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Join Louisiana Florists For “A Wedding Extravaganza” Convention

Florists from across the nation will enjoy the Louisiana State Florists Association Convention and Trade Show and Louisiana State Florists Association 2008 Convention and Trade Show. Join Lafayette, Louisiana florists at the River Oaks Convention Center on July 26 and 27, 2008 for what is destined to be “A Wedding Extravaganza.” The annual LSFA Convention, Design Show, and Trade Fair is always the premier floral industry event in Louisiana. Florists young and older come together to learn, meet new people, network, and grow their businesses. If having a great time while getting your name known in the floral industry sounds like fun, this convention is for you!

Take advantage of booth space this year by setting up a booth of your own. Interested parties may contact the River Oaks Convention Center for more information about amenities or visit the LSFA Convention website for exhibitor information. Why not go for it? This is a fantastic opportunity to really intrigue fellow florists, floral designers, and trades people who have gathered together for the same reasons. Stand out in the crowd. Make a bold statement. Whatever you call it, take advantage of the incredible opportunity to really draw attention to your business. Mark your calendars now to join fellow florists at the 2008 LSFA Convention.

Happy Anniversary, Taylor Made Florals!

Congratulations Taylor Made Florals! Joining the elite of Windham, New Hampshire florists, Raymond German and family recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of their flower shop. Along with the Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce, we at Flower Shop Network would like to extend our very proud compliments to Taylor Made Florals for a great first year and many to come!

Taylor Made Florals provides Windham with excellent quality fresh flower arrangements for a variety of occasions including weddings, birthdays, bereavement, just because and many more memorable times in our lives. Their wedding flowers brighten the heart. Birthday and anniversary arrangements from Taylor Made Florals elicit more smiles than a new puppy. Holidays and unique occasions are special to every person. Knowing this better than many, holiday and special occasion arrangements are created with the individual in mind for a kind of wonderful that “special” just can’t describe.

With so much negative coming from all sides these days, it’s truly a wonderful dose of pep and inspiration to see our friends in the floral industry thriving and being celebrated for quality work. Taylor Made Florals has brought smiles to countless faces over the past year. Enjoying the remarkable times, comforting through the troubled times, and spicing up bland workdays, Mr. German and the florists at Taylor Made Florals have shared in the emotional lives of their customers by creating floral designs that cheer, console, comfort and inspire all who gaze upon them. It is no wonder that so many wish to join in the celebration of one of their own memorable occasions.

Way to go, Taylor Made Florals!

Join Raleigh Florists At The 2008 NCSFA Convention

Ever want to spend some quality time at the North Raleigh Hilton but feel guilty about missing work? Don’t! Join Raleigh, North Carolina florists this year for the 2008 North Carolina State Florists Association Convention. Blend the best of both worlds at this year’s NCSFA Convention.

Sometimes work just feels like work. Vacations either seem too short or you feel bad for taking time away from your flower shop. Not this year! The 2008 NCSFA Convention will be held this year from July 25-27, 2008 at the North Raleigh Hilton in beautiful Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s like a vacation, only here you’re able to blend what you love doing with a relaxing, enjoyable break from a bustling schedule.

North Carolina florists aren’t the only industry professionals taking advantage of the scenery at this year’s convention. Network with other florists and floral designers as you relax by the pool. Have dinner with a few new florist friends that you met in one of the many interesting and educational sessions. Learn from the creative professionals at the conference while having just enough time to enjoy the sights of Raleigh with your family. However you choose to plan it, you’ll have a great time at the 2008 NCSFA Convention!

Flower Shop Network Attends Texas Florists Convention

Representatives from Flower Shop Network attended the Texas State Florists Association Convention in League City Texas on July 11-13th.

Flower Shop Network Coordinators Amy Hall, Joe Hayes, Rebecca Speer

Above: Network coordinators Amy Hall, Joe Hays and Rebecca Speer take a moment to pose for a picture in front of the Flower Shop Network booth. Over the course of the three day florists convention, they met with several interesting Texas florists including, Mary McCarthy at the Blooming Idea in The Woodlands, Texas.

Florists conventions are a fantastic place to meet associates face-to-face. In fact, Amy Hall was excited to finally meet Mary in person after years of communicating via the phone. According to Amy, Mary has a wonderful approach to designing flower bouquets. She creates many beautiful arrangements, but her specialty is a unique, European-style, hand-tied flowers-in-foil bouquet. In fact, creating a European flower market feel is the basic philosophy of the Blooming Idea and is the essence of their wedding flowers. Mary and Amy are pictured below.

Mary (Blooming Idea) & Amy (FSN)

Blooming Idea is one of many great florists serving The Woodlands, Texas. But, other areas of Texas also have wonderful florists like Connie from Plant It Earth in Webster, Texas. Connie is pictured below with Joe Hays and Rebecca Speer.

Connie of Plant It Earth with Joe Hays & Rebecca Speer

Laughter and good times radiated from the booth as Joe, Amy and Rebecca visited with several of our members and introduced new friends to the benefits of being a Flower Shop Network member. Joe (who loves to participate in florist conventions) is seen below explaining to a couple of new friends what Flower Shop Network does to help florists achieve success.

Joe Hays at the Texas Florists Convention

The convention wasn’t just about fun. Floral design, business and technology seminars got down to serious business for many of the Texas florists. Wedding flowers and sympathy flowers innovations were the focus of the floral design series. From the talk on the trade show floor these programs were very well received.

So, as my grandmother would say, “A good time was had by all.” If you missed this year’s convention mark your calendar to attend next year’s convention.

Of course a florists convention wouldn’t be complete without flowers. Amy snapped a few shots of the unique flower arrangements found at the convention.

Unique Flower Arrangment With Ginger

Flower Arrangment From Texas Florists Convention

Flower Arrangement with a Tropical Flare

Hot Pink Flower Arrangement

Colage of Flower Arrangements

Florists Respond Favorably To The Networker From FSN

It has only been a week since Flower Shop Network launched The Networker. Along with addressing issues important to the floral industry and highlighting FSN services, this publication encourages input from member florists on issues or announcements that concern them. So far, feedback from shops has been wonderful. Florists from all over have submitted excellent topic suggestions, honors, announcements, personal insights, and even a nice thank you like the one from Bay Bouquet Floral Studio in Tampa, Florida.

I was particular touched by what Tony Swick and J. Thomas had to say and excited about their announcement of a new staff member:

To Whom it may concern,

We wanted to take a minute to thank Flower Shop Network for being part of our new business. After 20 plus years in the industry, we started our new shop in 09/07 with Flower Shop Network as our source for sending orders. Our store is a custom floral studio made up of 252 sq. ft and a 6×8 cooler attached to the back.

Our store is located in a great area of Tampa called Hyde Park, near downtown with a great residential area. Our clients are not the run of the mill traditional floral purchasers. They have a higher average order and require a nice selection of flowers. We have chosen not to carry carnations, daisies, or baby’s breath. This has helped us stand out in the area. Our designs encompass new trends, unique appeal and the freshest flowers arriving daily!

Our website with Flower Shop Network has had some really great activity. Customers have made comments about how user friendly it is. We thank you for that! We are looking forward to much more success with Flower Shop Network. We are also looking forward to being able to easily add our own designs and prices.

We wanted to take a minute and announce the newest addition to our staff. Heather Lockwood from Adrian, Michigan of Flowers & Such. Heather brings a great freshness to her design and has won awards as well as enjoyed floral training from designers such as Helen Miller, AIFD and Hitomi Gilliam AIFD. We are excited to have her with us. Knowing that her talent will be a great asset to all floral designs from our store.

Thank you Flower Shop Network for working for the florists and working to make this ever changing industry a continued success.
Our Best Regards,

Tony Swick
J. Thomas

Between The Networker and the Bloomin’ Blog, we plan to address every suggestion, topic and announcement. So keep them coming… we love to hear from our member florists and readers! In fact, we are compiling information for future issues of The Networker that will feature some great marketing tips, as well as shop accolades. We also plan to blog about how to order flowers online with tips for consumers on how to find local florists and important information needed to make shopping and sending flowers a pleasant experience. If you have any suggestions for this blog, please send them to jadams@flowershopnetwork.com or Ask The Expert on the Bloomin’ Blog.

Relax in Tulsa, OK at the 2008 OSFA Convention

Get ready for a rocking good time at the Oklahoma State Florists Association Convention to be held July 18-21, 2008. Enjoy a grand stay at the Renaissance Hotel where you will meet fellow florists and industry professionals, enjoy learning new tips and tricks, and take a fun-filled vacation from the office while mastering the floral industry. Join Tulsa, Oklahoma florists at the 2008 OSFA Convention for a great time of networking, education and entertainment! Contact the Oklahoma State Florists Association for more information about this year’s convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Heather Lockwood Joins Bay Bouquet Floral Studio

I learned yesterday that Heather Lockwood is joining the staff at Bay Bouquet Floral Studio in Tampa, Florida. A Florist with Heather’s comprehensive AIFD floral training and extensive list of florist awards will compliment the philosophy held by Tony Swick and J. Thomas, who believe in creating only high quality unique fresh flowers arrangements.

Located in the Hyde Park area of Tampa Florida, Bay Bouquet Floral Studio clientele require fresh flowers and high-end trendy flower arrangements. As a result they cater to their customers needs by shipping in fresh flowers daily and creating designs that are unique and trendy. Heather will bring yet another fresh perspective to the Bay Bouquet design team. It will be exciting to see how Heather’s creative talents will add to the already fabulous designs coming from the design team at Bay Bouquet.

Cathy Condray FSN network coordinator and I were talking about how Tony and J. constantly look for ways to improve their customer service and the quality of their designs. They search for talented and innovative designers as well as ways to incorporate convenience into their clientele shopping experience both online and in their store. In fact as I understand, there are plans to add truly unique and customize flower arrangements to their website. From the look of things, Bay Bouquet has a lot of thrilling things in store for their customers this summer. But the one thing that remains the same with them is dedication to service. When you send flowers with Bay Bouquet Floral Studio you know the person receiving it will enjoy the work of art they receive.

Flowers are a way of life in Tampa and many creative florists play a part in this lifestyle. Heather will have no problem melding in to the flower culture of Tampa, after all she joining a flower shop that is one of the essential stems of the flower community.

Trendy Floral Centerpiece From Bay Bouquet Floral Studio One of Bay Bouquet’s Trendy Floral Centerpieces

Inside Bay Bouquet Floral Studio Inside Bay Bouquet Floral Studio

Tony Swick, Heather Lockwood and J. Thomas From Bay Bouquet Floral Studio

Bay Bouquet Floral Staff pictured are Tony Swick, Heather Lockwood and J. Thomas.

Bay Bouquet Floral Studio

Bay Bouquet Floral Studio Store Front

Funeral Flowers Live On Despite Changing Memorial Traditions

Funeral services are taking on a very different tone these days while the desire for funeral flowers remains constant. Funeral services today, though not always religious in nature, reflect the long-held traditions of many religious memorial services that celebrate the life of the deceased moreso than mourn a passing.

The family of my sister’s boyfriend recently celebrated ten years in the funeral home industry. My sister’s boyfriend Josh and I stumbled across a recent Ramblin’ Jan blog article that outlined some of the recent changes that help to personalize a loved one’s funeral service—a practice that is gaining popularity largely due to its help in expediting the healing process. Josh confirmed the personalization of funeral services and less rigid practices of mourning.

Josh was also able to offer very valuable news, that is, that funeral flowers are still in high demand and used in a wide variety of ways during the funeral service. According to Ramblin’ Jan, funeral flowers were used to decorate a Steinway and Sons piano during the non-traditional funeral for a concert pianist. Though personalized memorials are becoming the practice of the future, a traditional funeral service still requires traditional memorial gifts, i.e. funeral flowers. Sympathy baskets, casket sprays, funeral arrangements and more will long remain accepted and respectable choices for sympathy gifts or adorning funeral parlors.

Local funeral home directors and florists will be able to guide you in selecting an appropriate sympathy arrangement for the funeral service of a friend or loved one. Whether a traditional funeral service or a personalized memorial service, contact your local florist for information about which funeral flowers or arrangements are appropriate.

Local Florists Acquire New Resource With Flower Shop Network’s The Networker

The Networker, a quarterly publication, from Flower Shop Network was recently launched “as one more way to help the local florist in marketing their business effectively both online and offline,” says Brock Atwill, president of Flower Shop Network.

Most successful businesses have one thing in common and that is great communication skills.Communicating with your peers and your customers is essential to achieving a higher bottom line. Communication is the basis for The Networker.

Floral trends, marketing insights, new features, new products, design techniques, informational tidbits and how to market your business are a few of the features found in the publication which will be mailed to Flower Shop Network members.

“Creating a presence for Flower Shop Network’s local florists online is something we strive for” says Loranne Atwill, FSN Vice-President. “Our marketing services for flower shops includes holiday email campaigns, marketing posters, and information resources like the Bloomin’ Blog and now The Networker.”
Creating tools that help local florists reach and provide quality services for their customers is the goal of Flower Shop Network.If you would like to learn more about this publication or other marketing services offered by Flower Shop Network you can call (870) 215-5444 or go online to Flower Shop Network Florists Only.

Read the first edition of The Networker online now – PDF download.  (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

2008 Ohio Florists Association Convention

The Ohio Florists Association will host their annual OFA Short Course floriculture convention from July 12-15, 2008. Slated as the “PREMIER educational and trade show experience serving the floriculture industry,” the OFA convention will be a valuable experience for member and non-member florists. Columbus, Ohio is once again the host city for the event which will take place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Florists in Columbus, Ohio and guests to Columbus attending the OFA convention can expect to learn, grow, and connect with other florists and industry experts. Make plans now to attend this exciting and education experience today!