It’s getting late but it isn’t too late to send some flowers to your Dad in time for Fathers Day this Sunday.

You say your Father is too masculine for flowers? I say, not from my experience. Of, course it might depend of the type of flowers you send. Men often have very firm favourites.

I know have some very macho clients who are very partial to Spring flowers, or Roses, or Gerberas but dislike Posies or Tulips. Or completely the other way around. Or they prefer something in a pot because “it doesn’t die”.

Yes, men tend to have strong opinions about which flowers they prefer but men DO like flowers. Ask your Mum, Aunty, Grandparents, or Dad’s friends if you are not sure. But, I am sure, if you think back you will remember your Dad expressing occasional but firm comments about certain flowers or plants he likes. If you want to really...

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I am loving working on some new floral designs and arrangements for several weddings at the moment. Some of the joy of the occasion does rub off on me.

It is a real privilege to be in charge of such an important element of a Bride and Groom’s wedding day. Done well the flowers at a wedding can add a special touch of ‘magic’ that makes everybody attending feel lifted in their ‘spirits’. Not to mention being such an important element of the photos which will ( hopefully ) be enjoyed for decades or even generations to come.

I take that responsibility seriously … and meet with the happy couple and their family to find out their desires, and establish colour themes and look through previous designs. We consider the venue, the season and available flowers, bridal party outfits as well as bride and groom’s parents outfits.

Any other factors that may arise from our discussions are all considered as I come up with something individually tailored and hopefully a little bit special and unique.

I...

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I often meet young aspiring ( to be ) florists who love flowers and dream of working in the industry. They imagine creating beautiful floral designs surrounded by lovely sights and smells and putting delighted smiles on the faces of customers … but if you can’t get out of bed at 4.30am on a cold Winter morning maybe you should forget your dream because you won’t make it as a Florist.

If you are still keen after reading that, then here is a day in the life of a Florist:

A florist works with beautiful flowers and we love to create…

But what people often don’t know is the amount of hours we must put in to our job. Monday is a long day for me: I get up at 4.30 am to go to the ‘flower market’ which starts at 6 am. We have an auction system at the market: which means you bid against other Florists for your flowers....

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For most of my 25 years of study, training - in Wellington and Auckland - and subsequent career working in the Floral Industry I never imagined the ‘rise and rise’ of social networking.

I certainly never imagined that it would play a major role in successfully launching my own Flower Shop from scratch and building my loyal base of customers.

However, I always knew that my flower business would be a ‘people business’. I always thought that my success would be by ‘word of mouth’ from one happy customer to another to another to another. So, I set out to ‘impress’ right from the beginning; I studied floral design and always aimed to deliver the highest quality flowers with a unique or fresh design approach. I naively thought that that would be enough.

It might even be enough, IF… either you are ‘monumentally lucky’ enough to be at the...

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In the world of flowers we are always looking ahead and planning for next season. Now-a-days it is kind of weird because some things are still seasonal and some things are less so than they used to be.

Well, that in mind, I have to announce that Spring is coming soon … and we are already getting in lots of lovely flowering pot plants ( ha ha, no ) such as Gerbera, Tulips, Cyclamen and even potted roses. And more.

I love it when ‘new’ flowers come in with a whole new ‘feeling’ about them. I even think of flowers – and you may think this sounds a little ‘potty’ – as having ‘personalities’ or even ‘attitude’. For me it is like a re-union with old friends and I feel inspired all over again with new and better ways to show off their best qualities to the general public. I want people to know and love them the way I do.

Sometimes, people have favourite flowers which they usually stick to when they order while overlooking the great qualities of other varieties. By being ‘safe’ with their choices...

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I know… it still seems a long way away, right? And there is so much on the list to organize! All the more reason to book your Florist now. Yes, now.

I have seen it so many times before. No matter how unique your wedding will turn out to be on the day the actual planning an organization always follows a similar pattern. If you don’t want to go grey before your time or give yourself and others unnecessary heart palpitations you need to book/ lock-in as many services as you can: that’s hair, make-up, hires, cars, photography, cake, church, reception venue, honeymoon accommodation, food, drink, and… flowers.

Like many other florists, my wedding bookings for 2011 are filling up fast. Many dates are extremely popular and those dates are going to be all taken if you don’t lock something in soon. That is not just for us here at Allure Florist...

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As the above title for this week’s Blog suggests: there’s a lovely new ‘Grab a Bunch’ Tulip Special this week and… there’s another round of School Balls kicking off out there. ( Isn’t that how you read it? ) If you don’t already know about my ‘Grab a Bunch’ flower specials you must be knew to my Blog or my Facebook page. ‘Grab a Bunch’ is a way of brightening someone you love’s Winter by way of an really affordable special price on a gorgeous fresh bunch of flowers.

This week ‘Grab a Bunch’ is a bunch of colourful Tulips ( see pic at left ) wrapped in chiffon and presented in a posy bag: all in water. ‘Grab a Bunch’ PRICE: Only $25.00 ( not including delivery )

At that price why not give a loved one – who might be cooped up trying to ward off the Winter trials – a really pleasant surprise when they might not be expecting it. As Clint...

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This week I have been reflecting on how wonderful my customers are. Apart from the very odd exception I am blessed out of my socks with lovely clients who seem to really appreciate our hard work we do here at Allure Florist.

The thing I like best about blogging is that I can talk directly to you, my loyal flower-buying customers: without whom I would have no career, no shop, no business and no chance to work in the medium I love… designing high quality floral arrangements to - hopefully - stun and bring pleasure to the world.

So, thank you, thank you for your business and support. I really appreciate it.

Thank you too, for all of the kind feedback by phone, letters and email. We get quite a range of styles: from conservative – even formal – letters of thanks to absolute gushing raves. It really makes my day. Thank you again.

Here is an example of the typical kind of feedback we get: its from a nice lady who ordered from the UK:

“Good morning I wanted to thank you for your excellent...

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Becoming part of the Interflora network of flower sellers is not easy. They have high standards. Not only is my work tested against Interflora quality standards but so is my shop and my business systems.

They want to work with the best because they are trusted. Internationally people recognize the Interflora brand and trust that an Interflora member will provide quality flowers, quality designs, quality service and that their flowers will arrive on time. Interflora’s business is built on that trust – gained by over 80 years of hard work and dedication - and they have no intention of surrendering that reputation lightly.

That’s why I nearly did a back-flip when I got the good news that we had been approved and accepted as a member of the Interflora international network of florists. It is like a huge stamp of approval by the ‘superstar’ of the industry for Allure Florist.

Since the day I knew I was destined for a career in flowers and floral design I dreamed of owning my own successful business....

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 My “Grab a Bunch” flowers specials are now a reality - up on the website – and in the Allure Florist shop here in Alicetown, Lower Hutt in Wellington.

And they’re already saving people money and brightening their lives with a splash of Spring in the middle of Winter. They are “one-off” limited-time-only flower specials at a greatly reduced price to encourage the cocooning and huddling masses out there to at least slide over to the phone or the computer and send someone they love a sensational floral treat.

Often people do not expect to receive flowers at this time of year so their surprise and delight is all the greater when they DO receive a gorgeous bunch.

This week’s “Grab a Bunch” Special is beautiful Spring Bunches of Tulips, Daffodils, Roses and Irises. They are very up-lifting at this time of year.

 The ad 'blurb'...

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