Sending Smiles ~

We are excited to share with you an article by Kevin Vinicombe, co-owner of Monday Morning Flowers .  Kevin was asked by Floral Management Magazine – a monthly publication of Society of American Florists – to be featured as the “Viewpoint” in the December 2013 issue. Viewpoint by Kevin Vinicombe A LOADED QUESTION “What do I do for a living?”  I hear this question at meetings, net-working events and parties.  Being a proud entrepreneur, I raise my head high and say, “I’m a florist!  My wife and I own Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Company in Princeton, N.J.”.  If I’m feeling poetic, maybe I’ll add that I help people express their deepest feelings, or provide top-notch customer service, sometimes during life’s most emotionally charged moments, or that I help bring beauty into the everyday world.  People are generally curious when I tell them about my work.  Nevertheless, I wonder: Am I under-selling myself when I only say, “I’m a florist”? 1.        Manufacturing.  W

It's always fun being in Floral Management Magazine and this time it was our Facebook Fan Page that was featured. We are going to take that as a compliment. Society of American Florists resident "Techie" Renato Sogueco was talking Facebook's new Timeline format and used our page to demonstrate the changes.

Sorry, long time - no blog!! I had the honor of being included in a panel discussion at the SAF conference this past week in Orlando Florida. What fun and I sincerely hope that the florists in attendance enjoyed the discussion. My partners in crime were Rick from Exotic Flowers in Boston, Mass and Mandy from Hothouse Design Studio in Birmingham, Alabama. We spoke on the use of Social Media in the Floral Industry.   As you may know, I serve on the advisory committee for Floral Management Magazine and it was my opportunity to meet my fellow adviser's and all the writers and editors of the magazine.  Kevin and I especially enjoyed the Outstanding Varieties Display at the Conference. This room was filled with amazing flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors. It's wonderful to see all the new varieties being created! For my buddy Rick who had to actually judge these flowers, I have no idea how you could choose one over the other. They were all amazing! This new variety of red rose

Well, it's official. I will be serving on the Advisory Committee for Floral Management Magazine. Floral Management is a fantastic trade publication that has been my "bible" over the years and is created by the Society of American Florists, of which I am a member. In case you did not know, SAF is the only national trade association that represents all segments of the U.S. floral industry. Our 15,000 members are the industry's top retailers, growers, wholesalers, importers, manufacturers, suppliers, educators, students and allied organizations. SAF is the face and voice of a strong, unified floral industry! I'm so honored not only to be a member of SAF but to be asked to serve as an Advisor to a publication that I admire....well,  let's just say 2010 is starting off on a wonderful note for me!! Thanks SAF for everything you do for Florists and I promise to "advise" to best of my ability!! For more information on this wonderful trade organization vis

Who doesn't like to see their name in print? Well, as long as it's not in the tabloids, I'm all for it! It's always a compliment to me and my business to have a publication interested enough in what we do to ask us about ourselves or how we conduct our business. Back in the old days, when I was voted "young careerist 1991" by a local women's business organization (how quaint was that), it was an amazing thing for me or my business to be highlighted in the local newspaper. My personal favorite was the 1992 edition of "Business for Central Jersey" who highlighted me as "Someone to Watch" that year. How relieved I was when the next year they followed up with me and I was still in business and not in jail! You may laugh but one of the people they followed was arrested for something bad and a couple had gone belly up! Wow!! I was doing ok, thank goodness. Every month or so, we do seem to be in this magazine or that paper and this month is n