CARLE PLACE, N.Y. — Retail florists came from as far away as California, and from 18 different states in all, to share ideas, view the latest products, and discuss opportunities for growing their businesses. The occasion was the Winter Fresh Forum(R), hosted by Napco and BloomNet.
Napco, a leading source for floral containers and other accessories used by thousands of florists, and BloomNet(R), the floral industry's preferred wire service provider, welcomed approximately 110 attendees to the sold out, standing room only one-day event held Saturday, January 21st, 2012 at Napco's showroom and the Floriology Institute in Jacksonville, Florida. Florists and staff representing nearly 70 retail florist shops were on hand.
Among the highlights of the event was the unveiling of a new "Urban Collection" of containers from Napco featuring vases, planters, caches and many other products boasting some of today's hottest designs. Also displayed were new trend-forward party & event glassware and holiday product assortments.
In addition, attendees to the Winter Fresh Forum gained insights about the latest holiday trends for 2012 and learned creative new floral design techniques during a presentation by Jackie Lacey, AIFD, CFD, PFCI. Tim Huckabee, AIFSE, also presented an innovative "Valentine's Day Boot Camp," providing florists with many customer service suggestions as well as best practices for optimizing Valentine's sales.
"The Winter Fresh Forum on January 21st was our biggest, most well-attended Fresh Forum event ever," said Mark Nance, AAF, President of BloomNet. "I want to thank everyone who came to Jacksonville and shared a wonderfully enjoyable and highly successful day with us…meeting friends, networking with fellow industry professionals from around the country, and exploring exciting new possibilities for enhancing artistic floral design skills."
About Napco
With more than 70 years as a trusted source to the floral industry, Napco ( www.napcoimports.com ) is the one-stop-shopping home for floral, garden, gift and seasonal decor needs. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida with showrooms in Jacksonville, Atlanta and Dallas, Napco imports and distributes a vast line of innovative products featuring exclusive designs. The Company's diverse product line includes floral containers in virtually all shapes, sizes and colors along with decorative accents, inspirational and memorial products, a wide variety of garden items, and products carefully selected for holidays throughout the year including Valentine's Day, Christmas, Halloween and many other special occasions.
About Floriology Institute
As the premier, industry accredited floral education center, Floriology Institute is dedicated to building a foundation for excellence, supporting best practices and enabling innovative approaches in floral design and retail business practices that empower florists to reach their full potential and allow their customers to recapture the joy and expression of the language of flowers. The Floriology Institute is located in Jacksonville, Florida and it offers an extensive and diverse range of education courses to support florist needs.
About BloomNet(R)
BloomNet(R) ( www.mybloomnet.net or 1-800-BloomNet) is an international wire service and a world class business solutions provider offering quality products and diverse services to a select network of professional retail Florists who utilize BloomNet's resources to grow their businesses profitably. Professional Florists who are part of the BloomNet network can take advantage of several key benefits including higher profitability on wire orders, the highest published rebate in the industry with the easiest rebate qualifications, lower membership costs, state-of-the-art technology solutions, and a complete suite of value-added products and services. BloomNet has established and maintains the industry's most stringent business standards for participating Florists. BloomNet, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.
Source: BloomNet, Inc.