If you own a retail flower shop, you know how difficult it can be to re-design your retail display areas. The cost of retail space is high, and so you must make every square foot of space that is available a profit center.

Free-standing shelving units aare one way to display, and, though bulky,  can be moved from place to place as needed. But they cannnot do the job when it comes to utilizing the space that most shops forget about... The WALLS.

Most retailers do not adequetly make the best use of their walls. This is usually because they do not know that there are several inexpensive, yet effective, ways to dress up the wall in a way that a large amount of product can be displayed. I am talking about Pegboard and Slatwall with display rings and cones.

Pegboard Application

Of the two, pegboard is the least expensive, and can look less formal than you might want, but a section of 4ft X 8 ft pegboard, mounted horrizontally, can generate more profit per square foot than even a very expensive floor display unit. Several fixtures for fresh or silk flowers are available for pegboard only, as well as the P/S Ring that will fit both pegboard and slatwall.

Slatwall Application

Like Pegboard, slatwall comes in various sizes, usually 4 ft X 8 ft sheets. There are horrizontal grooves which are evenly spaced accross the face of the slatwall. The slatwall is fastened or glued to the surface of the wall, then all you need to do is hook your fixtures, shelving or display rings to the wall and start selling.

Flower Rings and Buckets

Available in the market is one of the most versitile products that you will want to use in your shop. The P/S Flower Display Ring is interchangabgle between both pegboard and slatwall with no fixture adjustment. You can use the same item on slatwall in the front, or on a pegboard "utility" storage area in the workroom. Many buckets on the market will fit the ring. It is powder coated so it is excellent for both silk flowers as well as fresh flower display in a flower cooler.

If you are new to the floral business, it won't be hard to see that the business you can gain from promoting your design abilities to girls at your local high school for Prom season can be great, and highly profitable.

Don't miss out on prom flower sales!

The High School prom business is, like Valentines Day, squeezed into a reletively short period of time with intense work sessions and added temporary help, but the business is worth it.

The largest-selling items for prom flowers are still traditional corsages, but new are the rhinestone sprays that are now available which add a spark of jewels to the corsage. They add profit to your corsage sale. With so many different rhinestone picks and sprays, you can design a prom flower corsage or bouquet with a different look to every one. Your customers will love the sparkly, elegant look that the rhinestone spray will give to the bouquet.

Another way to build profit into your Prom flower corsage sales is by inserting an LED battery-operated light into the corsage. Available in a variety of colors, these lights are beautiful, and will have your customers brimming with delight.

Get your share of the spring prom flower business by promoting these popular flower accessory items today!

THE SECRET TO KEEPING YOUR FLOWERS FRESHER LONGER

How do you keep your flowers fresh? We have all heard the myths and wives tales as well as mom's resolute instructions: a little bleach,  a splash of vodka, a touch of vinegar. Add some sugar or 7-UP, aspirin, vitamin C, Listerine, and pennies, too. What works, what doesn’t, will it make a difference and will it harm my flowers?

Many home remedies have a thread of truth as their basis. Antibacterial agents like bleach, vinegar, vodka, hydrogen peroxide and Listerine all kill bacteria which are enemies to fresh flowers . They work to keep the water clear and clean to allow the flowers to drink and rehydrate fully without clogging from bacteria. Sugar, 7-UP and Listerine have sugars that “feed” the flower as it drinks the water mixture. Lemon juice, vitamin C and aspirin are wetting agents (acidifiers). They lower the ph of the water so the flower will drink more rapidly.

Copper is an antibacterial agent, and when pennies were made of real copper, which they aren't anymore, they would release enough copper into the vase water to have an effect. Modern pennies, will have no effect other than making your vase of flowers a few cents more valuable.

While home remedies can work, they also can harm your flowers if applied improperly.

FLOWER PRESERVATIVES

That is where professional flower food comes in. No conjecture and no concerns. With proper treatment, most flowers can easily last a week or more.

Flower foods include an antibacterial, a sugar and a wetting agent. All three together in the proper proportion and ready to mix with water. Follow the recipe on the container, and you can extend the life of your flowers by days. Some varieties react so favorably to proper flower food that they will live twice as long as they would with pure water.

With the use of professional flower food, roses will bloom more fully. Gerberas will stand tall without the dreaded “bent neck.” Carnations will last for weeks, and peonies will bloom full and lush.

SELLING CERAMIC SPORTS FLORAL CONTAINERS

Another group of items that every floral designer will use on a regular basis is Ceramic Sports Planters .This is suitable when making floral arrangements for events such as sports banquets, Superbowl, World Series Baseball  and “March Madness”   and it is an extremely profitable item to have in any floral shop.

 Your profit could be enhanced by their unique versatility. You can build creative floral arrangements in them, make them into fun decorations but inexpensive planters, fill them with goodies, use as a centerpiece arrangement for parties, make a “Get Well” gift  for a sick sports fan and many more!  Most sports planters are made  from ceramic, but there are other profitable sports containers made from alternative materials. In whichever way you use sports planters, one thing is for certain and that is you will for sure add profit to your bottom line.

STYLES OF CONTAINERS

There are several styles of ceramic sports planters on the market, covering the major sports popular in the U.S. They are made from various materials like glazed ceramic clay or Dolomite clay. The latter is a softer material, but this is usually reflected in a less-expensive product than found in a true ceramic, glazed and "hard-fired" product.

Choose from ceramic football planters, baseball containers, basketball and golf planters, soccer and tennis sports containers.

BUYING GALVANIZED METAL FRENCH FLOWER BUCKETS

The Galvanized Metal Bucket is an immensely popular item. This floral container product category is probably one of the most sought-after categories that we have seen in a long time.

You can choose from simple “tin pails” , oval planters , window boxes and to the versatile handled French Flower Buckets .You will find galvanized metal floral containers in almost every price range.

The main differences in price are determined by the weight and thickness of the metal and the quality of the galvanized surface. Even though some buckets are advertised as “galvanized”, they are usually only sheet metal with no galvanizing applied, as in the case of our “BACC” series of buckets and the GFTW series.

What to look for in metal floral containers:

The finest galvanized buckets are dipped in a molten nickel bath, which ensures that all seams are sealed against leakage, as well as being totally rust proof. Only one maker goes to this quality extent. These items serve well as flower containers, planters, vases, and display cooler buckets, but they are very expensive. Usually, the standard utility grade french flower buckets that you can more readily find are sufficient. Should you find one that leals, the problem can be easily solved by either squirting some hot glue into the seam that is leaking, or by lining the container with a clear plastic bag.

PROPER USE AND PREPARATION OF FLORAL FOAM

One indispensible product that has evolved over the past fifty- years and continuously been used in floral designing is Wet Floral Foam.  From time-to-time, you will run accross an "old-timer" who will gladly reflect upon memories as to how they did things in the old days. The traditional method adopted by floral designers back then to create wet floral foam was referred to as “Needle Packing”, which is basically using dried pine needles wrapped into a “brick” form, then soaked for days until it is ready to use. The floral designer would then place the needle pack into any floral container. Most designers used a glass bowl at the beginning.

 For funeral wreaths designers would anchor a large  number of needle packs to a wire frame and create the wreath. But now all you have to do is open a box of floral foam in the shape the customer has requested, soak overnight, and start work on your design.Just like Styrofoam, good knowledge in chemical science is necessary to make all wet floral foam products. Like any product type, there are good quality product items as well as bad.

Select the right sized wet floral foam for the job:

A floral arrangement can now be created to a different shapes: and it is available  now on the market. they come in the form of bricks of varying sizes: Deluxe Foam; Mega Brick; Moby Brick; Half Rings;  Open Heart and Solid closed Heart, Disks,Balls or "sphere" either netter or un-netter cones. Convenience  has now even taken wel form to an even new or level by making several shapes of wet floral foam in their own floral containers as seen in new :Designer Rings", Flower cake kits and "foamdomes" for funeral work with their own casket saddles.

To make all wet floral foam products requires exact chemicals in order to achieve the various results desired in wet floral foam types. Like any other product type, there are good quality items as well.

 The major brands of floral foam:

The original floral foam is Oasis floral foam.  The most popular wet floral foams are Oasis floral foam, Artesia wet floral foam made by FloraCraft Corporation and Aquafoam from Syndicate Sales. Cheaper foams are out there, but the absorbency, “staying power” (tendency to keep water without draining) and strength (allows the floral designer to insert flowers without falling apart) usually leave a lot to be desired.Wet floral foam standard bricks are the mainstay of the floral business, and they are available in four consistencies:

•Standard- The original wet floral foam, and used for most every-day floral design work. This consistency is best if soaked overnight.

•Instant- Similar to Standard, but designed to be ready for use with a minimal soaking time- usually 2-6 hours (But overnight is still preferred for total absorption)

• Deluxe- Designed for larger, woody-stemmed flowers

• Spring- Formulated for use with more tender-stemmed “spring” flowers for easier flower insertion.

 Wet floral foam PREPARATION:

The proper way to wet all floral foam items before use is to fill your sink or other water source with liquid and drop the floral foam into the container of liquid, then allow the wet foam to sink on their own rather than forcefully submerge them. When the bricks have sunk to or below the surface of the liquid means they are ready to use.

Styrofoam Basics:

Most of our products used in floral designing have evolved over the past fifty years. Styrofoam is one of the oldest products used in “permanent” or “Silk and Dried” floral arrangements.

Which Styrofoam product to use:

You have many choices when it comes to Styrofoam products. They come in the form of styrofoam sheets and blocks of varying sizes, wreaths, open heart and solid closed hearts , disks , balls or “spheres”, basket or mache inserts or cones and even cut-out shapes like Christmas trees and pre-painted Halloween themed items.

 The best Styrofoam products we recommend are the ones by FloraCraft Corporation. We believe it is free from dust and loose particles, and the consistency (free from “hard” spots) is the finest available. 

Ceramic Baby Planters MAKE YOU MONEY!

Baby Containers/Baby Planters are items that every floral designer will use on a regularly basis as baby planters will become an extremely profitable item in any floral shop. Predominantly used in floral arrangements for Babies, your profit could be enhanced by its unique usefulness and adaptability to a variety of occasions.

Ceramic Baby Planters as Gift Baskets...

You can use it to make a creative floral arrangement, as a container for plants, fill them with goodies for the Mother, keep it as decoration on the center-piece for baby showers, or even for small dish gardens etc.

Their uses are endless and you will only be limited by your creative potential! Most of these containers (otherwise known as Planters) are made from ceramic, resin, plastic or tin. However you choose to sell it, we know for sure that this item will make a great contribution to your profit!

Our floral industry has many unique products at its disposal. Probably one of the most popular among them all are Floral Watertubes or Waterpicks.

We are handling calls every day from people enquiring about the best water tube to use in floral arrangement projects. Despite its popularity, we feel that many don’t appear to understand the difference between Waterpicks and Watertubes. Purhaps this brief discussion will explain the difference and also offer some suggestions as to which you would want to use  in a given situation.

Floral Water Tubes

Water tubes, as a specific “item” usually are found in three sizes – 1 ½ inch (Orchid tubes), 3 inchs  and 4 inchs. All of them have “rounded bottoms”. The Waterpics, on the other hand, come in different lengths, and has a “pick” on the end rather than a round end as does the water tubes, hence the name “Waterpick”. Waterpicks also comes in flat ends, with barbed ends for grabbing the floral foam for a better anchor. 

There are currently three very popular water tubes in the market. Two of the three are identical in every aspect of the design:

•Syndicate sales #53-77

•Continental #375.

•Dakota Plastic #30T.

Both the #53-77 and the #375 watertubes are made from a clear styrene plastic. These particular categories of watertubes are popular and is one of the oldest products in the market.  These longlasting  watertubes gives the appearance of being made out of glass as opposed to plastic. 

The #30T Dakota Plastics is very similar to size as the other two categories of watertubes. However, Dakota Plastics is made from a transleuscent polypropylene plastic and is not a “see-through” product, and so the stem is hidden. It is lighter in weight when compared with #53-77 and the #375, but equally longlasting. Watertubes come in both Styrene plastic and polypropylene plastic. Generally, styrene water tubes are more expensive than the #30T polypropylene water tube. Why not try and see it for yourself today?

Floral WaterPicks - AquaPics

There are many good quality manufacturers of waterpicks,  what is available in the market  are mainly made out of styrene plastic, and most often comes in green. They all come with stoppers.The most widely used are the 4 inch and 4.25 inch waterpicks with flat “barbed” ends. This design provides sufficient water to the flowers when needed to keep the required moisture, so does not have to be filled with water just before a delivery.

 Most of these items are “anchored” into an arrangement built on a wet floral foam foundation. All barbed-end waterpics are used in a floral foam foundation. Please take the time to view and study the various available barbed waterpics by clicking on the following links:

50 - 97 Single Anchor 4 - waterpic,49 - 97 Double Anchor 4.25

We also have floral waterpics with a rounded pointed end minus the barbs. These waterpics, irrespective of size, are commonly used to insert  fresh flowers into the soil of a potted plant. Using fresh flowers in this way gives a floral designer incredible versatility and design freedom using something as simple and inexpensive as a 4 inch or 6 inch potted plant. Since it is not necessary to “anchor” the flowers into the soil, the pointed round ended floral waterpics are perfect for this kind of job. 

56 - 97 Aquapic 3.5, 57 - 97 Aquapic 4.75 and 55 - 97 Aquapic 5.

Which one to choose..

Your design preference and your floral project will govern the use of which selections of watertubes and waterpicks to use. No matter what style(s) you choose, Floralsupply.Com will have ones to fit your specific needs.

Buying Artificial Butterflies

One pretty ornament difficult to find in the market can be ARTIFICIAL BUTTERFLIES. A good quality products at reasonable prices which you can sell on with confidence to your customers is what you need to look for. Just as with the Artificial Bird , much of what is available in the market today lacks quality and do not look remotely realistic.

 What to look for...

A good quality artificial butterfly maker would use quality turkey or chicken feather base and colorfast hand painted dyes to beautify the butterflies by adding more features and colors to them. It might have a wire pick for fastening the artificial insect to the arrangement, but that is not necessary because hot gluing the artificial butterfly to the arrangement is much more of a realistic presentation. If you need Glittered butterflies for special projects that require more “Glits”, they are also available. Glittered butterflies are wonderful for all kinds of party and wedding work.

 Just like Artificial Birds, there is  a growing trend among the retail floral supply owners to place artificial butterflies on every arrangement to distinguish themselves from competitors. Why not trademark yourself by placing an artificial butterfly on your floral arrangement? We can cater to any size ,colour and any occasion.

“Trademarking” is made easy for a florist, since the florist can select a specific artificial butterfly style, size and color if that is the look they want , or just purchase assortments that allow variety and color selections for the specific floral piece they are making.There are even Glittered butterflies for thise projects that require more “Glits”.Artificial Butterflies are a unique and inexpensive way to “customize” your floral work.

USING ARTIFICIAL BIRDS in FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS

One of the most elusive designer accessory items in the floral market today is a good, solid line of ARTIFICIAL BIRDS. Though, there are many designer lines available in the market most of these items are poorly made. The main issue being these artificial birds are not very realistic looking, in some the  materials used are flawed, the coloring is ghastly or smeared. The beaks on the birds are glued to the back or side of the bird’s head, and the wings are not proportionately pasted. We have a good collection of artificial birds that looks almost real, and is made from materials that make the line “believable”.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR...

The realistic – looking artificial birds are usually not made from a polyfilm material, but from a quality Styrofoam or cellulose (paper) base, Real turkey or chicken feathers rather than polyester, and also with colorfast hand painted dyes to add more features and colouring to beautify the artificial birds.  The wings, beak and eyes are then attached properly, which will be in the exact proportion to the size of the bird in order to give the artificial bird a realistic look.

A Way to make a Design Statement

There is a current trend that  many retail floral supply shop owners practice by placing an artificial bird  in almost every floral arrangement or a plant they sell. This is called “trademarking”, thereby giving the florist’s work a special “Trademark”. This practice definitely sets their work apart from the rest and allows people to identify them from their competitors. We make “Trademarking” easy for a florist. You can select a specific artificial bird designs such as hummingbirds , doves , peacocks  or upland birds like quail and pheasants.  These are made available in different sizes (miniature,small,medium and large) and colors. For example, you can select from soft or solid colors or else purchase combination of colors which can be used for specific floral arrangements.

 Artificial Birds are a great, unique and inexpensive way to “customize” your floral work! – So why not order them today and give it a go?