lorists around the world in unusual and historical premises. Are you a florist in unusual premises? Please send your shop picture to simon@florist2florist.com - Tell us your story!

This is Regina Florist, in Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada

The florist has been in the family for nearly 100 years (surely this must be some kind of record!!)
And now proudly resides in an old Bank premises complete with walk in safe and heavy metal door!
Thats one way to keep the roses safe at Valentines!

The 2nd one to feature is Occasions florist and Venue dresser in Halifax, Yorkshire UK.

Brief history of Piece Hall is as follows:

The Piece Hall was opened on 1st January 1779. It was built as a place for handloom weavers to sell their “pieces of cloth”, hence the name.

In 1928 the Piece Hall was officially recognised as an ancient monument but it was not until 1972
that the decision was made to restore the building. The hall was converted into shops - one of which is Occasions Florist and Event Dressers.

In Tasmania we have a florist in the most beautiful looking property. The florist is called Chloes in Hobart.

Chloes flower shop is situated in a beautiful 1832 building two blocks from the centre of Hobart. Chloes specializes in corporate arrangements and special bouquets for special occasions which is why our logo is …simply gorgeous flowers

Looking at New Zealand is really interesting, the first thing you notice are the bright exotic flowers. Take Beachside flowers in Papamoa, New Zealand.

The work on display includes lush exotic foliages - long lasting flowers. The style used is more along the lines of a traditional Gift Wrap and Hand ties - with use of lots of colourful gift wrapping. The prices are so good too! There is virtually full cover of real local florists in New Zealand on the Direct2florist website. Click to find your local florist.

Floristry styles differ all around the world. For example funeral work in United States is completely different from funeral work found in United Kingdom. This blog takes a closer look at the different styles using real florists work which has been submitted to the Direct2florist website.

USA

Avante Gardens florist in Anaheim, California

Cathy at Avant Gardens is widely regarded as a leading florist in the American florist industry.
Her style of work predominately includes bright funky flowers and is very modern. Its nice to see she uses imaginative and fun names for her creations. IMO This style of floristry looks great - If I were to send to California I would definately want to use Avante! Click here to see pictures of Cathys work.

But lets look closer at the difference in styles between Europe and United States. Almost every gift made by Cathy is in a container. Either a glass vase or dish. The arrangements too are presented in a different style. Many UK florists may describe this style of floristry as “country garden” meaning natural or not stylised. To provide comparison here are pictures from leading UK florist The Olive Branch in London.

The funeral work displayed by Avante Gardens is typical in style of all American style funeral work. That is the main characteristic being the flowers are presented on an upright stand. The stands are 3-4ft tall and using oasis they provide a great platform for the florist to show every flower. This is the reason why Funeral work in United States is so much more expensive than in the UK. It is generally expected a person sending funeral flowers will spend a great deal more on a funeral floral tribute.

UK style funeral work includes coffin sprays - known as double or single ended sprays and a variety of floral tributes that often take on shapes like an Angel or words like “Mum” or “Grandad.”

As well as the basic items such as hearts, wreath rings and pillows, many florists in the UK offer speciality shapes like dart boards, golf clubs, flags, the list goes on and on!!!

Finding the right words at the time of a funeral can be one of the most difficult things to do. Here follows a few verses that may help the bereaved to find a suitable verse. They have been arranged by relationships.

Silent thoughts

Secret tears
A simple wish that you were here.
FROM
In heavenly love abiding
From

Though our days together are over
I will remember you always with love.
From
Treasured Memories
From

Mine is but a simple prayer
God bless and keep you in his care
From

God took you in his loving arms
“He saw you needed rest,”
His garden must be beautiful
For he only takes the best.
From

Eternal rest
Grant unto him
O’Lord
From

Resting where no shadows fall.
From

Goodnight Godbless
From

Remembered always
From

Peacefully Sleeping
From

Safe in God’s keeping
From

Gentle Jesus up above
Please give him
All our love.
From

At Rest
From

Asleep.
From

We’ll never forget you
Sleep well.
From

Till we meet again.
From

Memories of you will never die
Nor will they fade
As time goes by.
From

Our thoughts are with you
Always.
From

In heavenly love abiding.
From

Dearer still as time departs
He lives forever in my heart.
From

Dearer still as time departs
She lives forever in our hearts.
From

So dearly loved
So sadly missed
God Bless
From

We’ll always love and miss you
So much
From

Of
A dear Husband
From loving Wife
Of

A dear wife
From loving husband
Of

A dear Brother
From loving Sister

Of
A dear Sister
From loving Brother
Of

A dear Son
From a loving Mother and Father

You gave me all you
Had to give
However great or small
But most of all you
Gave me love
The greatest gift of all.
From

I know you will walk beside me
“And when my life is through,”
I pray that god will take my hand
And lead me straight to you

Cherished thoughts
From

“For our loss we must not weep,”
“Nor our loved ones long to keep,”
“From home of rest & peace,”
Where all sin & sorrow cease
From

“God saw you getting weary,”
So he did what he thought best.
“He put his arms around you,”
And whispered come & rest.
From

If tears could build a staircase
And memories make a lane
I’d walk straight up to heaven
And bring you back again

Wherever I go
Whatever I do
I will always love
And remember you
From

Sweet are the memories
Silently kept
Of a Father we loved
And will never forget
From

Sweet are the memories
Silently kept
Of a Mother we loved
And will never forget
From

Sweet are the memories
Silently kept
Of a Son we loved
And will never forget
From

Gentle Jesus up above
Please give my baby
All your love
From

Sweet are the memories
Silently kept
Of a Brother we loved
And will never forget
From

Sweet are the memories
Silently kept
Of an Uncle I loved
And will never forget
From

Sweet are the memories
Silently kept
Of a Grandad we loved
And will never forget
From

Sweet are the memories
Silently kept
Of a Grandma we loved
And will never forget
From

A smile for all
A heart of gold
No finer friend
This world could hold
From

The sorrow we feel
No words can explain
The ache in our hearts
Will always remain
From

Time may pass and fade away
But silent thoughts
And memories remain
From

There is a special Husband
Up there in Heaven above
There will never be another
With a heart so full of love
From

There is a special Wife
Up there in Heaven above
There will never be another
With a heart so full of love
From

There is a special Son
Up there in Heaven above
There will never be another
With a heart so full of love
From

There is a special Daughter
Up there in Heaven above
There will never be another
With a heart so full of love
From

There is a special Brother
Up there in Heaven above
There will never be another
With a heart so full of love
From

There is a special Sister
Up there in Heaven above
There will never be another
With a heart so full of love

There is a special Grandad
Up there in Heaven above
There will never be another
With a heart so full of love
From

There is a special Grandma
Up there in Heaven above
There will never be another
With a heart so full of love
From

Forever in my heart you’ll stay
Loved and remembered everyday
From

“A prayer, a tear”
Until the end of time
For a wonderful Dad
I’m proud was mine
From

“A prayer, a tear”
Until the end of time
For a wonderful Mum
I’m proud was mine
From

Those I love don’t go away
They walk beside me everyday
“Unseen, unheard but always near”
Still loved and missed and very dear
From

Till we meet again
As we know we will
There’s a hole in our hearts
Only you can fill
From

Dear is your memory
Sweet is your name
Close to our hearts
You will always remain
From

To me you were so special
Someone good and true
Never will I forget you
I thought the world of you
From

Beautiful memories treasured forever
Of the happy times we spent together
“Life is eternal, love will remain”
In Gods own time we shall meet again
From

“God saw you getting weary,”
So he did what he thought best.
“He put his arms around you,”
And whispered come and rest.
Love

From

This collection of verses were put together over 15 years ago when my father, John Stirling ran Clarity Florist Systems. (I cannot believe how long that was now.) It all started with a desire to print (and not hand write) funeral cards to accompany flowers at a funeral.

The verses included in the clarity software - (later the verses were included in the florist2florist software, which can be downloaded today from the f2f website) are all here and can be used by any florist or member of the public.

Need Flowers? You can order direct from the local florist at direct2florist.com

Copyright: These verses are for use by the public, and have been published by kind permission of Florist2florist. Order funeral flowers from www.direct2florist.com and deal direct with a real local florist.

Here I will talk about new members on Direct2florist.

We will see how this blog goes as there are lots of shops coming onboard so I might change it a bit further down the line.

1st new member taking a mention here is Lefkis Elgia Flowershop in Lemassol, Cyprus. This is a great signing as we now have full cover of non-turkish Cyprus. It was nice speaking to Leo as he is quite a character - certainly he has seen a lot of the world!!!

I was really pleased to see that he has already received 2 orders from direct2florist in his 1st week.

A new innovative e-commerce opportunity has been launched into New Zealand. Direct2florist.com. Former florists, father and son team John & Simon Stirling from Bolton, England are set to change the way consumers shop for flowers worldwide.

Direct2florist has joined forces with the New Zealand based “Joyflora Network” based in Christchurch to form a partnership that will see the company’s direct2florist.com website initiative launched in New Zealand.

“Direct2florist.com could very well become the number one consumer flower ordering website worldwide,” said John Stirling. “We are delighted that Garry Knight will direct efforts of the Direct2florist.com program in New Zealand while we work to expand Direct2florist around the world.”

The Direct2florist initiative passes 100% flower value to the florist and allows the florist to set their own prices and upload their own products. Company Director Simon Stirling says “this program has been designed to drive business back to the real local florist, we aim to place real local florists on Direct2florist at the top of the search engines.”

Basic computer skills are all that are needed to get started and it doesn’t take much time. Everything is done on-line by the florist. Mostly answering some simple questions. Prices, delivery areas and product selection can be changed at will, by the florist using a system that will automatically size photos.

“Already there are almost 100 florists listed in New Zealand” says Garry Knight, “and we are receiving a steady increase in order volumes. This is not going to go away. The concept of a worldwide florist directory, giving each real local florist their own virtual shop with secure on-line ordering, has been just the thing the industry has been waiting for. Real florists can now have daily specials on-line, and change them every day. Promote occasion days, change their product range, from their pc, as often as they choose. All that for about the price of one cup of coffee a week and who can’t afford that? This could be the biggest florist shop in the world”.

Whatever the state of the economy and however hard the credit crunch is biting, there will always be opportunities for international trade if the product or service on offer is good enough and brings enough benefits to the end user. A good example of this philosophy is the rapid expansion of florist2florist’s web-based direct2florist.com (D2F) initiative, which is rapidly finding favour in Europe and, perhaps more surprisingly, across the pond in America.

Back in February, F&WB brought you the news that florist2florist had joined forces with the USA’s Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association (WF&FSA) to form a partnership that would see the company’s direct2florist.com website initiative launched in North America. Since then, things have moved forward, with the D2F website service officially launched at the start of a two-day wholesale convention in Tampa, Florida.

“It was incredible,” said florist2florist’s Simon Stirling. “Having the opportunity to present the initiative to 220 top wholesalers from all over the US and Canada was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Thankfully it all went well.”

During the convention, numerous big name wholesalers signed up to promote D2F to their customers, with one forward-thinking business, flower logistics and wholesale expert Armellini industries, even bringing in a fully liveried D2F promotional truck.

“The reason wholesalers are promoting D2F is because they believe an order at 100% improves profitability and cash flow for their customers,” added Simon. “They believe D2F has the potential to strengthen the industry, which is why many other wholesalers are planning to follow the lead of Armellini and pledging to sign write trucks with d2f themselves. Others have told us they will stick on the D2F truck stickers, whilst WF&FSA are providing point of sale literature, van stickers and posters to wholesalers.”

Simon continues: “It’s very pleasing to see the number of sign-ups from USA and Canada since the exhibition. The increased number of florists in different countries strengthens the overall position of the site for every florist, regardless of location.”