Florists
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Success Stories-Cool Businesses-Renegades -
Florists
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I was talking to Vince Butera, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Butera the Florist in York, Pa., and his wife, Caroline, before the Premier Product Showcase last Saturday at SAF Phoenix 2009, and he told me he really markets the fact that the attends the SAF convention to his customers.
Essentially, he lets customers know that he participates in national conventions, where he stays up to speed on new trends and gets to see some of the best varieties of flowers and plants on the market. He lets them know that he networks with growers and suppliers and comes back to his shop energized and ready to put what he learned into practice -- for the benefit of his customers.
On top of that, he markets the Outstanding Varieties Best in Show and Class winners to his customers -- as in, "I have available a white gerbera which just won a national award at the prestigious Society of American Florists Outstanding Varieties Competition."
Vince says this helps position him before his customers as a "cutting edge" florist who cares about professional development and bringing new things to his client base.
This certainly makes sense – and there are likely myriad other ways to promote participation in a convention, whether SAF’s, a state or regional event or AIFD Symposium. Anyone else out there doing the same? If so, please share how you use your attendance at these events to position yourself as a real pro to customers.
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Success Stories-Cool Businesses-Renegades -
Florists
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Almost exactly a year ago, the economy went into a tailspin in its most public way, with banks getting taken over by the government and the country’s largest insurance company getting bailed out.
Since then, 108 banks have shuttered, others have consolidated and 35 percent of domestic banks have tightened credit for small firms in July, according to a recent survey from the Federal Reserve. Of course, most small businesses don’t need a survey to tell them credit has dried up.
So, don’t you wish someone had told you back then to ask your bank for a bigger line of credit?
Well, someone did. Last year, at SAF Palm Beach 2008, speaker Paul Goodman, CPA, gave that as his No. 1 piece of advice during Financial Survival Kit, Dos and Don’ts.
It’s that kind of business-saving, practical, must-implement-as-soon-as-I-get-home-from-convention information that's drawing about 270 retailers, wholesalers and growers to the SAF’s 125th convention this week in Phoenix. With business owners watching every penny and operating with leaner staffs, the choice to spend a few hundred dollars and few days away from their business might seem like a tough one – until you talk to attendees.
And that’s exactly what we did:
“This year, more than ever, we should be here,” said Jeffrey Dyer, who along with his wife, Leanne, are two of the 37 first-time attendees. The owners of Pizzazz Floral & Garden in Cheyenne, Wyo., said they are are especially looking forward to the session on building sympathy business and the Idea Swap, a fast-paced, high-energy session that packed in attendees last year.
“I told my managers to clear their calendars and get ready for a idea-packed dinner when I get back,” said Shari Lane of A Flower Fair of Las Vegas. “I’ve been in the industry for 20 years but as a manager of managers, I need this to re-energize and re-focus.”
"I couldn't afford not to come," said Cora Morrison of Des Moines Florist, another first-time attendee who said a tough economy made the decision to come an easy one. "In times like this, we need one another as a sounding board and reality check. And we need the kind of speakers and networking SAF offers to recharge."
“I am here for the business side; I can do the design but you can’t beat the how-to, financial side information,” said Jeane Meiers of Jeane Meiers Florist in Stanley, N.D. “And I had to hear it from Paul Goodman in person. That’s the kind of information you can’t miss.”
That sounds like an endorsement you can take to the bank.
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Success Stories-Cool Businesses-Renegades -
Florists
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On Labor Day, I appropriately got the good news that hard work and persistence pays off. A San Diego florist whose Yellowpages.com listing had been parceled off to competitors e-mailed me with the news that ads were gone.
It was a happy ending to a story that started in mid-August when Teri Egenberger contacted me when she discovered competing ads from online competitors in the borders of Molly Malloy's Yellowpages.com listing and on those of florists nationwide. I contacted AT&T, the parent company of Yellowpages.com, and after a couple of e-mail exchanges, the PR contact promised that AT&T was working to remove the ads from all sites.
After the full story ran Aug. 19 in E-brief, several florists contacted us to say they've been fighting this same territorial battle for months.
Their fight, at least for now, ended with a victory over Labor Day weekend.
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Success Stories-Cool Businesses-Renegades -
Florists
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I just got off the phone with a florist in San Diego who refused to silently watch her page on AT&T’s YellowPages.com be parceled off to competing online flower sites. Thanks to her tenacity and a couple of calls from a reporter, AT&T says it’s “working as quickly as possible,” to remove the ads and end the practice of selling space on the directory pages of advertisers.
Here’s how it all went down (and why those ads will be coming down).
Earlier this week, Teri Egenberger of Molly Malloy’s Floral Company noticed two brightly colored ads for flowers on her shop’s YellowPages.com listing. Now, it wasn’t the first time she’d seen the ads, Flower.com and Dial a Flower advertiser on the main page that pops up when users search for florists and San Diego. But this was the Molly Malloy page, the one she pays $338 a month for.
She did a search for other florists, who also had paid listings, and was slack-jawed to discover online flower ads on every page. She immediately called her sales representative, who at first was incredulous that such a thing could even happen but after talking to her supervisor, offered to let Egenberger out of her contract.
No deal. The florist didn’t want to just pack up and move because AT&T had sold off some precious real estate on her online property to competitors. She wanted AT&T to get those ads off her site.
She called other local florists to alert them to the situation and then e-mailed SAF on Tuesday, hoping to mobilize enough florists at the local level to convince AT&T to remove the ads.
Egenberger and I traded e-mails and details about her contract and her frustration. “I don't have a problem with them having as many ads as they want on their listing page,” she wrote. “My problem is that once a customer has chosen MY shop and wants more information on ME, I expect that MY shop info will open without diversions to my competition.”
I e-mailed Jodi Bart, AT&T PR contact for the YellowPages.com on Wednesday afternoon and heard back almost immediately. Bart promised to investigate the matter further. I’ve heard this promise before and was skeptical. I was certain this was going to be just another Wild West of the Internet story, where pop-up advertising rules, real estate is divided up into smaller plots and the highest bidder can plop down right in its competitor’s front yard.
I was wrong.
Today at 11:26 a.m., Bart called to tell me that “customers had brought this to the attention of AT&T” and the company was working to remove the ads on paid listings, like that of Molly Malloy.
She couldn’t confirm the time frame, but promised they’d be removed as soon as soon as possible.
This time I believed her.
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Florists
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The Sylvia Cup reminds me of a reality TV show:
Cindy Anderson, AIFD
Samie Bailey
Janet Black, AAF, AIFD, PFCI
Craig Boetger, NAFD, NMF
James Daniels
Robert De Bellis, AIFD, PFCI
Brita Edlbauer, AIFD, FSMD
Oralia Espinoza, AIFD, TMF
Cathy Grim, AIFD
Connie LeBlanc, LMF
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Greg Lum, AIFD
Mandy Majerik, AIFD, PFCI
J Ross Railey
Philip Rice, CCF
Jeffrey Rohr
Frida Sveningsson
Dirk van Leenen
Tonja VanderVeen, AIFD, MCF
Katherine Zhang, AIFD
Linda Zoerb, AAF
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120 minutes…
25 top designers…
A beautiful, warm destination…
A mystery assignment…
Only one will win the grand prize….
But the fact is, there's a lot of drama and intrigue that goes along with the floral industry's longest running, live, national annual floral design competition.
 The 42nd Annual Sylvia Cup Design Competition is set for September during SAF's 125th Annual Convention in Phoenix, and designers are lining up to be part of the action.
Among them are recent winners of state contests, including:
- Samie Bailey, a designer with The Flower Studio in Austin Texas, is the First Runner Up in the Texas State Florists' Association's 2009 Texas Cup. Samie is sponsored by the TSFA.
- Craig Boetger, NAFD, NMF, the head floral designer at Bakers in Omaha, NE, has competed in the 2007 Sylvia Cup, won First Place in the Nebraska Florists Society's 2009 Premier Competition, and is sponsored by the NFS and underwritten by Teleflora.
- Brita Edlbauer, AIFD, FSMD, owner of Floral Art Swww.springgardenflowershop.comtudio in Orlando and Florida State Florists’ Association’s 2009 Designer of the Year.
- Philip Rice, CCF, owner of Philip Rice Designs in Folsom, Calif., and the California State Floral Association’s 2008 Designer of the Year. Philip is sponsored by the CSFA.
- Tonja VanderVeen, AIFD, MCF, owner of Designing Dreams LLC in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Michigan Floral Association’s 2009 Designer of the Year. Tonja is sponsored by the MFA and underwritten by Teleflora.
- A spot is reserved for the winner of the upcoming design contest held by the Arkansas Florists Association.
 Others competed in last year’s Sylvia Cup, and are coming back for more:
- Cindy Anderson, AIFD, a designer in Colorado Springs, Colo., won the 2008 Colorado Cup, is the 2008 Colorado Floral Designer of the Year and won second place in the 2005 Sylvia Cup.
- Janet Black, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, owner of Designs Florist & Interiors in Bethel, Maine, and Maine State Florists’ and Growers’ Association’s 2006 Design of the Year.
- Oralia Espinoza, AIFD, TMF, is the president, Spring Garden Flower Shop in San Antonio, Texas.
- Connie LeBlanc, LMF, owner of Hearts Desire Florist in Houma, La., won second place in the Louisiana State Florists Association’s 2008 Louisiana Cup.
- Katherine Zhang, AIFD, partner at Flower House Design Studio in Millbrae, Calif., and CSFA’s 2007 Designer of the Year.
- Linda Zoerb, AAF, president of La Crosse Floral in Lacrosse, Wis., won honorable mention in the 2007 Sylvia Cup, and first place in the 2007 OFA Design Contest.
 Two contestants placed in design contests overseas:
- Frida Sveningsson, CEO of Fru Flora & Fröken Form in Tiburon, Calif., has placed in floral design contests in Stockholm in 2007 and 2002, and her work is featured in three International Floral Art, which are yearbooks with the goal as described by Amazon.com to “document the world's most original and innovative floral art.”
- Dirk van Leenen, owner of Roses Galore in Mesa, Ariz., holds a doctorate degree in horticulture, won medals in floral design contests in the late ’70s in Amsterdam, Paris and London, and wrote Resistance on a Bicycle in which he shares his story of growing up in the Netherlands during World War II and his family hiding an average of 20 Jews under the floor of their home.
Others have placed in competitions here in the states:
- Robert De Bellis, AIFD, PFCI, lead designer at World Class Flowers in Egg Harbor City, N.J., has been named Designer of the Year by Teleflora and placed in FTD's Designer of the Year contest in the mid ’90s.
- Greg Lum, AIFD, designer at Flower House Design Studio in San Francisco, has won several local design trophies.
- Mandy Majerik, AIFD, PFCI, owner of HotHouse Design Studio in Birmingham, Ala., won the Alabama State Florists’ Association’s 2006 Tabletop Competition and the 2006 Southern Retail Bridal Bouquet competition.
- J Ross Railey is the owner of J Ross The Florist in Decatur, AL, won first place in ASFA’s Bridal Bouquet Competition and is the 2007 ASFA Designer of the Year.
They’re joined by some designers who are new to the competition scene:
These designers have an exciting challenge.
We give each contestant the exact same product assortment — the exact same bunch of fresh flowers and exact same hards goods. They find out at the competition what they have to make.
Last year, contestants had to create a hand-tied bouquet, centerpiece for a 60” round table and a creative wristlet adornment. Coby Neal, AIFD, PFCI, owner of The Flower Studio in Austin, Texas won the grand prize.
Pictures of the amazing designs and the contestants in action are posted on Facebook and www.safnow.org.
You can even see part of the competition on this Youtube video posted by John Klingel, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, director of the South Florida Center for Floral Studies in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Along with the genius and creativity of the contestants, the Sylvia Cup is possible thanks to generous support from its sponsor and prize-money provider.
Rio Grande from Rio Roses is sponsoring the contest, and Smithers-Oasis is providing the grand prize winner with $2,500, and two honorable mentions each receive $250.
In addition, Rio Roses is providing much of the fresh flowers for the competition, while Smithers-Oasis is contributing much of the hardgoods.
This is Rio Roses’ first year sponsoring the competition, and Smithers-Oasis’ third year providing the prize money. Welcome Rio Roses to the Sylvia Cup family, and thank you Smithers-Oasis for your continued partnership.
The Sylvia Cup Design Competition is coordinated by SAF’s Professional Floral Communicators – International and takes place on Sept. 24 at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix as part of SAF’s 125th Annual Convention.
Hurry! There are only a few spots available to compete in the Sylvia Cup. Click here to download the Entry Form and Competition Details.
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