Information:

Cultivate’20 will be held July 111-14, 2020 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

For more information about this event, please visit OAF’s Website.

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2019 CONVENTION

July 26 – 28, 2019 
Holiday Inn Louisville East Hurstbourne
More details TBA

For more information, please visit the Kentucky Florist Association website.

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The Texas Floral Expo will offer two courses of study rather than an exclusive focus on design.

The Design Course of Study and the Business Course of Study relate to the needs of the individual offering the best possible education whether your passion is design or whether you feel the need to expand your business skills.

If design is your focus then you will be able to register for presentations that cover a multitude of design topics presented by the best in the industry.

If you are all about business there will be two and half days of specific programming covering a range of topics! Additional information can be found at the Texas State Floral Association website.

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OAF Cultivate’19 will be held July 13-16, 2019 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

For more information about this year’s event, please visit OFA Website.

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2019 – AIFD Conference – Awaken – Las Vegas

More information TBA

For more information on this event, please visit the AFID website. 

The 2019 Florist Mother’s Day Survey Results Are In!

 

A big thank you to everyone who participated in our annual Mother’s Day survey. Once again we received a strong response from our readers and members.

Results were based on the 347 retail surveyed by Floranext between May 15th through February 22nd.

Were 2019 Mother’s Day Sales Better Than Last Year?

• Lower – 18.1%
• Same – 20.5%
• Higher – 61.4%

Were Mother’s Day In-Store Retail sales greater than last year?

• Yes – 59%
• No – 41%

Aside From Red Roses, What Was Your Top-Selling Products This Mother’s Day?

• Arranged Flowers – 79.5%
• Hand-Tied Bouquets – 11.7%
• Other Roses – 7%
• Other – 1.8%

What Was The Most Popular Gift Item This Mother’s Day?

• Candy/Chocolates – 41.8%
• Stuffed Animals – 2.4%
• Balloons – 14.7%
• Other – 41.2%

What Did you Charge For  Dozen Long Stem Roses Arranged

• $75.00 (average total from participants)

How Many Extra Temporary Drivers Did You Hire This Mother’s Day?

• 0 – 18%
• 1 – 22.1%
• 2 – 20.3%
• 3 – 18.6%
• 4 or more – 20.9%

How Many Extra Temporary Shop Staff Did You Hire This Mother’s Day?

• 0 – 30.8%
• 1 – 26.7%
• 2 – 18%
• 3 – 15.7%
• 4 or more – 8.7%

Did You Use/Rent Delivery Vehicles / Trucks This Mother’s Day?

• 0 – 69.2%
• 1 – 14%
• 2 – 9.9%
• 3 – 1.1%
• 4 or more – 5.8%

When Did Your Floral Business Start Receiving Mother’s Day Orders?

• First Half Of April – 3%
• Second Half Of April – 3%
• First Week Of May – 59.3%
• Mother’s Day Week – 34.8%

What, If Anything, Would You Do Differently Next Mother’s Day?

List of a few randomly selected comments:

• “Order More Flowers.”
• “Get Flowers In Earlier.”
• “Bigger Online Presence, Online Advertising.”
• “More Prepping of Vases.”
• “Make up more flower arrangements ahead of time.”
•  “Promote earlier and use Social Media More!.”
• “Limit The Options.”
• “Order more plants as another option.”
• “Pray for nicer weather.”

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Florists, was this Mother’s Day successful and resulted in more sales? What would you consider to implement that next year? Do you have any feedback on your 2019 Mother’s Day sales season? Your fellow florists would love to hear about it—please feel free to share in the comment section below.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

 

The unique and beautiful traditions of May Day have sadly become lost and wilted over time—is it time to bring them back?

Spring is finally here! This time of year is often associated with floral holidays like Easter and Mother’s Day, but years ago, the season used to start in earnest with May Day.

When Did May Day Start?

The earliest known history of May celebrations began with the Floralia, the festival of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers. This festival was typically held on April 27th. The Floralia opened with theatrical performances, including a ritual called the Florifertum that was performed on either the 27th or May 3rd, where a bundle of wheat was carried into a shrine for the devotion of Flora.

In the 18th century many Catholics observed May Day with various devotions to the Virgin Mary. In works of art, school skits and other performances, Mary’s head would be depicted adorned with flowers.

Today, the most commonly-known May Day traditions are the maypole, crowning the Queen of May, and the giving of May baskets. dancing around a painted maypole decorated with flowers. People dance around the maypole holding long ribbons attached to the top of the pole. Crowning the Queen of May, and the tradition of anonymously leaving neighbors, family, and friends May baskets of flowers and sweets on their doorsteps.

What is a May basket?

In the 19th and 20th century, children and young adults would start the spring off by gathering flowers and arranging them in a paper cone along with candies and small trinkets. These were then hung on the door of a friend’s or neighbor’s home to welcome them into spring.

As time progressed, baskets were then used along with paper cones in the May Day tradition, and a new meaning was formed. The holiday started to become a second Valentine’s Day, it was a way of letting a romantic prospect know your feelings.

So what happened to this joyous holiday—was it a spread of “stay off my lawn” mentality? Nowadays, only certain parts of the US, Canada, and European countries still observe May Day.

Can May Day Be Brought Back?

Why not?? As florists we handle and arrange beautiful flowers each day, why not bring back the May Day series of traditions to put a smile back on someones face.

It’s all about informing the customer and piquing their interest. Write a blog or post on social media, offer discounts or specials on May Day.

As a business owner, there is a potential in obtaining a new and younger generation of customers by offering May Day baskets or cones. One way is to offer May Day baskets or cones to your customers, explain the tradition and see if they would like to purchase to distribute the basket or cone themselves or for you to deliver to a local nursing home or hospital.

Everything is potential and why not start with a holiday that was created for flowers!

 

Florists, do you try and keep the May Day tradition alive at your shop, and would you be interested in bringing it back? Please share your thoughts and comments below!

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Floranext offers great florist software, florist POS, florist websites and florist wedding proposal software. Our florist technology products are built by florists, for florists. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here.

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Celebrating the Past. Fired up for the Future.

100 Years – WUMFA 2019
Wisconsin & Upper Michigan Florists Association

More information TBA – For more information, please visit the WUMFA website. 

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San Francisco Flower and Garden Show March 20, 21, 22, 23, & 24, 2019

At the Cow Place in Daly City, CA.

For more information about this event please visit the San Diego County Flower & Plant website.

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Is it time to continue your education to upgrade your skills and expand your knowledge?

Have you registered for the classes that will enhance your design ability and profitability?

If not then you should do it today!

We have amazing talent again this year excited to share their knowledge with all of you!  

Please act now and register as prices will soon go up. Don’t forget to register for the grant, competitions.

We look forward to seeing you very soon! 

For more information on this event, please visit the Illinois Florist Association website.