Florist Spotlights - Bloomin' Blog

Sweet Florals – FSN Member Lori Himes Featured in Florist Review!

May 15, 2013 by Juli Jackson Leave a Comment

Congratulations to Lori Himes, AIFD of A’Bloom LTD for her great floral designs recently selected for “Best Cake Decor” in the Picture Perfect Wedding Contest in the Florist Review – April Issue 2013.

Lori contributed floral designs for a wedding last fall at The Lodge at Blue Ridge Summit in Walkersville, Maryland, and was recognized for her excellent work when incorporating flowers into the wedding cake. She took a moment from the busy Mother’s Day order rush to talk to me about her featured flowers.

“I’ve known the bride and her family for a long time. She was very open to our ideas. When given that opportunity we like to do more of a natural style that goes with the season. Autumn colors are my favorite and I love to use what is available in this area like bittersweet vine. You have to know where to find it. We have a secret spot where we go collect our own so don’t tell anyone where it is. You have to be sure and get it before the first frost.”

The winning cake decor consisted of fresh ‘Orange Unique’ roses, red and orange spray roses, mixed spray chrysanthemums, sunflowers and miniature dahlias and hypericum placed directly on the icing.

The autumn colors beautifully set off all 3 layers of decadent white cake. Placed in front of a large mirror in the reception area, this towering delight was nestled on a tabled with a fabulous scatter of preserved oak leaves, colorful flower petals, and Lori’s own secret store of bittersweet vine.

Lori’s Expert Tips for Working with Cake Florals [Read more…]

Filed Under: Floral Design, Florist Spotlights Tagged With: Floral Design, Florist Spotlights, Maryland florists, Wedding Cake Flowers, Wedding Flowers

Big Congrats – FSN Member Florist Wins 2013 Houston Cup

May 1, 2013 by Juli Jackson 1 Comment

Big congratulations to Rebecca Sherman, AIFD in taking home the 2013 Houston Cup! Rebecca is a floral design artist with The Blooming Idea in The Woodlands, Texas, and a 20 year veteran of the floral industry.

The Houston Cup is an annual floral design competition for the members of Allied Florists of Houston. The winner of the Houston Cup advances to the preliminary phase of the Texas State Florists Association‘s prestigious Texas Cup Competition.

From the Allied Florist of Houston:

“…the competition featured 10 professional floral designers in this year’s Great Gatsby themed competition. Each person brought 1 Interpretative Design following the Great Gatsby theme and during the hands on competition completed a floral wedding bouquet and a surprise package arrangement of a large arrangement for a grand foyer for a party. Grading is completed by a panel of 3 top rated floral Judges based on the principles and elements of design.”

With F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby at the heart of the competition, decadent beauty abounded in all the contestants designs. Flowing feathers, lush greens, dramatic textures and delicate blooms reflected the glitz and glamour of the roaring ’20s and made for opulent results. Visit The Blooming Idea’s Facebook page for more great photos.

The Blooming Idea has been a FSN member for 13 years and we are very proud of Rebecca for winning this prestigious award. Her fabulous creative designs, inspired by the Great Gatsby theme, are truly breath-taking.

Best of luck at the upcoming Texas Cup Competition!

Photos courtesy of The Blooming Idea, The Woodlands, Texas

Filed Under: Floral Conventions & Flower Shows, Florist Spotlights, Florists Only Tagged With: Allied Florists of Houston, Floral Design, Floral Industry News, Florist Spotlights, Florists Conventions, Houston Cup, Texas Florists

Valentine’s Day At Your Local Flower Shop

February 12, 2013 by Mandy Maxwell 2 Comments

Valentine’s week is in FULL SWING right now. (If you haven’t ordered your flowers yet, what are you waiting for!?) Local florists all over the country have decked out their store interiors in all the colors of love. Red hearts, chocolates, stuffed animals and, of course, flowers abound! We asked our florist friends on Facebook to give us a peek into their stores.

The Valentine’s Day interior of La Pine Florist, La Pine OR

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Who doesn’t want to visit this Valentine’s Day wonderland at East Coast Florist, Chelmsford MA?

Florist Spotlight: Flowerama, Ft. Collins CO

January 9, 2013 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

FSN recently had the pleasure of talking to Jim Endicott, owner of Flowerama in Ft. Collins CO, about how they keep their customers happy and coming back for more.

What does your flower shop do best?

“Customer service and attention to each customer. We are a smaller shop so that’s kind of where our niche is. We try to provide product that’s a little different than the average shop, especially in our dish gardens and gift lines. Customers have come to expect a wide variety of items to shop for in our store: from plush to candles, dish gardens to other little gift items. We try to select things that you wouldn’t find in a big box or grocery store.”

Do your customers respond to this?

“We think so, mainly because they can’t find them anyplace else. For instance, our garden flags and spinners from Premiere Kites. We’re the only one in the area that carries those products. And when we carry it, we like to have a good selection.”

Zombie Wedding Bouquet

December 13, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

This unique wedding story was shared with us by local flower shop, Mullica Hill Floral Co. in Mullica Hill NJ.

“Last week we received a call from our friend Jill at Jillian Kathryn Photography. She had entered a zombie-themed photography contest and decided to create a zombie wedding. In need of a bridal bouquet, she called on us, and we were more than happy to help!”

How The Zombie Bouquet Was Made

“The bouquet consists of dried celosia, yarrow, cockscomb and straw flowers, which were sprayed black to achieve a moldy look. Also included are red spray roses, which were left out of water so they could wilt. The bouquet is framed with dying ginger leaves. I used white tool to wrap the bouquet, then used a light coating of black spray paint to make it appear dirty. As a final touch, I took a knife and shredded the tool ribbon to further keep with the theme.”

“I had a lot of fun creating this bouquet and I can’t wait for future challenges!”

Anything zombie-themed is so trendy right now. With all of the popular movies and TV shows out. it’s easy to see why. This story just goes to show you that you’re local florist is there to help you make your wedding dreams come true.. No matter how far towards the nightmare side your dream might be. Has any other florist-readers out there had a similar challenge? Don’t forget to share your story!

How would you create your zombie bouquet? Tell us in the comments below!

Filed Under: Floral Design, Florist Spotlights, Trends, Wedding Flowers Tagged With: Florist Stories, Halloween Flowers, Wedding Bouquets, Wedding Flowers

The Creative Process Of Local Florist – Blossom Shop

November 20, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

Take a peek inside the creative mind of a florist as they design something truly unique for a special someone. This is a story shared with us by Blossom Shop in Strasburg CO.

I got a wire order over the phone from another flower shop. I was pleasantly surprised to get a very good budget for a sympathy arrangement and no specifics other than they would like a nice fall arrangement if you can do that otherwise…

So I got to thinking, I wanted to do several matching pieces, something really large in a basket. I just knew I wanted it to be creative, but not something they might dislike being too interesting.

Getting Inspiration

So I took a tour of my shop a few times, front and back, to see what sizes and different containers that I might want to use. Some of my best-liked arrangements come from me finding something I can’t seem to get rid of (container wise) and making it beautiful with flowers. So I found these square wreath forms that I’ve yet to sell; one, because they have structure in the middle for placing a picture or something of the like, and two, they are a big size. I have yet to convince anyone to let me customize the center or pay enough so I could do something “interesting”.

So I grabbed one on those bad boys and got the wheels spinning. I used the leaf-looking ribbon to cover the back. To make that interesting I wove 10 lengths of that ribbon and covered all that maché and the center structure. After soaking it I laid it flat to start my designing.

Bringing It All Together

I covered the center structure with fall-colored, preserved leaves. Then I did the four corners, each with a different type of green to add interest, and then filled in with beautiful fall flowers. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Floral Design, Florist Spotlights, Funeral Flowers Tagged With: Colorado Florists, Floral Design, Florist Spotlights, Florist Stories, Sympathy Flowers

Florist Helps Couple Celebrate 65th Anniversary

October 16, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

This incredibly sweet story was shared with us by Maryjane’s Flowers & Gifts, Berlin NJ.

Being a florist is a very fulfilling job because you get to help people celebrate the most important and special occasions in their life. That was just the case for Sandra Hooper of Maryjane’s Flowers & Gifts in Berlin NJ. She was asked to help a couple at an assisted living center celebrate their 65th (no, not a typo!) wedding anniversary.

Sandra was given a copy of their wedding portrait and was able to copy the original wedding bouquet almost exactly. What memories that must have stirred up!

Here you can see the beautiful bride and her wedding bouquet remake of the original. “She said it couldn’t have matched it better!!!”
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Florist Spotlights, Florists Only, Flower Memories, Wedding Flowers Tagged With: Anniversary Flowers, Florist Stories, Local Florists, New Jersey Florists, Wedding Bouquets, Wedding Flowers

Local Florist Named Entrepreneur of the Year

October 10, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

Entrepreneur of the Year - Monday Morning Flowers

A big congratulations is in order to Georgianne Vinicombe of Monday Morning Flower & Balloon Company in Princeton NJ for being named Entrepreneur of the Year in her community! This is a big honor!

Georgianne, President and co-owner of Monday Morning Flowers truly goes above and beyond in her roles at the flower shop. Georgianne is an avid social media guru, speaks at state and regional florist conventions, makes great videos, writes a fantastic Smile Blog, and so much more!

“We seem to be known at our local chamber as “hard working” retailers and because of our longevity, with both being in business and a member of the chamber. We are sort of known for being there for local non-profit with donations, products, etc. I’m just super excited that they chose a florist for the honor, more so than they chose me,” says Georgianne.

Georgianne works hard to keep her flower shop in the spotlight in her community. It’s great to see they are now shining back on her for all of her hard work and dedication to her business. Way to go, Georgianne and the entire Monday Morning team!

Filed Under: Floral Industry News, Florist Spotlights, Florists Only Tagged With: Awards & Honors, Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co., Princeton New Jersey Florists, Retailer Awards, Small Business Awards

Sending Fall Flower Arrangements

October 2, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

All fall flower arrangements shown below are real arrangements that were created and delivered by real local florists all across the country and Canada.

Early fall flower arrangement by Trigs Floral & Home in Minocqua, WI

The colors of fall are so striking and magnificent, it’s easy to see why autumn is many people’s favorite season. The deep reds, the rustic browns, the sunset orange — fall is such a beautiful season. Why not enjoy the beauty of fall indoors as well as out? It’s easy with your local florist!

Fall arrangement by Buds & Blossoms, Edgewood MD

Fall flowers offer a little pick-me-up for all to enjoy. Think about working hard all day at your desk, wouldn’t it be better with a beautiful arrangement of fall flowers to brighten up your week?

Your Hometown Florist = Your Lifetime Florist

September 19, 2012 by Mandy Maxwell Leave a Comment

“I have used Sharen’s Florist for over 20 years and have not been disappointed once!” – Michele, FL

A family florist, one who knows you, your family, and your style, takes years of working together to establish. Moving away from your hometown doesn’t mean you have to get a new florist. In fact, your florist is now your new best friend. They’re your tried-and-true gift and delivery service to your family members back home. When you can’t be there in person, your florist can deliver the perfect gift for the occasion: birthdays, anniversaries, thank yous, just because and anything else!

Sharen’s Flowers & Gifts in Treasure Island FL is an excellent example of a florist who keeps up their relationship with those who’ve moved away. They are known for their well-designed, long-lasting arrangements. Once a person uses Sharen’s, they’re hooked for life.

“We’ve been ordering flowers from Sharen’s for 25+ years, including our wedding. We no longer live in St Pete, but continue to use Sharen’s now for Mothers Day delivery and other occasions for family in St Pete. They are a small shop, and the arrangements are always fresh, beautiful and priced right. Highly recommended.” – Michael of WA reviews

Remember, many flower shops carry and can deliver more than just flowers, such as: houseplants, gift baskets, jewelry, chocolate, and more. It’s your one-stop-shop for gifts to your family back home!

Spa Day Gift Basket

“I purchased a basket of treats for my dad for Father’s Day. I live in Alberta, and he lives in Florida, so sometimes it’s hard to send things. Plus, what do you get the man who has everything? He really enjoyed the basket of goodies.” – Jessica from Canada reviews Sharen’s Flowers

Put your hometown florist on speed dial, you’ll be needing them when the next birthday comes around!
(Video: Importance of Local Florists)

Filed Under: Florist Spotlights Tagged With: Florida Florists, Local Florists, Local Flower Shops, Sending Flowers