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  Floret Workshops Scholarships are near and dear to my heart for so many reasons. Earlier this week, I re-connected with two past scholarship recipients as part of a little series of posts about t he Floret Scholarship program. Be sure to check out the post that features past winners “then and now” here and also read more about last year’s scholarship recipients and how you can apply.  Floret Scholarship applications are open now through Monday October 30th at 12 midnight PST. If you haven’t yet applied, do n’t delay! As I reflect back on the  North Vancouver Flower Delivery , I am reminded of just how many wonderful friendships and professional relationships that have grown out of these life changing events. As a result, I now have flower friends from all over the world! It is through our workshops that I found most of Team Floret  and also recruited the vast majority of our workshop dream team too. Today, I’m checking back in with three other past s...

  Reviewing Floret scholarship applications and preparing this post is one of the highlights of the year here at Floret. Over the last week, the team and I have been burning the midnight oil as we have poured over all the scholarship essays. The entries were incredibly inspiring and left all of us so excited for the future of the floral industry – on a global level. We were blown away by the number of applications we received this year.   A record breaking 1,996 individuals from 53 different countries and all 50 U.S. states applied for a spot in our upcoming  North Vancouver Flower Delivery This level of international interest this year was beyond anything any of us ever imagined. It came as a bit of a surprise, actually. I am aware of the growing interest in the UK, Australia and New Zealand,  b ut I knew nothing about what has been building in Vietnam, Singapore, Lithuania and so many other countries. I am humbled and amazed by the fact that our little two-acr...

  Over the years, I’ve turned to online courses to dig deeper into all sorts of different topics ranging from creative photography to marketing to copywriting. Online courses can be a great way to learn more about a particular topic from the comfort of your own home.  I’ve spent more mornings than I can count perched at the dining room table with my laptop and a strong cup of coffee taking frantic notes as I watched online course videos. I’ve applied so much of what I’ve learned through these transformative courses and my business has benefited tremendously.  When the team and I started putting the pieces together to create the  North Vancouver Flower Delivery , I thought back on which online courses were the very best and made a long list the things I loved and wanted to incorporate into ours. I also noted all the things I wanted to do differently for our course. And I’m proud to say that we were able to accomplish all of them–plus more.    Here are a few ...

  It’s a rare treat to have the entire Floret team all in one place, since a few of our members work remotely. Susan lives in Ohio, Ellen is down in Texas and Jill is up in Bellingham. Everyone came in for the final days of launching our new   Floret Online Workshop   and it was wonderful to have the whole gang together. Getting to sit around the table and actually work  together  has been such a gift. Over the past few days we’ve been reading aloud so many of the wonderful emails pouring in from all over the world surrounding our online course launch. The enthusiasm, the gratitude, the positivity and the excitement has been food for our souls. Husbands gifting the course to their wives, grandparents surprising their grandchildren, strangers sponsoring other growers in need, institutions and colleges training their staff, the list goes on and on. I know I speak for the entire team when I say we feel so honored and blessed to do this work. Today after a little re...

 Floral designer Chelsea Fuss describes what it takes to start working with flowers full-time. Do you ever dream of spending your days surrounded by stems of garden roses and lilacs? Gathering and composing arrangements of colorful, fragrant blossoms day after day, instead of sitting behind a desk? Owning a flower shop is one of those romantic jobs many people dream of. But what is it really like? And how do you get started with a career in floral design? My flower obsession began early, as a kid, more specifically as a teen. I think I knew    West Vancouver Flowers  were my future when I spent most Friday nights as a teenager in my flower garden, making bouquets. I read every book I could get my hands on about floral design, dabbled in making wedding flowers, and in university, filled my art history course notes with flower shop business plans. After working for other florists, I opened my own shop at the age of 23. Since then, my career has evolved, but it still ve...

 We often receive the question “Are you a florist or a floral designer?” which is usually followed by the question “what’s the difference?” difference between floral designer florist The term floral designer and florist are terms that are thrown about interchangeably in the wedding industry, often leaving couples scratching their heads and wondering what is the difference between the two. A Floral Designer is an artist that uses plant materials and    West Vancouver Flowers  to create pleasing and balanced compositions. They typically design arrangements for weddings, parties and other special events. Their designs tend to be unique, one-of-a-kind creations and, depending on the designer you work with, they tend to be very collaborative throughout the design process. A Florist is a person or business that sells and arranges plants and cut flowers. They generally have a physical storefront, have a range of stock design styles they use when creating arrangements and ty...

 Flower arranging has been around for centuries, where did it begin? The idea of being around beautiful flowers is appealing to a large demographic of people, but did you ever wonder how flower arranging came to be? Take a moment and step back in history with us on how flower arranging began. History-Flower-Arranging-Egypt-Flowerspapyrus painting via google.com Egypt Earliest known flower arranging dates back to ancient Egypt to 2,500 BCE.  Egyptians were the first to cut and place flowers in a vase to decorate and add color to their surroundings. Egyptians were known as the first florists by trade and commissioned to place very high stylized arrangements around burials, processions, and table decorations. These florists would carefully select flowers that had a symbolic meaning with emphasis on religion.  A big seller was the garland of flowers worn by loved ones and left at the tombs. Fact: Besides the Iris, the lotus flower and water lily were considered sacred to Egyp...

 Consider whether you yourself view West Vancouver Flowers as a commodity vs. art. When peonies are $39.95 for 10 stems wholesale, do you view them as art? Or are you grumbling about the price per stem? They’re gorgeous! They’re local! They’re at the perfect stage of openness! But they’re expensive. Are they worth it? That’s up to you. Value is always in the eye of the beholder. Florists should be committed to providing value to clients while at the same time also valuing your time, skill and expertise.  We’re fortunate to work in an industry with standard pricing formulas that allows us to do all of the above. Remember: In the end, it doesn’t matter what you charge if you overbuy.

 Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new partnership between California farmers and the state’s food banks Thursday that will help pair excess food with residents who are experiencing food insecurity. Newsom said the new program, which includes a partnership between farmers, ranchers, the federal government, the state and philanthropists, will direct as much as 21 million pounds of California grown food to the state’s food banks. “We’re here in the bread basket of the world and we want to address that mismatch and work with farmers and connect them with food banks,” Newsom said. The state had previously issued a $20 million grant to help food banks across the state, a move that Newsom said resulted in 900,000 boxes of food being given to families in need. The program would expand this would allow for participating growers and producers of fresh foods to receive a 15% tax credit. Newsom said the program has already raised $3.6 million. Newsom said it will link over 120 farmers with 41 foo...

  Los Angeles County health officials announced the single largest increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday after 1,541 more county residents tested positive for the virus. LA County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said that out of the 139,000 tests the county has conducted, there has been a 14% positive test rate in the county, a mark that has not moved in the past few weeks. To date, 22,485 county residents have tested positive for COVID-19.  Corona test online kaufen The county also reported 56 new deaths Wednesday, bringing the total number of people how have died from the virus to 1,056. Among those who have died, 92% had underlying health conditions, Ferrer said. That data point has also held consistent and Ferrer reiterated the stay at home messaging for the county’s most vulnerable residents. “It’s so important for those who have underlying health conditions to please do your best to stay at home,” Ferrer said, adding that they should even limit direct c...

Beginning on Thursday, Long Beach will offer coronavirus testing for frontline workers regardless of whether they are showing symptoms. The testing will take place at a new site at Jordan Plus High School (171 W. Bort St.) and is one of 80 testing sites through a  partnership with OptumServe, the federal government health services business of Optum. The news comes as Long Beach saw a jump in cases Wednesday as the city has ramped up testing in recent weeks. The city on Wednesday reported 629 positive cases for COVID-19, up from 602 on Tuesday. The city also reported three additional deaths, for a total of 36 deaths, all of which were people with underlying health issues. “We are grateful to Governor Newsom and the County of Los Angeles for establishing this test site in Long Beach, which will allow many residents to get tested,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “Increasing testing capacity is critical to tracking, controlling and preventing the spread of COVID-19...

 All frontline essential workers, including those who do not have symptoms, can now receive free COVID-19 testing at select Long Beach locations. Testing is also available for anyone who is symptomatic. Frontline essential workers include first responders and employees of essential businesses identified by the Long Beach Health Order. Frontline essential workers can make an appointment to test at one of the following three testing locations within Long Beach: Jordan Plus High School (walk-up testing), 171 W. Bort St. Long Beach City College Pacific Coast Campus* (drive-up testing), 1305 E. Pacific Coast Highway St. Mary Medical Center (drive-up testing), 1050 Linden Ave. Appointments are required for all testing sites. Priority will continue to go to those exhibiting symptoms and individuals who are over 65 years of age or have underlying chronic health conditions. Frontline essential workers wanting to schedule an appointment may visit the testing page on the City’s COVID-19 websi...

 Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed more requirements for counties seeking to speed up the process toward reopening, with testing, new cases and death rates being among highest bars to clear. The guidance, which will be posted on the state’s Department of Public Health website in the coming days, was revealed in broad strokes during Newsom’s Thursday afternoon press briefing. Newsom said that the chances that some counties could meet these new guidelines and could see restaurants reopen in the next week was “very high” in certain parts of the state. Those areas will likely be in more rural parts of California, where deaths and infection rates have remained low or nonexistent, leading some to spurn the governor’s stay at home orders. Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s secretary of Health and Human Services, said that the regional variances in how COVID-19 has impacted parts of the state could lead to some areas being able to expand their openings, which could include restaurants for dine-in servic...

 As restrictions on some retail and outdoor activities in Los Angeles County are relaxed in the coming days, LA County health officials warned that the region is not out of the woods yet and restrictions could return if needed. LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that everyone in the county shares a responsibility to protect each other through wearing masks and physical distancing to ensure that this gradual opening of the economy does not result in a spike of cases which could lead to illness and death. If there is a spike over the next few weeks, Ferrer said that the county could revert back to more restrictions. “We do know that people are anxious to take steps to feel like we can recover collectively but we’re going to go extraordinarily slow,” Ferrer said. “We don’t want to be doing this at the expense of other people’s lives.” Ferrer reported Thursday that the county had recorded 815 new cases bringing the county’s total to 29,427. She also reported that 51 m...

 Residents on Saturday reported getting parking tickets at the El Dorado Park parking lot near the duck pond after the cones blocking the entrance to the lot were reportedly removed. The $69 parking tickets were not the COVID-19 citations that officials have largely refrained from handing out, but did reference the COVID-19 lot closure, according to a resident who got a ticket. This comes as Long Beach officials are beginning to reopen the city, including some retail stores for curbside pickup only and some recreational activities.  Corona test online kaufen Park parking lots, along with the beach bike path, will not reopen until Monday. However, starting today, city golf courses reopened with specific guidelines. Public trails, trailheads and their parking lots opened Friday. Beaches remain closed.

 On top of health concerns, brands across the globe are worrying about how coronavirus (COVID-19) will impact ecommerce as a whole. Ecommerce, B2B, B2C, and brick-and-mortar brands alike are all bracing for the impact that coronavirus will have on their business. In this article, we’ve collected everything your brand needs to know about coronavirus and ecommerce, as well as what you can do to lessen the blow. Note: Keep coming back to this post as updates on coronavirus and ecommerce continuously roll in. We’ll be adding updates throughout the pandemic to help keep you in-the-know. 12/7 update Google’s AI team develops program for medical research The same team that created Google’s search algorithm has created a new deep learning algorithm that will fundamentally transform biology and scientific research. The DeepMind team’s findings could provide valuable insights for future pandemics or introduce possible benefits for the COVID-19 pandemic like different treatment options, bette...

  The floral ecommerce trend for 2020 is here – flower subscriptions! Flower shops are starting to turn single sales into multiple, ongoing orders.  First there was Birchbox and then Barkbox. Now even Amazon recently launched its own subscription box page – selling hundreds of monthly items like pet toys (“Pawstruck”) and cured meats (“Carnivore Club”). Here’s what you need to know to sell flower subscriptions on your own florist website.  What are Flower Subscriptions?  Flower subscriptions are an easy way for your customers to subscribe to flowers. Customers can choose the general type of flowers, the price point, and the delivery frequency.  Some shops are offering different types of subscriptions like plants or gift baskets.  How Should You Set Up Flower Subscriptions?  Want to set up flower subscriptions on your florist website. Here are some tips?  Simple Packages  – Customers are often confused when buying flowers. Keep your subscripti...

  Flower Shop Review Now is the time to get things organized and cleaned, here are some important things to review during this time.  Cleaning Shop & Cooler Deep cleaning of your floral cooler Review Inventory  Review to see if any cash is held up due to inventory or dead stock Prepare discounts/special prices for selling items quickly when you re-open Donate any extra inventory unable to be sold Financial Review  It’s good to take a look at how your business is doing financially, it’s important to review the revenues, profits, and solvency.  Review Expenses Look into your floral shop expenses.  Cut or improve to take any advantages of the resources you have.  Product Pricing Evaluate and update your product pricing.  Remember to include your markup costs (labor, floral, and supply markups) Delivery Pricing Review your current delivery charges Think of gas costs, labor costs, and time when settling on charges Think of offering free delivery to...