J Checks out a Large Pinecone Ornament

While J was in Dallas he took the opportunity to film highlights of his merchandise trend tours at the Dallas Market.  During his tours of the vendors, J was able to give “glimpses” of future Christmas Trends for 2012 and beyond.  Find out what colors are going to be HOT in 2012 and which Trends to invest in.  J has made his tour highlights available as Fresh Cuts videos…which are FREE to view!

Best of Christmas Tour: Introduction

Join J on his Discovery Tour at the Dallas Market for the 2012 Holiday and Home Expo… this tour Features the BEST of CHRISTMAS in the International Trade Plaza and World Trade Center…

Best of Christmas Tour: New Looks for Iconic Figures

Best of Christmas Tour: Burlap & Alabaster as Elements

Best of Christmas Tour: Deer & Moose

Burlap Deer Christmas Trend

Best of Christmas Tour: Christmas Trees

Best of Christmas Tour: Trends for the Holidays

Best of Christmas Tour: Display and Color Ideas

Best of Christmas Tour: Emerging Marine-based Colors

Best of Christmas Tour: Hand Crafted Look for Christmas 2012

Vintage Owls are Trending as Christmas Decor

Best of Christmas Tour: Hand Made Ornaments

Best of Christmas Tour: Mistetoe as an ICON for Christmas 2012

Best of Christmas Tour: Oversized Display Pieces

Best of Christmas Tour: Non-Traditional Christmas Styles

Best of Christmas Tour: Pre-Made Christmas

Best of Christmas Tour: Burlap…Specifically RED Burlap

Handmade "Look" Ornaments

Best of Christmas Tour: The Evolution of RED for Christmas 2012

Best of Christmas Tour: Steam Punk Inspired

Best of Christmas Tour: Traditional Christmas Colors

Best of Christmas Tour: Vintage Icons

Best of Christmas Tour: Trend Colors 2012

Best of Christmas Tour: Vintage Goes Modern

Check out MORE great photos from J’s Christmas Tour on uBloom’s FB Page!

uBloom’s Events Expert, Suzanne Smith of Suzanne M. Smith Designs in Huntington Beach, CA shared this fun little story about an unexpected encounter she had on V-Day.

How cute is this!! I just had someone ring my door bell and when I answered there stood a nervous young man asking if he could pluck a flower for his girlfriend from my garden. I giggled and asked him if he would like a rose. He said that would be great, so instead of going out and plucking one, I told him to hang on a minute.  I came back from my studio with one perfect Hot Pink Long stem rose for him to give to her. He didnt know that he had just knocked on a floral designer’s door! LOL!  The look on his face was priceless. It’s flower power in action! He asked for my card and left with a HUGE smile on his face and a fun story to tell his girl!

Do YOU have a fun flower story to share?  We would LOVE to hear it!  Feel free to send me YOUR flower power stories…Email me at lisaluck71@yahoo.com and I will be sure to post them right here in the uBloom Blog for everyone to enjoy!  Spread the flower love!

I have just finished speaking at the FARMA Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. This conference was a mix of a tour, trade show and conference and was an opportunity to study retailing in this sector. Prior to the conference I walked Princess Street, possibly the main retail street in Scotland. I was hoping to get inspired, but alas, each retailer was promoting their sale and each shop looked as uninspiring as the next. Then, I joined the farm retail tour and came across a passionate group of retailers who wanted to make a difference.

This was an excellent conference and one where all retailers could have picked up new ideas.

My top ten ideas from the conference are as follows:

• Capital does not mean more sales

The tour looked at a selection of retailers; some had injected large amounts of capital whilst others had not. Yet, the return per square metre or foot for nearly all the retailers was around the same. Yes, you have to get the basic investment right to create the sale, but in today’s tougher retail environment over investing in expensive buildings does not automatically mean that sales per given area will increase. The message is invest enough money to make the model work

• Get the basics right

All the retailers who got the basic s right were performing around the same level. Paco Underhill, the retail expert on how we buy mentioned recently that getting the customer floe w wrong could cost a retailer two dollars a sale. We saw one example of where a flow was wrong and it clearly proved that Paco was right. Get the flow wrong and it costs you dearly

• Tell the story

I accept it easier for a farmer to tell a story than most retailers, but those that put the story together can increase their sales. Story telling is a key point of difference in retailing. Identify your dory and communicate it to the customer

• The team can grow the sales

Make sales training fun, measure the results and grow sales. Sally Benson, one of the delegates increased sales of selected products by 354% .How? The team selected a product and developed an in-house marketing campaign to grow the sales. There was a prize for the team who created the most sales. All the team excelled and enjoyed the competition and the fun of developing the extra sales. Product knowledge taring can be boring. Make it fun and grow sales.

• Promote your values at the entrance to your business

Are you local, are you a family business, are you selling local products. Many independent businesses fail to get this message across, they assume that all the consumers know there values. Yet when I visited a large nation chain, they promoted a local message at their entrance. Consumers need to know your values when they enter your store.

• Management need to make sure the team stay positive

One of the presenters was Darrell Woodman who presented on the art of being Brilliant, he revealed that research indicated that 98% of people are in the less that happy mode most of the time whilst only 2% are in the happy mode. As a leader you influence the behaviour of your team. Happy people make the sale His point is that you choose to be positive; you need to understand the impact you have on the team and you need to take responsibility. Growing sales is down to attitude

• Have a “banning” letter

Not everyone who comes into your store will be honest, according to Simon Winchester of Shoppers Anonymous the stealing percentage mix is as follows:

- 25% of thieves steal by accident and return the product
- 60% steal be accident and do not return the product
- 15% are deliberate stealers

If you want to ban a customer, make sure you have a prep reared banning letter that you can hand to the customer. It makes life so much easier.

• Sell by date or enjoy by date

Is It a “Sell by Date” or an “Enjoy by Date”. I love the idea of an “Enjoy by Date” that Loch Leven Lauder use. The use of simple words in a more positive way can put a smile on the face of your customer.

• We change our wallpaper with the seasons

One of the top retailers in the world is Zara, the fashion clothing company from Spain and I often use them as an example as they have created 24 seasons in their stores. How do they do that?, they change the wall paper, they change the sightlines so the store looks different every two weeks. This is a simple strategy that has worked well for his company. The principle applies to all retailers. It was fun to see a farmer believe his success was based on changing the wall paper to create the theatre. Something many retailers have forgotten.

• Make a decision or act on a decision

The above quote is from the UK TV personality Dick Strawbridge .It is simple yet how often is it not implemented. In a changing world everyone needs to act on decisions made.

Meet Club uBloom Member, Katie Noonan of Noonan’s Wine Country Designs in San Luis Obispo, CA.  Katie is a certified floral designer who’s resume includes managing Noonan’s, wedding/event planning and freelance floral design.

Meet Katie and other flower profesionals and enthusiasts on uBloom’s Members Page. 

FUN with Flowers and J

Join J in the Photo studio as he creates an Artistic Flower Set with Calla Lilies and Eufloria Roses featuring the NEW Point & Party® LED E-luminators from Acolyte Technologies!

uBloom’s Forums

Using Amaryllis Stems as a Vase

Shop Around Brides

Inserting Ribbon in a Gala Bouquet Holder

David Austin Roses & Opening

The Flower Stand

5 Flower Reminders for ROMANTIC Results on Valentine’s Day!

Fresh Cuts Videos

Take 5 with J: Calla Lily Bubble Bowl

Take 5 with J:  Apple Centerpiece

Did you Know Women PREFER Orange Roses over RED?! It's TRUE!!!

I’ve spent my entire life surrounded by Flowers… and as a 4th Generation in a Family Flower Business I have the following Advice for Valentine Flower Shoppers this Week!

1. MEN gravitate to RED Roses… While Research Tells us Women PREFER PINK or ORANGE!

Every RED Rose on the Planet gets cut for Valentines Day… and chances are.. Colored Roses (other than RED) will be Fresher… Last Longer and Set you apart from the CROWD… it’s a great time to try something different!

2. Avoid Wire Services and 800-numbers… Contact your LOCAL Florist DIRECT!

You have to be Diligent! It’s Legal in many States for “order gatherers” to Pose as Local Florists on the internet. They “gather your order” adding on additional fees and act as a Middle Man… stealing a percentage of the purchase. Locate your florist on Google maps and Insure they ACTUALLY Exist on the Street in your Sweethearts Town!

Calling a Local Florist or Independent Flower Seller… actually SAVES you money… you eliminate those service charges and the Middle Man which equals MORE VALUE!  Local Florists  offer in house specials that are Affordable, Unique and Creative…  ASK for their help to create something Personal for your Valentine!

3. DELIVER the Flowers you purchase YOURSELF!

It takes a little bit of extra effort… but picking up (and Picking Out) your Flowers … then delivering them in PERSON insures that you get to see and ENJOY your Valentine’s Reaction! It’s FUN to give flowers… and you’ll get the Kiss and Hug… and ALL the Recognition!

4. Think OUTSIDE the Box…  Fragrant, Tropical or Unusual Flowers!

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose… but what about Fragrant Gardenias… or Freesia that Smell like “Fruit Loops”? Bird of Paradise or Orchids whisper hints of an Island Vacation…or How about a Protea… known as one of the longest lasting Flowers… (and they dry exquisitely…making them a keepsake gift)…  There’s so much to choose from and your Local Flower Seller is there to guide you!

You can explore your Flower Options with the uBloom Flower Guide… a FREE On-line Features at uBloom… letting you find the perfect Flower for any occasion… Lasting Quality, Colors, and even Flower Meanings…

5. Use the Flower Food! Follow the Directions on the Packet! 

Flower Food Packets are provided with any Flower Purchase! These Packets are scientifically designed to help your Flowers Last Longer, Bloom Larger and enhance Fragrance… Read the Back of the Packet and follow the Directions… Your Net gain can be up to 26% Longer Lasting Flowers!

It’s Valentines day… and time to show your Special Someone how much they mean to you… with Flowers!

Check out J’s recent appearance on ABC with Stephanie Webb on Take 5 & Company offering Romantic Rose Reminders for Valentines Day 2012!

Chris and I on SAF Awards Nite... One Amazing Lady!!!

Our Community Gardener… Works Tirelessly to get some of the Most Amazing Interviews in our Flower Industry… The Latest Industry Insider Interview is a Great Example! Lisa interviewed my (nearly) Life Long Flower Friend Christine Martindale!

Chris is the owner of Esprit Miami… and One Amazing Lady… we’ve known each other for a long time… Chris Tells it best in her Interview! Esprit Miami is a Certified Woman Owned Company which is also a Grand Accomplishment!

I’m not a “SPOILER”… so I won’t elaborate… but grab a cup of Coffee and meet a True Visionary…Insider Interview with Christine Martindale, Owner of Esprit Miami !  Whenever I get the chance to sit with Chris and “Just Visit”…  magic happens in MY Flower World!

Meet this amazing Lady… who just keeps BLOOMING!

Christine Martindale is the Founder & CEO of Esprit Miami in Miami, FL.  She is also the very proud mother of her bright, college student son, Dillon.  Christine currently lives in Florida with Boo, her Shih Tzu-Poodle mix.

I worked for a nursery called Pardo Nursery transplanting petunia plants into flats.  I got paid .13 a flat.  It wasn’t the work, it was my grandfather.  He was a gentleman farmer, and taught me about the importance of “growing” in the world, and the respected name of “men of the earth” and what they can contribute.
He also advised me to get into a business where the products were used once and thrown away.  he mentioned toilet paper, film, and oil.

It was a coincidence, or maybe not.

I was a customs entry clerk.  I typed all the government papers necessary to clear the flowers through agriculture and u.s. customs.  Sometimes I was asked to go to the airport and actually clear the flowers.  Sometimes I took my Datsun B210, filled  with flower boxes to the domestic airlines.
After 3 or 4 months when the sales department needed help, they asked me if I could sell.  Of course I can sell!  They handed me two lists, one with customers listed, and one with flowers listed.  My supervisor told me, “sell these flowers (pointing to one list) to these customers (pointing to the other).”  That was my training.

I was hired by Continental Farms as sales manager.  My most important responsibility was training Larry Howkins, who, 4 years later, became my boss and is now the owner of Continental.  I think I trained him too well!  It was our job to contact wholesale florists throughout the country and sell them flowers.  Standing orders were especially encouraged.  I learned that different sections of the country liked different varieties of flowers. I learned that customers were willing to let me teach them about different types of flowers, and if asked, how to sell that particular flower to customers.

That pink is very difficult to sell in November and December…and that Christmas is the MOST TRADITIONAL of holidays.  These two awarenesses were the beginning of the philosophy that shapes our company today.

Not to be on the 33% side of a majority.

I was introduced to Leonardo Salviati whose family is a carnation breeder from Italy.  I traveled to Italy to learn about the process of “recovering” old varieties of Mediterrean carnations and breeding them back into the market. The Salviatis introduced me to rose breeders in France and Holland.  Then they introduced me to chrysanthemum breeders in England.  I learned how long it takes from the recovering of a  variety  of carnations to selling the flower.  At the time, it was 7 years!  I also learned about the gowing cycles of different families of flowers, and about the different flowers within each species.  Did you know that gypsophila is from the carnation family?  I learned that carnations did not have to be tinted to display extraordinary colors.  I was able to travel to many countries to learn.  What a campus this industry has!

The ability to coordinate all these varieties and families and flowers into the times they are needed, would produce the best possible results for all companies involved.  The grower, the importer, the wholesaler, and the retailer.  It taught me the principles of supply and demand.  I even learned some elements of design, and the importance of combining  different flowers to create arrangements.  It has become my job at the company to determine which flowers and which colors will combine together for a select time period  that will create demand for our company, and for the products that are grown for us.  It is my job, to gather information from all segments of the industry and analyze the information so that our customers can spend their time planning their own business, and will rely on us as a necessary vendor.

I felt like a failure from my first endeavor, but I knew I was good at the business, it suited my personality in many ways.  It is a beautiful business, it opens doors to world travel, it employs the understanding of how numbers work (i love numbers and am good at them).  I had a customer that believed  in me, and there was a lot of opportunity for women to excel.

I don’t know.  I just kept working hard, learning as much as I could, and trying to solve problems that my growers and customers had.  I can tell you that I had more acceptance from the growers.  They were willing to trust a woman sooner than a man. They trusted me with the sales of their flowers without a contract.
It is easier for me to buy millions of dollars of flowers a year than to buy a new van from Ford!

The positives are that this is a business of emotion, and we all know women are more emotional.  It is a  business of beauty, (and aside from the appreciation of a beautiful woman), beauty and quality are much more important to women (or a gay man) than to men.  I hope I am a better listener because I am a woman.  Listening, in my opinion, is the most important facet (aspect) to a sale.

Thank you very much but the elaboration is secret!  It is based on the philosophy that  Esprit:

• Will sell the best selection and quality
• Be a trendsetter in variety and technology
• Best service in the industry
• Right flower at the right time.

I think one advantage is that we have a very small cooler….we sell flowers, not store them. We turn our inventory 3 times a week.
We don’t have to make money on every sale.  If we miss a market and buy too high, we still turn our inventory.  We know that we must keep our customers and our growers in business if we are to sustain our businesses.
We have an amazing (and the best ) team of people!  We personally train them,  that means that they are all very experienced and well qualified.  We all like and respect one another, and our company.  Everyone in the company is encouraged to criticize anything about the company…as long as it is constructive, and they think they may have a solution.
Another advantage is that we are always willing to change what we do to improve.
We are always looking to our own and other industries to see what they are doing to move into the next generation of business.  We have an app!
We have developed a demand forecasting system that enables us to predict what will be in demand and what our customers are going to need.  We sell in the future, and have a 97% fulfillment rate.
Being a certified woman-owned business tells people we are different, and I hope it inspires women in the industry to follow their dreams.  We were awarded the recognition of being one of the top 25 woman-owned companies in Florida.

Wow!  That is a subject!
Its all about change, and about each bride, or event, or arrangement, or variety making their own mark.  As a population, we  like to be trendy.  The colors in fashion, the shapes, and textures change all the time, and our customers change with it.  I look to the fashion magazines, home decor, and, well…all magazines…trying to find dominant trends and marry them with flowers.  I look at what has happened in fashion, and our market for the past three years and pair history with the trends I find.  Then we work with the growers to deliver the right flower at the right time.  It seems to work well for us.

A new variety, once we see it, has already had a lot of time in development.  From the time I select a flower, it can take from 20 weeks to 3 years before it is brought to market. Then sometimes, it takes 2 to 3 more years until the market accepts it.  Hearts rose  is a perfect example of that.  Sometimes, I get out too far.  I first planted David Austin garden varieties in 1986, 20 years before they became popular.  My grower still talks about that disaster.  I make mistakes.  Taking the risk is the only way to get it right and the only way to be considered a trend setter.
My employees will tell you I am big on clichés.  One of my favorites is “I don’t set trends. I just find out what they are and exploit them.”  (Dick Clark, American radio and television  personality)  So, the short answer to those questions is, I steal trends from the fashion industry!

I was with people who had much more experience in the flower industry, from all segments of the industry.  We sat in a room for 3 or 4 hours,  4 times a year to plan marketing ideas that would draw attention to our industry.  The discipline of those meetings taught me:  First, that marketing requires a plan.  Second, that it is not all about MY business.  We had to consider the special interest of each segment of the industry…growers, importers, wholesalers, florists, plant growers, hardwoods, bedding plants, news paper…all segments of the industry with very diverse interests.  Each segment expressed their interests and made their case why marketing should be “this way”.  But at the end of each of those meetings, we had to agree on a course of action that would benefit us all.  We each had to compromise and come to a consensus…and it worked!
How often in education does one have the opportunity to sit with so many people, for that length of time, who are out there DOING IT?  Additionally, I learned by listening to my “competitors”….because we were all competing for the same marketing dollars.
Being ABLE TO SIT ON THAT COMMITTEE FOR 3 YEARS WAS an honor, and an education.

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of  planning.” (Gloria Steinem, American journalist and women’s rights advocate)
I had my son at 42 years of age.  I had to get into all that “New” stuff, so I was like his mother, not his grandmother.  Seeing what the young people are doing, the advances   they are making is frightening and wonderful.  I am determined to stay young and connected to youth.  That means learning about and embracing what they do.  How they act and react.  I have tried to introduce the excitement I have for the “new” to all the people I work with.  I have tried to be courageous to change, and teach my people  not to fear change.  It is exciting to change, and it keeps people engaged in their work.  It makes us all feel young and successful, and like we have a little edge.

My goals for the company are for my successors (employees) to make Esprit a better company than the company I started.  I want them to surpass my abilities.  My strategy is to enable them and let them do it.

My son Dillon is phenomenal!  He is brilliant, artistic, handsome, kind…and a handful!  It seems he will not follow me into the flower business.  It may be because I often lamented that there are easier things to sell than something that dies in 3 days.
He wants to be a fire jumper for the military…go figure.  From a hippie/pacifist mother to a career in the military.  He has great respect for the environment as many of our children do.  He has the voice and leadership quality’s to exact positive change.  I will love him and support him in whatever he does.  He has been the greatest gift in my life.

J and I were children when we met in 1979 or 80 – anyway, a long time ago.  We were both invited to Greenleaf Wholesale in Houston for a show.  He was designing, and I was showing my flowers (roses, carnations, pompons, minis, statice and callas - 5 types of flowers).  He helped me set up, and although I have no recollection of what we talked about, I do remember we thought the same about the flowers business.  I’m sure our criticisms of everyone else in the flower business were the same, and we were going to change the flower world.  Well, we both got busy, stopped criticizing everyone else, and started learning from them, ever looking to change the flower world in our own world.  I would see his name in the floral news from time to time doing this and doing that, but then when he got really famous.  I decided it was time to be his friend again…LOL!  Not really, but this is how it went…

“UH hi, J?”
“Yes”
“This is Christine Martindale from Esprit Miami.  Do you remember me?”

And guess what?  He did!  It made me feel so important!  We made arrangements to meet and spent hours talking about the flower business, and what we had been doing for the past 25 years to trying to change the world.  We still thought the same, and each of us had become more sophisticated in the way we thought about the flowers business.  We began planning ways on how we could “influence” the flower business and see what we could do to contribute to it.  Same philosophy – totally different presentation. (and a little less naïveté and arrogance)  And now…with experience.
I love what he does…and the way he does it.  My sister has had him do 2 shows at her wholesale house in Salt Lake City.  Everyone LOVES J!  He is so attentive and humble to everyone he speaks with, we all feel important.  Some people just have that amazing ability.  J is also entertaining…and knowledgeable and clever and creative…outlandish, and LOYAL.  I think all your viewers should know that.  He is a favorite of mine.
Esprit has over 300 types of flowers and over 2000 varieties within those types, and J is our spokesperson.

I really forgot all the other things I enjoy, as the company and my son have consumed me for the last 30 years.
I am sort of retiring  in order to have more time to discover what I do enjoy.  The people who work with me are taking up the slack, and allowing me to do that. It’s amazing.  The more I let them do, the smarter and more creative they get.  AND I have a new boyfriend!  So, we’ll see…

1. It isn’t easy.  It takes a lot of planning and manpower to discover, plant, nurture, grow, ship, sell, and ship to them that one stem of desire that their customer wants to buy.
2. We need their input
3. Thank them for their creative input and allowing us to to be a part of this wonderful business