Find Your Local Florist:Everything you want to know about flowers!
At the recent Northeast Floral Expo in Groton, CT florists were asked to do something a little different for a design competition. This Project Runway-inspired design competition, Flora Couture, had florists creating stunning cocktail dresses out of botanicals, complete with celebrity judges. All proceeds from the event benefited the Pediatric Oncology Program at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital.
The FSN crew recently returned from Groton Connecticut where they attended the 2013 Northeast Floral Expo. This show is one of the largest florist conventions offered in the States with over 1000 floral industry attendees from more than 9 states.
Flower Shop Network had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Northeast Floral Expo recently. This is the nation’s 4th largest florist trade show, serving all the floral industry in New England, New York, New Jersey, and beyond. It was jam-packed with great programs and events.
The 2011 Northeast Floral Expo was March 12-13 at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
Find your next florist convention here! Check out our pictures below! [Read more…]
This is our fourth year to participate in the Northeast Floral Expo. Pictured below you can see myself, my wife Loranne and Leslie Cox.
It’s like going to a reunion and seeing family you haven’t seen in a long time. It is something we look forward to every year. Some of the florists attending are from Connecticut. Others are from surrounding states like Massachusetts, New York and Vermont. The convention gives us a chance to talk to florists in person. We gain a better perspective of what is happening in their region. We often come back with great ideas on how we can better serve the floral industry.
Many of the florists I spoke to were reflecting on their past Valentine’s Day business. Although this year’s Valentine’s Day business wasn’t the best in recent history, the general consensus was it was better than expected. Many florists shared their business philosophies with us. Some were altering the way they do business. Others were investigating new ways to promote their business both online and off.
In fact, Leslie had a great conversation with a new member, MariEllen owner of A Dykstra Florist in Spring Valley New York. They discussed several ways that MariEllen could promote her FSN Custom eCommerce Website. Among other things, they discussed how MariEllen should claim her Google Local Listing to make sure that her correct website address was displayed.
Loranne spoke to several florists who were combining their online marketing efforts with their offline marketing strategies. Several florists who are using FSN’s Holiday email campaigns were also sending direct mail to customers. They use the emails and direct mailers to remind customers about upcoming holidays and to direct them to the florist’s web site to make their purchases. Many of these florists were happy to hear about the direct marketing templates (formerly direct mail templates) Flower Shop Network will offer to members starting next month.
Florists weren’t the only ones we had a chance to speak to at the Expo. We spoke to vendors as well. At the beginning of the Expo, many vendors were concerned about how the economy would affect attendance. When it was all said and done everyone agreed attendance was good and the show was a success.
The Northeast Floral Expo was held (February 27 – March 1, 2009) in Cromwell, Connecticut. Visitors to the Flower Shop Network booth were given a chance to win a Floral Selection Guide, a complimentary listing on FSN or a complimentary eCommerce website package. Anyone visiting the booth had the opportunity to win by filling out a registration card or by leaving one of their business cards.
The drawing was held the Tuesday morning after our staff returned to the office. We are pleased to announce the winners.
Winner of eCommerce Website Package (Premium Florist Listing + eCommerce Website)
eCommerce Website
Congratulations to Carole’s Flowers & Gifts who was the grand prize winner!
Carole’s Flowers & Gifts
372 Court St
Plymouth, MA 02360
(508) 747-3855 – Local
Located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Carole’s Flowers & Gifts also provides floral delivery service to the following areas: Duxbury, MA; Carver, MA; Kingston, MA.
The eCommerce website package consists of a premium florist listing in the Flower Shop Network online florists directory, as well as one of our fully eCommerce enabled flower shop websites. The complimentary listing and website will run for a full year on Flower Shop Network.
Congratulations to Carole and the rest of the staff at Carole’s Flowers & Gifts, we hope to see you again at next year’s event.
Winner of Premium Florist Listing
Congratulations to The Petal Pusher, the winner of a Premium Florist Listing which will run in the Flower Shop Network online florist directory for one full year. Flower Shop Network welcomes you as a new member.
Premium Florist Listing
The Petal Pusher
450 Howe Ave
Shelton, CT
(203) 924-2901- Local
Located in Shelton, Connecticut, The Petal Pusher also provides floral delivery service to the following areas: Ansonia, CT; Derby, Ct; Oxford, CT; Seymour, CT
Congratulations to Sherrie, Dick and the rest of the staff at The Petal Pusher. The Flower Shop Network staff looks forward to seeing you at the convention next year.
Winner of FSN Floral Selection Guide
FSN Floral Selection Guide
Congratulation to Ruth Chase Flowers who won The FSN Floral Selection Guide. The guide contains 200 pages of vibrant, eye-catching floral selections including the designer recipes for each arrangement.
This should come in handy for Ruth Chase Flowers in New Millford, CT. Maria Luisa and her staff also provide flower delivery to: Washington, Bridgewater, Sherman, New Preston, Danbury, Brookfiled, Washington Depot, Gaylordsville, Marble Dale, South Kent, Roxbury and Kent, Connecticut.
Congratulations to Maria Luisa and the rest of the staf at Ruth Chase Flowers. We look forward to seeing you at the convention next year. We hope you create many of the flower arrangements from the Floral Selection Guide through out the year.
The Flower Shop Network staff enjoyed the show tremendously and looks forward to next year’s show.
Ever wanted to visit Cromwell Connecticut? Now is the perfect opportunity! Flower Shop Network will be attending the Northeast Floral Expo 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell. Just 15 minutes south of Hartford, this is sure to be an exciting time for florists in Connecticut and the surrounding areas.
The show is set to begin on Friday, February 27th and will run through Sunday, February 29nd. There are many great exhibitions and programs that will take place at this floral expo. For instance, florists attending can learn new techniques from the many how-to sessions. There are also business clinics with handy advice, a florist bookstore with useful information, design competitions and more. There’s something for everyone to love!
This is also a great time to meet network coordinators from Flower Shop Network. While networking with other floral industry professionals, stop by our booth and meet the people that make Flower Shop Network the best choice in online directories of florists.
Be sure to stop in to see Flower Shop Network at booth #47!
Representatives from Flower Shop Network attended the Northeast Floral Expo in Hartford CT on March 1st and 2nd.
From upper left to right: Joe Hays, Loranne Atwill, Brock Atwill and Leslie Cox.
New England florists and vendors attended floral design, business and technology seminars and presentations. New business relationships were forged and products were purchased and sold. High School students competed in floral design and select florists displayed some amazing work. Congratulations to the officials of the Northeast Floral Expo for another successful show.
Renato Cruz Sogueco, Chief Information Officer with SAF visited our booth after his presentation on how to be a web savvy florist.
Renato’s seminar was attended by more than fifty florists interested in claiming their place on search engine results. It is apparent that owners are realizing the Internet is the new preferred way for customers to shop and order flowers. Renato relayed the story of a shop owner in Denver, located directly across the street from a large hi-tech company. The shop owner said that almost 30% of his revenue came from the employees of that building, although he had never had a single one of them come inside his shop. Renato expanded on the point by saying that Generation Y (kids these days) are more comfortable online, than on the phone.
Renato outlined some basic ways to improve your website’s appeal to the search engines, pointing out that content in the form of keyword rich text was really more important than “pretty pictures”or flash.
Blogging as well as exposure on social networking sites such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com and even YouTube.com are ways to gain more exposure for a flower shop’s website, according to Renato.
In the end, a shop wants to wrap up as many postions on the natural results as possible. Ways to accomplish this are through listing with online floral directories, such as FlowerShopNetwork.com. For more information on Renato and SAF visit www.safnow.org.
Joe Hays of Flower Shop Network meets member Jenny Thomas of Oak Hill Florist from Scarborough, ME.
Flower Shop Network members Dot and Paul Chenevert of The Green Oak Florist in Hyde Park, New York, talk to Leslie about their new FSN website.
Our neighbor at the show also happens to be the representative for our phone system here at work. We would highly recommend anyone looking to improve communications to contact Kelly Lumpkin of Alternate Access about their TeleVantage system.
A member of our sister site, FGmarket.com (wholesale directory for floral and gift products) , Carroll Hunt, is always good for a laugh and a positive attitude. Carroll offers a delivery product that we personally used back when we had a flower shop. We highly recommend it. Check out their website at SeminoleDeliverySystem.com.
Thank you to the officials of the 2008 Northeast Floral Expo for producing a very productive show. We look forward to seeing all of you again in 2009.
Although Valentine’s Day 2008 is over, the next two weeks is a busy time for many florists. Several florists’ conventions are taking place February 29th through March 9th.
The Northeast Floral Expo will be celebrating its 75th year, February 29th –March 2nd in Hartford Connecticut. Florists attending have the opportunity to attend workshops, programs and a trade fair. Some of the Flower Shop Network staff have their bags packed and are ready to go.
Florists from Georgia attending the Georgia State Florists Association Convention February 29th – March 2nd in Atlanta Georgia. Florists will have the opportunity to network with others from across the state.
Florists from Michigan can attend the Michigan Florists’ Association Spring Conference and Great lakes Floral Expo February 29th – March 3rd in Grand Rapids Michigan. Florists will have the opportunity to enjoy many activities all revolving around the “Visionary Concepts For A Bright Future” theme
Florists from Illinois can attend the Illinois State Florists Association Conference March 6th-9th in Springfield Illinois. Florists will have the opportunity to attend workshops, competitions and other useful programs.
Although many florists are exhausted from the Valentine’s Day holiday, they can’t pass up the excellent opportunity to network and learn the latest floral trends. So for all of you attending these great conferences, remember its not all work at the conventions – you get to play quite a bit, too. For those of you attending the Northeast Floral Expo our network coordinators look forward to seeing you. In fact if you stop by the Flower Shop Network trade show booth, we have a great totes bag to give you.
I know the Northeast Floral Expo is over a month away, but Flower Shop Network is buzzing with preparations for their journey to Hartford, Connecticut. One of the top florist trade shows, the Northeast Floral Expo will be held February 29th thru March 2nd.
After a long and hectic Valentine’s Day, this florist trade show is a refreshing change of pace. Florists, from over 15 states, will be inspired and educated by an array of international designers during the four design show sessions. Many fantastic learning opportunities are available for florists at the expo. Florists can learn the fundamentals of creating excellence, both in design and in their day-to-day operations, at the business clinics and workshops. Valuable how-to-tips are demonstrated right on the Trade Fair floor and free to all attendees. These how-to demonstrations are interesting as well as educational. The spectacular displays at the Trade Fair will introduce florists to incredible new products and ideas. In fact, Flower Shop Network has one of the most popular booths at the Northeast Floral Expo.
Great information and products aren’t the only thing in store for florists attending the Expo. Local Connecticut florists and Southern New England florists can display their flower arrangements. Connecticut Florists Association members can participate in a floral design competition. The 2008 CFA Floral Design Competition will have two divisions. The first division is open to any beginner to semi-experienced CFA member. The second is the “best of the best” competition. Previous winners of the state competition will via for the title of Floral Designer of the Year 2008. Probably, the most exciting aspect of the Northeast Floral Expo is the opportunity to network with other florists at one of the workshops, competitions, on the Trade Fair floor or at the banquet.
The Flower Shop Network Sales Co-coordinators are looking forward to meeting up with old friends and excited about meeting new ones. So mark you calendar – that’s February 29th through March 2nd – We hope to see you there.
For non-florists the Northeast Floral Expo is sharing the Connecticut Convention Center with the Connecticut Home & Remodeling Show. Florists attending the Expo receive a pass for the Home Show – in return the Home Show attendees are invited to the state floral design competition and the local floral displays at the expo.
At the Northeast Floral Expo in Hartford, Connecticut February 24-25, 2007, visitors to the Flower Shop Network booth registered for a drawing for a complimentary eCommerce website package. Visitors to the Flower Shop Network booth at the convention registered to win the Grand Prize or First Prize package by filling out a small registration card or leaving a business card at the booth. The drawing was open to both existing Flower Shop Network members as well as nonmembers that registered at the Flower Shop Network booth on either Saturday or Sunday of the convention. The drawing was held Tuesday morning after our staff returned to the office and the results are in! Here are the lucky winners:
Grand Prize – Florist Listing + eCommerce Website
Congratulations to McQuade’s Marketplace of Mystic, Connecticut as the grand prize winner! The grand prize consists of a premium florist listing in the Flower Shop Network online florists directory as well as one of our fully eCommerce enabled flower shop websites.
McQuade’s Marketplace
14 Clara Drive
Mystic, CT 06355(860) 536-4633 – Local
(860) 572-0337 – Fax
The complimentary listing and website will run for a full year on Flower Shop Network. Located in Mystic, Connecticut, Mequade’s Marketplace also provides floral delivery service to the following areas:
Westerly, Rhode Island (RI)
Groton, Connecticut (CT)
Ledyard, Connecticut (CT)
Noank, Connecticut (CT)
Pawcatuck, Connecticut (CT)
Stonington, Connecticut (CT)
North Stonington, Connecticut (CT)
Ashaway, Rhode Island (RI)
Bradford, Rhode Island (RI)
Block Island, Rhode Island (RI)
Flower Shop Network welcomes you as a new member. Congratulations to Tracy and the rest of the staff at Mequade’s Marketplace, we hope to see you again at next year’s event.
First Prize – Florist Listing
Congratulations to Sunset Flowerland & Greenhouse as the winner of our first Prize package. The first prize package includes a premium florist listing in the Flower Shop Network online florist directory for one full year.
Sunset Flowerland & Greenhouse
491 Ridge Road
Fairfield, ME 04937(207) 453-2357 – Local
(207) 453-7742 – Fax
Located in Fairfield, Maine, Sunset Flowerland & Greenhouse als provides floral delivery service to the following areas:
Waterville, Maine (ME)
Clinton, Maine (ME)
Oakland, Maine (ME)
Hinkley Hill, Maine (ME)
Flower Shop Network welcomes Sunset Flowerland & Greenhouse as a new member. Congratulations to Cathy, Harlan and the rest of the staff at Sunset Flowerland and Greenhouse, the Flower Shop Network staff looks forward to seeing you at the convention next year.
Congratulations to Jamie Symington of Glen Terrence in Hamden, Connecticut winner of a 19″ color TV. Flower Shop Network provided a 19″ Color TV for the Northeast Floral Expo’s Silent Auction.
Flower Shop Network would like to thank all of our members that stopped by our booth at the Northeast Floral Expo as well as the many new shops and non member florists that took the time to visit with us. Flower Shop Network would also like to send out special thanks to the Connecticut Florists Association for the invitation to the convention – the CFA staff and membership did a wonderful job in making all of the exhibitors and attendees feel welcome. We appreciate your support as we continue to provide affordable, quality products and services to the floral industry. Flower Shop Network has already committed to attending the 2008 Northeast Floral Expo and we hope to see you.
Pictured below are the officers of the Connecticut Florists Association.
Flower Shop Network staff attending the Northeast Floral Expo sponsored by the Connecticut Florists Association are pictured below from the left:
Joe Hays, Network Coordinator
Adrian Burks, Technology
Loranne Atwill, CFO/Owner
Brock Atwill, President/Owner
