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

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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: peg@wordpix.com • 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 monnaie@cafgs.org.

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

Sean@BLBrokers.com 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, monnaie@cafgs.org.

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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SANTA ANA, CA

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: ann@agamsi.com