Sending Smiles ~

I know Halloween is over but I had to share. We had our annual Halloween Costume contest at the shop and once again I was amazed by the creativity of my staff. Not only did many of them create fun costumes but a special kudos goes out to David, Sheryl and Kyle who went out and delivered (set up a wedding, in fact) fully dressed!! Too funny!! Pictured here is David (as a Stock Broker - notice the Plan B noose around his neck), Kevin the Beer Can, Heena the magician, Dianne the scary pirate, Yarrow and Dena the fallen angels, Sheryl the Vampira and Kyle the scary Jester (and no he did not deliver wearing that mask, that would be crazy). Funniest costume went to David, most creative was shared by Yarrow and Sheryl and the most like the person prize went to Kyle. Kyle, no offense, you are not scary but you are funny and so to us you are our lovable court jester! This year we also tried to spread some Halloween cheer to some local nursing homes. Our staff made and delivered some cute mug

Honestly, I flip back and forth on my opinion on this matter. Somedays I think it’s me, I’m nuts, something is seriously wrong with me and other days, I look at others around me and I wonder how they function. I guess the truth lies somewhere in between. I was writing a job description for a new position at my shop yesterday and one of the concepts I wanted prospective employees to know about my company is that we have a “Think of it Today, Implement it Tomorrow” attitude. I’m thinking that this line really says it all about how I operate and how I expect my operation to run. Think of a great concept and act on it. No over thinking, no waiting, just do it. I’m the queen of just do it. Hear about a great marketing idea, well…no waiting, act on it, do it. Notice that something is dirty, well, no waiting, clean it. That’s me, that’s inside my head and so that’s what I do. I react to things around me, always seeing a better way or something that needs to be done. A good thing? I’ve always

"I've always wanted to work at a flower shop!!" We hear that so often we've probably lost count! But working at a flower shop can be a lot of fun so we could not agree more. How many jobs allow you to work with your hands, creating little objects of beauty that will bring smiles to the person who receive it? There are not many jobs like that! I thought it would be fun to whip out the camera and take a few shots of the staff in the midst of their day. As you can tell, it took a lot of coaxing to get them to pose - NOT!! Pictured above are Reina, Rocio, Dianne, Kristie, Tina, Heena and Yarrow.

Boy, there is just no way around it, I love color!! Take these bouquets for example. These were just delivered yesterday to our bride Jennifer for her wedding. Roses, mini callas, viking poms, stock, fall toned leaves and berries, what a stunning combination! I can't wait to see a picture of these colors up against the chocolate brown of the brides maids dresses!! Now take a look at these bouquets. How stunning are these! My bride Stephanie just loves peacock feathers. Purples and greens and peacock feather what a memorable, artistic combination for her wedding flowers. I'm sure everyone will remember her flowers! I had a bride in with her mom and they both expressed a dislike for green and green flowers. I couldn't disagree more! There are so many flowers that are naturally green. I love incorporating them in with other colors and even by themselves. I anticipate green being a popular color for years to come! Well that's my two cents on colors. My suggestion is use it

Well, you can't turn on the TV or the radio without hearing about the state of our economy. It's all a bit scary to be sure. As a business owner, it's even a bit more scary than usual (being in business for oneself is always scary, trust me on that). You want to invest in your company, buy new product, hire new people but there's that little bit of nagging doubt in the back of your mind that says "hold off, wait and see what happens". Over the last 20 years, I've been through quite a few economic downturns. One thing that I have noticed is that if you stay the course and don't roll over and play dead, you come out on the backside stronger than when you went in. I've also noticed that my industry seems to do well when money gets tight. You might wonder why that it is but it's actually pretty simple. Flowers make people feel good and all things considered, they are pretty inexpensive. When people can't buy that new refrigerator or that new c

Have you ever noticed just how much there is to learn? I sure have. Every where I turn there's something new that I don't know, something that I should know, something that I'm not even sure I'm smart enough to know. And so, the story of my life, always feeling like I'm behind and have to play catch up. I often wonder if other people feel this way and I've been told no. I've been told no by very reliable and credible sources but still, even knowing that I'm not normal in this regards, makes me feel like I need to learn something. In this case, it could be that I need to learn to "Let It Go". Let go of feeling like I'm playing catch up. Let go of the feeling that things aren't exactly perfect. Let go of the feeling that I have to learn everything. Ah, I can pick things to learn and let others go? This is a novel idea. Why am I on this topic? This past weekend I went to a Floral Conference. I know what you are thinking, "how lovely

Anyone that knows me knows that I consider my employees part of my extended family. To be honest, I probably know more about them and they about me than some of my very own family members. I guess this can be a fact of life when you own a business. Anyway, I recently added a section onto my Monday Morning Flowers website called "Meet the Staff". I asked each employee to tell me a little bit about themselves, their background and what they would like our customers to know about them. I, in turn, added a bit of fluff and my own observations of these great people. I have yet to get all my employees to do it (although I have been known to do a bit of arm twisting to get what I want) but I'm really happy with the positive response we have gotten so far. I think the thing that has been the most shocking to me is how handsome a group they are!! Gorgeous flowers, beautiful employees, what more can a business owner ask for. Check it out at http://www.sendingsmiles.com/info.asp?i