Sheldon Florist from Eastman, Georgia. From inviting wreaths to large elegant sprays to unique containers, this FSN florist knew how to capture a day of perfect rustic beauty.

This theme focused on designs that work in lovely counterpoint. Lace twisted around grapevine. Twigs mixed with white and pink flowers. Weathered wood adorned with pale delicate blooms. Independent elements with different textures and colors work together to give a comfortable sense of time and place. We find it completely breathe-taking for an event that centers around dreams of lasting love!

Unique Dresser

[Read more…]