Quarterly Publication of the Original Los Angeles Flower Market of American Florists Exchange, Ltd. | Summer / July 2017 • Volume 26 - Number 2
Make a Summer Splash with Floating Florals See Page 6
Three Who MakeA Difference
Story begins on page 4
Elizabeth Seiji
René van Rems Fred Gibbons
Where Good Ideas are Always in Bloom
Wall St. & San Julian St. Merchants
Street map aboveA See detail (above right)
B Casa Blanca Wholesale Flowers, Inc. . . . . . . 213 488.3321Full Service
C Decor Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 629.6949Floral Supplies
D Mellano & Company . . . . . . . . . 213 622.0796Full Service
E Mellano & Company Wholesale Florist . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 622.0796
Full Service
F LA Flower District Association (Badge) . . . . . . . . . 213 627.3696
G Floral Supply Syndicate . . . . . 213 624.3982Floral Supplies
H Moskatel’s, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 689.4590Floral Supplies
I Stamis Wholesale . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 622.6770Floral Supplies
J Cris Flowers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 488.1797Floral Supplies
K Jay’s Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 612.0353Greens
L Floral Prop Rental . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 622.1700Floral Supplies
Vendors in The Original Los Angeles Flower Market of the American Florists Exchange, Ltd.
1 JX Grand Tree Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 213 833.0002Orchids & Cymbidiums
3 Imported Flowers from Paradise, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 626.383.1367Miscellaneous Cut Flowers
4 Dan Stamis, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 622.6770Greens
5 Blossom Valley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 891.9320Roses
6 G.M. Floral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 489.7050Full Service
7 Dayro’s Wholesale . . . . . . . . . . . 213 623.5177Roses & Cut Flowers
7A Flower Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 624.4866Miscellaneous Cut Flowers, Greens
7B Dayro’s Wholesale . . . . . . . . . . . 213 623.5177Roses & Cut Flowers
8 Designer Direct Showcase . . . 213 488.9765Floral Supplies
10 Tommy’s Flower & Vase Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 622.1205Flowers & Vases
11 Eliseo’s Wholesale . . . . . . . . . . . 213 627.4898Miscellaneous Cut Flowers
12A - 13A Kimura Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 488.1620Orchids
12B - 13B Beth Madison Flowers . . . . . . 626 572.4085Miscellaneous Cut Flowers
14 Choice America Flower Wholesale . . . . . . . . . . . 213 489.8377Miscellaneous & Exotic Flowers
15 - 17 Julia’s Wholesale Flowers . . . 213 891.1514Roses & Cut Flowers
18 Zavala Wholesale Flowers . . . . 213 488.0085 20 Wall Street Floral . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 304.8933
Supermarket Florals, Rose Petals & Roses
23, 33- 34 Mellano & Company. . . . . . . . . 213 622.0796Full Service
24 Valle Wholesale Flowers. . . . . 213 688.1062Full Service
26 Gonzalez & Sons Wholesale Flowers . . . . . . . . . . 213 627.7678Miscellaneous Cut Flowers
27 C & K Wholesale . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 327.0313Vases & Ceramics
28 - 29B Ted’s Evergreens . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 624.1524Greens
29A - 30 Vases by Robert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818 322.8826Vases
31 Balloons Away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 683.8819Balloons
32A Gilbert Wholesale Flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 689.9564Miscellaneous Cut Flowers
32B Evanthe Wholesale Flowers, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 622.3695Miscellaneous Cut Flowers
36 - 38 Tropical USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 614.1915Exotic Cut Flowers
39 Tommy’s Flowerland . . . . . . . . 213 612.0379Flowers & Vases
40 S.O.S Wholesale Flower Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 896.0322Miscellaneous Cut Flowers
41 Growers Direct Flowers, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 688.8855Cut Flowers
44 Paradise Garden Wholesale Flowers . . . . . . . . . . 213 488.5144Full Service
45 Orchids Oasis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 627.3696Orchids
50 Martin Sanchez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 629.4154Fruit, Candy & Stuffed Animals
Hours:Trade-Only Hours: Mon & Wed 2am - 8am, Tue & Thurs 5am - 6am, Fri 2am - 8am, Sat Public, Sun Closed
Public Hours: ($2 admission weekdays; $1 on Saturday) Mon & Wed 8am - 12pm, Tue & Thurs 6am - 11am, Fri 8am - 2pm, Sat 6am - 2pm, Sun Closed
For holiday and special hours, see OriginalLAFlowerMarket.com.
The Original Los Angeles Flower Market
B
J
I
H
H
C
39
754 Wall Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014 | Visit us at OriginalLAFlowerMarket.com
SUMMER 2017 | 3
Cover Story: Three Who Make A Difference 4
By Design: Make a SummerSplash with Floating Florals 6
Potpourri 8
Books for You 8
Roundabout 10
Happenings/Calendar 14Got News? Send to our Editor!
(see left column)
ContentsThis newsmagazine is published quarterly (January 1, April 1, July 1, Octo-ber 1) by The Los Angeles Flower Market of The American Florists’ Exchange, Ltd. Location: 754 Wall Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014 • Internet: www.bloomin-news.com. Subscription and advertising details at BloominNews.com.
PublisherOriginal Los Angeles Flower Market of the American Florists’ Exchange
www.originalLAflowermarket.comLook for us on Facebook!
Special Holiday Hours, maps, tenants, seasonal flowersand more available at www.originalLAflowermarket.com
Market Information: 213 622-1966Market Manager/Mellano: 213 622-0796
Board of DirectorsAmerican Florists’ Exchange, Ltd., Los Angeles Flower Market
Christine Duke, Lizbeth A. Ecke, Jim Mellano, Jon Prechtl, John Williams, Paul Ecke III
Editorial and AdvertisingPeggi Ridgway, Wordpix Editorial Solutions
5939 East 24th Street, Tulsa, OK 74114 • 918 991-8373Email: [email protected] • www.bloominnews.com
Art DirectorMichael Wheary, Calypso Concepts
LAFD Association Member Badge ProgramFrank Reyes
766 Wall Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014www.LAFlowerDistrict.com • Mon.-Sat., 6 am to 2 pm • (213) 627-3696
SubscribeThose working in the California floral and horticultural industries may join our mailing list at no cost. Subscribe at BloominNews.com to the print and/or email editions. Get the digital version at http://bit.ly/laflower or text FLOWER to 42828.
DisclaimerNeither the Bloomin’ News nor the Original Los Angeles Flower Market rec-ommends or endorses any products or advertisements displayed in this publication but presents them as a service to our readers.
Advertise in Bloomin’ NewsVisit Bloominnews.com or contact our editor for advertising rates, dimensions and details. Advertise in color. We’ll design your first ad for free!
Index to AdvertisersBottomLine Brokers, Sean Edelstein . . . . . . . . Page 9
Floral Supply Syndicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11
GM Floral Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10
California State Floral Association . . . . . . . . Page 16
Mayesh Wholesale Flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12
Mellano & Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7
Original Los Angeles Flower Market . . . . . . . . Page 3
Teleflora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15
More Than 90 Years’ of service
www.OriginalLAFlowerMarket.com
A Wonderland of Quality, Freshness, Variety, Selection and Great Pricing
It’s YOUR Flower Market!
The Original Los Angeles Flower Market
754 Wall Street, Los AngelesLAFlowerDistrict.com
Elizabeth Seiji AIFDEdelweiss Flower BoutiqueSanta Monica, CA
When Elizabeth Seiji
graced the cover of Bloomin’
News in September 2009 she
had been in business 22 years
at Edelweiss Flower Boutique
in Santa Monica, a location that
had been a flower shop since the
late 1940s. Eight years later, Seiji
continues to be active in the Califor-
nia State Floral Association as well as running
Edelweiss Flower Boutique and making arrangements
for Telefora.com. She is currently working on wed-
ding floral designs and arrangements to be featured in
Flowers& Magazine.
At Edelweiss Flower Boutique, talented staff persons
design simple to high-end arrangements. “I do a lot of
everyday work,” says Seiji. “Many clients like the tight,
low, lush look with roses and hydran-
geas.” The younger people are into
heavier mixes with bay leaves and
different types of fillers.
Although Seiji’s forte is
tropical arrangements, she can
mix them with the more pop-
ular roses and hydrangeas for a
truly unique bouquet. “People
still don’t understand that tropi-
cals are longer lasting, bowed, and
beautiful, but they’re not usually de-
signed well.”
“The Internet has really changed the indus-
try,” says Seiji. “People come to our website, pick
something off of it, then they want us to replicate it.”
But it doesn’t always work like that. When designing
flower arrangements for customers, Seiji has to consider
price point, what’s in season and what is available.
In addition to working in her shop, Seiji designs
for Teleflora.com. She would love consumers to un-
A number of years have passed since The Bloomin’ News published cover stories on Elizabeth Seiji, René van Rems and Fred Gibbons. So we asked our reporter-in-the-field, Gina Conroy*, to talk with these professional floral design-ers and business owners and get some updates. We are delighted to see them all actively designing, staying in touch with the floral community and ahead of the curve when it comes to trends.
3WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
4 | THE BLOOMIN’ NEWS
By Gina Conroy
derstand that the art directors and marketers are the
ones who pick the sample arrangements people see
online. “What you see on the website is not some-
thing we would generally design,” says Seiji. Many
designs are based on what art directors and marketers
think consumers want, not necessarily something that
fits the floral designer’s skill set. “We make ten sam-
ples of an arrangement in the price point they need
and the art directors pick one or two and we make it
the way they want.”
René van Rems, AIFDCarlsbad, California
Internationally known as
one of the world’s top profes-
sional floral designers and in-
structors, René van Rems has
been busy spreading his mes-
sage of creativity and sustain-
ability since he last appeared in
Bloomin News in March of 2012.
Teaching for 40 years, van Rems
is passionate about getting the message
out to promote his current workshop “The
Business of Creativity.” Not only does this workshop
cover an hour of theory, but he also addresses market-
ing and selling for commercial designers.
“Creative people are the worst salespeople in the
world. We just want to play with flowers,” says van
Rems. “I tell my students that their creativity should
not just be about designing or arranging bouquets,
but they should use their creativity for anything that
makes them sustainable. And to do that, designers and
people in the industry have to learn to market and sell
themselves.”
Van Rems admits the industry is in turmoil and
the future of the designer to make a living is uncer-
tain. The key to profitability has always been to change
and adapt.
“Designers can make a living in this business, but
they have to focus on making a living,” says van
Rems. Because creative people are niched and are so
accustomed to doing what they do, they don’t adapt
to industry changes quickly enough.
“If things change, you change before or with
them, says van Rems. “You either adapt and change
or talk and complain.” It’s crucial for the designer and
shop owner to stay ahead of the game, ahead of the
market trends, or at least keep up with them.
When the trend went from people buying floral
arrangements in flower shops to supermar-
kets, many good designers saw that as
an opportunity to work for those
supermarkets. “Supermarkets
saw the industry and looked at
it as a marketing opportunity
and they have been success-
ful in their floral sales,” van
Rems says. “Many people in
the industry are blind to other
options. We’re just so close,
we can’t see it.”
Van Rems spreads this mes-
sage of sustainability in every work-
shop he holds. Another passion he has is
helping designers know their worth. “I know people
my age who are established and are in a professional
midlife crisis,” van Rems says. “I tell them to think of
other things they can do like teaching or consulting.”
Van Rems recognizes that the “poor artist as a
martyr” syndrome is still alive and well especially in
the florist industry. He coaches artists to do a little self
evaluation, determine their monetary worth and then
ask for it.
“The value of free is nothing,” says van Rems.
“I want people to be successful. Because if you only
make $10 an hour, then we won’t have new people
coming in.” The industry will be sustained by design-
ers keeping up with trends and getting paid what they
are worth.
Continued on page 13
SUMMER 2017 | 5
TM
AKE A
SUM
MER
SPL
ASH
WITH
FLOA
TING
FLOR
ALS o paraphrase Cole Porter, as the temperature’s
rising, it isn’t surprising that parties and events are poolside in the summertime. Turquoise waters pose an excellent opportunity to create large and small float-ing floral installations as party decoration options.
Last month, my company co-sponsored the #Cabana-Boss Leadership Summit for wedding and event plan-ners at Terranea Resort at its Cielo Point pool. Float-ing flowers complemented the theme. Here’s how to make large and small floral stems and sprays go swimmingly into summer celebrations.
Small Floating Blooms:Single stems and leaves float, but move with pool filter currents and breezes. Test pool before adding florals. Attach florals to fishing weights using fishing line to anchor flowers. Use extension poles to place through-out a larger pool. (Poles can be found at pool supply stores).
Medium Floating Florals:Create small floral sprays which can be floated in inflatable drink co-zies. Anchor with fishing weights as for small florals. For larger sprays, float florals on top of kickboards made for swimming and anchor each with white river stone inside a white flat-bottomed drawstring organza bag. Alternately, make floats out of pool noodles tied into rings. (Protect the vase from the water so no floral foam or flora escapes into the pool.)
Large Floral Installations for Pools:In lieu of building platforms over a pool on which to display flowers, a more accessible way to float larger flower designs is by using stiff body surfing boards. Attach Oasis Floral Foam Raquettes on top of a body board using waterproof floral adhesive and design away!
Photos and Article by Kit Wertz, Flower Duet, Torrance, CA
Using a foam pirate hat turned upside down placed inside a pool noodle that I cut and tied with string, I was able to support a medium-sized floral design easily and securely. The green kickboards are made of the same noodle material and float a medium-sized floral design well when stacked and secured.
Flowers and leaves float well and look great attached together to form statement pieces. Anchor with fishing line and fishing weights to keep cur-rents at bay from breezes and pool filters.
One of these designs was floated using the pool noodle/pirate hat method and the other used two kickboards made of “pool noodle” material. Total costs of float sup-plies under $5 for both designs.
These inflatable drink cozies were a perfect size to hold a disposable 5 oz. plastic glass filled with floral foam and flowers which we used for our #CabanaBoss event at Ter-ranea Resort.
THE HIDDEN DIFFERENCE What makes a flower perform? One hidden difference is maintaining the cold chain.
Mellano & Company bucks the trend selling flowers only in our coolers and delivering in refrigerated trucks. Why? It’s better for the flowers bringing freshness that makes events
(large or small) the best they can be! Call your sales rep to make your next order.
CONTACT INFO:LOS ANGELES 888-635-5266 mellano.com
8 | THE BLOOMIN’ NEWS
POTPOURRI
Magic at The Dinner Amongst Flowers The second stop on the 2017 American Grown Field
to Vase Dinner Tour played out to a sold-out crowd
at Gallup & Stribling Orchids in Carpinteria. The
magical evening included a tablescape and workshop
with Debi Lilly of A
Perfect Event (and
of Oprah Winfrey
fame). Dinner was
designed by chefs
Ron True and Jose
Garcia of Rincon
Beach Club & Catering. Certified American Flower
farmers Alex and Case Van Wingerden provided a
tour of their farm.
The third stop was the American Grown Field
to Vase Dinner at The Flower Fields in Carlsbad.
It attracted 175 people for dining at sunset in the
midst of blooming ranunculus and overlooking the
ocean. Chef John Miller of Bistro West prepared a
scrumptious meal for a floral setting with designs by
Carly Cylinder (the “Flower Chef”) and her talented
team. Certified American Grown’s administrator
Kasey Cronquist kicked off the evening by welcoming
guests at a reception at the Paul Ecke Jr. Barn, near the
boutonniere bar. Carly Cylinder shared her passion
with the crowd and went live on Facebook with
American Grown Flowers’ social media guru Niesha
Blancas. Flower farmer Mike A. Mellano of Mellano
& Company led guests on a farm tour.
First Lady Greeted by All American Flowers This year’s First Lady Luncheon, hosted annually
by the Congressional Club in Washington,
D.C., was an all American Grown Flower affair,
according to Kasey Cronquist, AGF administrator.
American farms (some 21 in California) shipped
more than 18,000 stems to a team of 20-plus
volunteer professional designers, and the results
were spectacular. The sponsorship opportunity led
to a meet-and-greet with first lady Melania Trump.
Diana Roy of Resendiz Brothers encouraged the
White House to adopt an all American Grown
Flower policy. The request was reiterated from
the podium to resounding applause; and second
lady Karen Pence asked that a letter be sent to her
making it a formal request.
PFCI and AFE Create “Bobbi” Tribute Professional Floral Communicators – International
Designing with Succulents (Second Edition) by Debra Lee BaldwinThis always popular book has been rewritten and reworked from front to back and includes many colorful new photos as well. Au-thor Debra Lee Baldwin, who lives on “an inhospitable half acre” in Escondido, shares a wealth of gar-dening and design experience in this volume. She’s developed a sophisticated design aesthetic and she knows what works and what doesn’t when it comes to
plants “that drink responsibly” in drought-tolerant environments. More than 300 photos, exciting arrangements by a variety of suc-culent plant designers and good common sense characterize this second edition available from Timber Press (Timberpress.com) for $29.95. Get a signed copy by at-tending the Succulent Extravagan-za at Succulent Gardens nursery in Castroville September 22-23.B
OOKS
FO
R
YO
U
SUMMER 2017 | 9
Bob and Stella Berry by one of their floral displays at the Hun-tington Library and Gardens.
POTPOURRI
has established “Bucks for Bobbi,” an American Floral
Endowment memorial tribute honoring celebrated
floral designer Bobbi Blatchford AAF AIFD PFCI.
PFCI seeded the fund with a $1,000 contribution
from members.
Memorial Day Flowers Project Grows This year’s Memorial Day Flowers effort, spon-
sored by CalFlowers, placed more than 180,000
stems upon graves at Arlington National Cemetery.
Also participating were three national cemeteries
in California: Mira Mar in San Diego, Sacramento
Valley in Dixon and San Francisco in The Presidio
of San Francisco. Mira Mar expected to place some
10,000 stems. A three-fold increase at The Presidio
was due to the generosity of Kitayama Brothers Inc.
and Dramm & Echter. Processing and delivery ser-
vices were donated by Mt. Eden, San Jose.
Sponsorships Open for Fun ‘n Sun Many sponsorships are available for the CalFlow-
ers “Fun ‘n Sun” event to be held August 9-12 at
the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad. For details,
contact Monnaie Pepin at [email protected].
Just for Me Comparing with previous years, nearly one in five
consumers now purchases flowers more frequently for
themselves. This is double the percentage reported in
2009. The percentage purchasing flowers as gifts more
frequently remains static since 2009 (32 percent both
years), however, the percentage purchasing less fre-
quently has decreased (43 percent in 2009 and eigh-
teen percent in 2016). SAF study of 1,557 participants
evenly distributed across Ages 22 – 70.
In Memoriam We regret the passing of Robert Berry, AIFD
on June 3, 2017 at age 92. Bob was a longtime
friend of the Flower Market who passionately pro-
moted the floral industry. His family says “the good
Lord was in need
of a great gardener
and horticulturist in
heaven, so He called
Dad home.” In ad-
dition to managing
his Altadena shop
and designing for ce-
lebrities, Bob Berry
designed large scale floral displays for the Los An-
geles Country Club, the Music Center, Los Angeles
headquarters of major banks and Santa Anita Park,
the Huntington Library and more. A major contri-
bution to the floral industry was Bob’s involvement
with four other Southern California floral designers
in starting the American Institute of Floral Designers
(AIFD) in 1963. A celebration of Bob Berry’s life
was held on June 16, and a memorial fund has been
established at the Huntington Gardens and Library.
Flower Shop BrokerDRE#01926680
Selling Flower Shops Since 1997
Flower Shop BrokerDRE#01926680
ESTABLISHED FLORAL SHOP AWAITS YOU• San Gabriel Valley • 40 years, high traffic street • Free-stand-ing building leased • New technology installed • 2,280 square feet • 2 large walk-in coolers • Rear covered storage • Large private parking lot • $475K annually • Asking: $109K
Owner retiring; will train • Some employees 17 years tenure
Buy or Sell With ConfidenceSean Edelstein 949.551.2060
[email protected] Orange, Riverside, San Bernar-dino & Los Angeles Counties
10 | THE BLOOMIN’ NEWS
ROUNDABOUT
Southern California florists and floral industry kept re-ally busy these last few months, beginning with the Ninth Annual Greenhouse & Nursery Tour of flower farms in the Carpinteria area on April 1. The tour welcomes the public to learn about growing flowers for market. It coincided with the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour’s stop at Gallup & Stribling Orchids earlier in the week.
A good crowd at-tended the “Vin-tage Cascading Wedding Bou-quets. . .Then & Now” April 23 workshop spon-
sored by Southwest AIFD at the Mellano showroom in Los Vegas.
Congrats to Debra Lee Baldwin, who was honored by San Diego Horticultural Society as its “2017 Horticultur-ist of the Year” at its June 12 “Night at the Fair” event.
Also, congrats to Ron Hasson of Villa Park Florist, now retired and enjoying travels and activities with his grandchildren. Martha Perez has changed the name of her Pueme A Florist in Los Angeles to The Scarlet Dahlia. She’s a regular at the Market.
CalFlowers members exhibited at the World Flo-ral Expo in Las Vegas. In addition to giveaways and events J Schwanke of U-Bloom presented a session on current trends in floral design.
Locals receiving recognition in the Florists’ Review’s April 2017 issue of winners include Gini Ortega of Serenade of Flowers in Fullerton and Andrew Nguyen, Amour Florist and Bridal in Sacramento for Reception arrangements; Melinda Lynch AIFD of Festive Designs in San Luis Obispo and Melody King of Fleurish Floral Designs, Carmel, for People; Kathy Simone of I Do Florals in Woodland and Melinda Lynch in Ceremony; Suzanne Smith of Temecula and Gini Ortega in Dresses; Suzanne Smith in Boutonnieres.
GMFLORAL CO
In The Southern California Flower MarketEnter at 740 Maple Ave, 2nd Floor or 755 Wall St, 2nd FloorLos Angeles 90014 • Call 213 489-7055 • Fax 213 489-7706
Summer TimeIs Here.
Come in and see this season’s exciting new
colors, trends and décor for your
calendared events.
Bring in this AD for a one-time
10% discount.Ad good until August 31st
Only one ad to a customer.
Find Us On The Second Floor!convenient, secure parking
Luxe Blooms is our brand of high-end boutique flowers from artisan growers around the world, exclusively at Mayesh.
MAYESHE S T . 1 9 7 8# M A Y E S H L U X E B L O O M S M A Y E S H . C O M / L U X E - B L O O M S
C O N T A C T U S T O G E T Y O U R M A Y E S H L U X E B L O O M S !
F R E S H @ M A Y E S H . C O M | 8 5 5 . 4 6 2 . 9 3 7 4
L O N G E R S T E M S • M O R E B L O O M S • B I G G E R H E A D S
Fred GibbonsTree Frogs Flowers, Beverly Hills
When Fred Gibbons was featured in the Bloomin’
News in September 2007 he was designing and event-
planning for Hollywood stars and celebs doing large
scale events, like charity balls and gala dinners, for
hundreds of people. Ten years later he admits, not
much has changed, except he doesn’t do as much as
he used to.
Gibbons doesn’t have a storefront in Beverly Hills
anymore. In fact, you won’t see many flower shops
anymore. “It used to be there were half a
dozen flower shops in Beverly Hills.”
People used to come and look in
the windows to see the new
designs and changes that the
seasons brought. Now, “the
‘big box’ storefront displays
are few and far between.
It’s a fading industry.”
Today, concierge or
boutique florists, located in
office buildings, serve clients.
Supercenters have capitalized on
the floral business and the Internet
now brings the designs to the clients; in
the past, clients went to the floral designer for ideas.
“People don’t give parties like they used to,”
says Gibbons. “Parties and events are all about giving
something away, and the younger generations don’t
seem to want to spend the money.”
Much of this change has been brought on by
the Internet, which has dramatically transformed
social attitudes and the way business is conducted.
Today people have more access to designs online;
they search websites for what they want. “They go
to Pinterest or my website for ideas,” Gibbons says.
But he is quick to explain that what they see online
are just suggestions.
“The trick to staying in business is translating
what a person wants and making it a reality,” says
Gibbons. “Otherwise, you’re doing the same thing
all the time and you can get burned out.”
Gibbons still caters to very high-end clientele,
but the key to his success has been his adaptability.
“If someone wants a party on an airplane or boat,
or hideaway, we reflect whatever our client wants,”
says Gibbons.
In fact, he just commissioned a 4x5’ American
floral flag, arranged for a funeral service in Reno,
Nevada where he is working with designers to cre-
ate an arrangement exactly as he and the
client envisioned it. “I’m supervis-
ing 500 miles away. I have long
arms and good eyes,” Gibbons
jokes. “We worked out the
details on the phone for an
hour,” says Gibbons. Using
Internet-based Skype, he is
able to supervise the work.
Though the Internet has
taken away the flower shops,
it has opened up a whole new
world for designers to expand
their talent beyond the storefront.
“Design is someone’s imagination
made into reality,” says Gibbons. “People say they
don’t know what they want until you start talking
to them; then they know exactly what they want.
They’re just afraid it’s wrong or crazy or unimagi-
nable.” It’s the artist’s job to take their idea and tell
them you can make it better or anticipate the prob-
lems with the project.
About the Author. Tulsa-based Gina Conroy has been writing creatively since she was eight years old, and professionally for more than 20 years. She has a BS in telecommunications and a minor in journalism from Oral Roberts University. She also teaches kids, teens and adults to release the writer inside. She is published in both fiction and nonfiction.
SUMMER 2017 | 13
3 Who Make a Difference | Continued from page 5
Luxe Blooms is our brand of high-end boutique flowers from artisan growers around the world, exclusively at Mayesh.
MAYESHE S T . 1 9 7 8# M A Y E S H L U X E B L O O M S M A Y E S H . C O M / L U X E - B L O O M S
C O N T A C T U S T O G E T Y O U R M A Y E S H L U X E B L O O M S !
F R E S H @ M A Y E S H . C O M | 8 5 5 . 4 6 2 . 9 3 7 4
L O N G E R S T E M S • M O R E B L O O M S • B I G G E R H E A D S
C A L E N D A R
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JULY
1, 8, 15, 22, 29 “The Wall” Farmers Market every Saturday on Wall Street between Seventh and Eighth streets. Be part of the entertainment! Enjoy the music! 9 am to 2 pm.
3 Independence Day celebrated
1 – 4 American Flowers Week, co-produced by the “Slow Flowers Podcast” with Debra Prinzing and Slowflowers.com.
1 – 5 2017 AIFD National Symposium “X” at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel, Seattle, WA. See AIFD.org or call 410 752-3318.
12 “Wedding Centerpieces & Table Accents” workshop, Flower Duet, Torrance. Call 310 792-4968 or see Flowerduet.com.
14 Orange County Fair, OC Fair & Event Center, Costa Mesa. OCFair.com.
15 “Prolific Proteas” work-shop, Flower Duet, Torrance. Call 310 792-4968 or see Flowerduet.com.
16 – 22 Teleflora’s “Make Someone Smile” week
22 SAF’s One-Day Profit Blast at the Renaissance St. Louis Air-port Hotel, St. Louis, MO. Call 800 336-4743 or visit SAFnow.org.
23 Parents Day
AUGUST
5, 12, 19, 26 “The Wall” Farmers Market every Saturday on Wall Street between Seventh and Eighth streets. Be part of the entertainment! Enjoy the music! 9 am to 2 pm.
1 – 4 WF&FSA 2017 Manage-
ment Institute, Embassy Suites Denver Downtown, Denver, CO. Call 888 289-3372 or see WFFSA.org.
2 – 13 Ventura County Fair, Fairgrounds in Ventura. Ventura-countyfair.com.
6 International Friend- ship Day
National Sisters Day
7 – 9 FTD Boot Camp, three day intensive workshop at FTD Headquarters in Downers Grove, IL.
9 – 12 Fun ‘n Sun Conven-tion sponsored by CalFlowers, at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Carls-bad. Golf tourney, grower tour, welcome reception, Flower Fair and Pre-Show event, educational seminars, floral displays. For details contact Monnaie Pepin, [email protected].
19 “Field to Vase with Dahl-ias” workshop, Flower Duet, Torrance. Call 310 792-4968 or see Flowerduet.com.
SEPTEMBER
2, 9, 16, 23, 30 “The Wall” Farmers Market every Saturday on Wall Street between Seventh and Eighth streets. Be part of the entertainment! Enjoy the music! 9 am to 2 pm.
1 – 24 Los Angeles County Fair, Fairplex, Pomona. See LACountyfair.com.
6 – 9 “SAF Palm Beach 2017” 133rd Annual Convention, The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida. Call 877 602-8182 or visit SAFnow.org.
11 Patriot Day
Citizenship Day
11 – 22 Basic Floral Design class with Phil Rulloda, AAF AIFD PFCI, at Southern California School of Floral Design. Kindly contact the school for location and more details: 714 776-7445.
13 International Chocolate Day
16 “Happy Hydrangeas” workshop, Flower Duet, Torrance. Call 310 792-4968 or see Flower-duet.com.
“Bouquet & Boutonniere” workshop, Flower Duet, Torrance. Call 310 792-4968 or see Flower-duet.com.
“Stories from the Gar-den: African Plants and Their Stories,” lecture with Frank McDonough of Los Angeles Arbo-retum, at Rancho Los Cerritosa, Long Beach. See Rancholoscer-ritos.org or call 562 206-2040.
22 – 23 Succulent Extrava-ganza, Succulent Gardens nursery, Castroville. Debra Lee Baldwin will speak and sign cop-ies of her Designing with Succu-lents (second edition).
23 “Succulent Wreaths” workshop at Huntington Library, San Marino; conducted by the Flower Duet team. Details at FlowerDuet.com.
SAVE THESE DATES
October 4 – 6, 2017:Proflora 2017
Bogota, Colombia.See Proflora.org.co.
October 11, 2017:Petal It Forward,
by SAF, See SAFnow.org.
November 4 – 5, 2017:California State Floral
Association “CaliFlora”
Check our website OriginalLAflowermarket.comfor Flower Market shopping hours, parking info and more.
Our calendar listings help you tie your business promotions to special events and observances.
We’vemade all the arrangements so your business can business can blossom.blossom.
• Our best-in-class technologies, including our award-winning POS and web-hosting solutions, are built to run your business effi ciently – connecting you with consumers and the largest network of fl orists.
• We invest heavily in robust national consumer advertising campaignsand develop unique and effective marketing programs andproducts – all to help you acquire and retain new customers.
• We have industry-leading experience and knowledge, and are always available with the support you need – allowing you to stay focused on your business.
• With over 80 years of partnership with fl orists, we are 100% committed to ensuring thatevery single order in our network goes to a local fl orist.
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Original Los Angeles Flower Market754 Wall Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014
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CaliFlora 2017CaliFlora 2017
[ SAVE THE DATES ]Saturday, November 4 Sunday, November 5
• World-class Designer Demos• New Floral Varieties • CCF Pinning• Sensational Hands-on Workshops• Vendors, Silent Auction and More
The Best Floral Design Contest & Show in SoCal
For More Details/Register: Call CSFA: 916.448.5266 • Email: [email protected]