Thursday is the day, Valentines Day that is and Smith's is fully stocked and ready to deliver your emotions to your Valentine.
The traditional gift of red roses is always in style, and once again this year Smith's has been able to hold our regular everyday price of $50.00 a dozen arranged in a vase both on red roses as well as many other colors.
Also again this year we are offering FREE delivery on Valentines orders delivered February 12th and 13th anywhere in our delivery area. Call now, 631-0470 to take advantage of both of these special offers, and send your Valentine the best flowers available anywhere in the Tri-Cities.
Of course roses are not the only flowers available for Valentines, and no you do not have to purchase a full dozen. Often a nice mixed arrangement with or without a few roses included is just whats needed.
Amazing, some people never realize, that ProFlowers is a direct shipper, using United Parcel and Federal Express to deliver their flowers. Too bad they do not realize that they simply leave the flowers on the porch if no one is home, and in Michigan's winter weather it's not always a pretty thing.
Watch this video to see what that special someone you send to might get for Valentines if you use ProFlowers over a Real Florist.
A new addition this season is the hand made, one-of-a-kind museum quality Santa's by Barbara Buck, from Pearl City IL. Barbara has been making Santa's for friends and family for many years, and for retail for the last ten.
Each Santa is a one-of-a-kind family heirloom, is signed and comes complete with certificate of authenticity.
The Victorian Father Christmas is adorned with White Arctic Fox, embroidered robe, and Tibetan Lambswool beard. Mounted on a wood base he stands 32" tall from the table.
Trapper Santa also stands 32" tall and is dressed ready for the woods, draped in Coyote and Fox pelts, he comes complete with real metal trap, and Moose gut snowshoes made by the Objibawa Indian Tribe in Canada. You can see by the detail in his face that care and love went into making each Santa.
To see the complete collection we have in stock please visit this page of our website for pricing and ordering information. Barbara has other Santa's available on a limited first come, first sold basis.
Smith's would like to welcome Kathy Frost back to our design staff. Kathy has many years in the industry, having worked at Smith's many years ago, and then in various other Tri-City floral operations. Kathy comes to us after several successful years at The Birds Nest in Saginaw where she specialized in permanent botanicals.
Kathy will also focus her skill in permanent botanicals for Smith's as well as do custom creations for customers and be available for in-home design consultations, home decorating as well as work in our fresh flower design area.
The addition of Kathy, brings our design team to 5 full time designers, Mark, Debi, Cindy, Kathy and Don (on call). OK, so it's only 4 full time, and one part time, but Dad still likes to come play when we have a need.
Kathy, Welcome! We know you'll be a great addition.
It's under way again... Smiths annual Pre-Labor Day Sale...
50% OFF "almost" everything in the store. Some new items excluded.
We have tons of new merchandise arriving for the Fall and Christmas season and we need to make some room. Sale runs from Monday August 20th through Friday August 31st.
Well Springs not quite in the air yet, but it is only March, and in Michigan it can change over night as we all know.
Nows a great time to start looking around at corsages for the girls and bouts for the guys. As shown above, bright color combinations are again hot this year, purple, orange, bright greens and more. You can view many selections online at SmithsFlowers.com in our Body Flowers section. It's never too early to start planning.
Enjoy the soothing sounds of moving water with one of these wonderful self contained concrete fountains. Suitable for both indoor (if you have the space) and outdoor use they are designed and built to last a lifetime.
The large square base fountain with bird bath measures 32" square and is deep enough for a few gold fish in the 8" deep base, while the bubbling bird bath is 17.5" across and 27" tall. This is a "quite" fountain making a very subtle dripping noise and would make a wonderful addition to any tranquil garden setting.
The three layer round fountain measures 22" high and bubbles from the top down, bowl into bowl. The top bowl is 14" across and as they get larger they measure 20" for the middle and 30" for the base bowl. This fountain makes a quiet bubbling sound.
The Urn fountain pictured below, is the noisy one of the three, with the base measuring 32" across and a depth of 8" this one too could be home to a few fish for the summer. The urn itself in 19" across and 28" deep and is full of water to the bottom.
Any of our wonderful fountains would make a great addition to, or focal point for your garden this summer. Stop in soon to see these fountains, as well as our new collections of garden pottery in great new colors for Spring.
New permanent botanicals have been arriving daily at Smith's, and Spring is a great time to freshen up your home or office with a new permanent design that will bring color and style to your space.
Smith's sells single stems of the highest quality permanents available anywhere. Our floral designers are available throughout the day to consult with you on custom designs that will fit your needs. We are very happy to work with your fabric samples, wallpaper, pillows and anything from your room, even china patterns, and are always looking for a challenge.
Stop in soon to see whats new in permanent botanicals, both in pre-made ready to go designs, single stems and plants and custom work.
From http://realflorists.flowerchat.com/2...ry-valentines/
Word of an FTD Tech melt-down started brewing on florist message boards on Friday, February 9, when flower shop owners started reporting orders sent through FTD's proprietary Mercury Network as not getting through to their stores. Some of the florists said FTD's Tech department was initially blaming interfaces with Point Of Sale systems sold by third party vendors.
FTD's technology failure and lack of communication with consumers and florists looks to make this the most complaint-filled and costliest Valentine's Day in the ninety-seven year history of the company. __________________
Thankfully Smith's has back up technology of their own, and belongs to the Bloomlink Network, as well as using MAS-Direct for our order transfer. We did not lose one out going order this Valentines.
We know it will happen, it does every Valentine's Day, roses arrive frozen. The usual reason, consumers are fooled into ordering from companies like ProFlowers who drop ship their products in a box via UPS and FedEx in unheated, uninsulated delivery trucks. Not only that, when these third party delivery companies arrive at the delivery location, if no one is home, they simply leave the delivery on the front porch, no matter the weather.
While this method of delivery is efficient for them, it can result in a huge disappointment for the recipient. We have seen boxes left behind bushes near the porch, not to be found for days. We have seen what were once possibly decent roses turn to mush, blacken and be a total waste of money for the consumer. Yes they may have saved themselves a few dollars on the purchase, but in reality often they have been disappointed with what they received and the service they got. Not to mention the untold number of deliveries that do not get made, simply because of volume on the given day.
A recent test locally, done with a calibrated digital thermometer showed that a UPS truck had an inside temperature of 13 degrees, and a FedEx truck 11 degrees on a day when the local temperature was roughly 10 at the time of testing. Roses really do not like, nor tolerate temps below 33-34 degrees well for extended periods of time. They simply die.
The solution is simple, CALL YOUR LOCAL FLORIST, or shop them online. Local florists are concerned with your floral experience. They want you to enjoy the purchase and they want you to come back again and again. They would never think to deliver your gift in an unheated truck, nor would they leave your gift at the door in inclement weather taking a chance of your disappointment.
Call your local PROFESSIONAL Real FLORIST, don't be fooled by a name like ProFlowers.
What one recipient had to say
More Information
With Valentines fast approaching it's time to get in gear and place your orders. Smith's Flowers only uses Freedom Roses for all their red rose needs. The Freedom Rose offers exceptional vase life, often attaining 14 days once in the recipients home. Freedom Roses are a wonderful hue of red, and have lush dark green foliage.
Once again this year, unlike most other florists Smith's Flowers will be holding the cost of a dozen vased roses at their regular $50.00 price, plus delivery and tax. This price applies to all colors not just red. While our cost for roses is much higher at Valentines, we feel that we owe it to our loyal customers to continue to offer value and un-matched quality. While other florists raise their prices at Valentines, we absorb the additional cost attempting to make roses available to every budget.
Also, again this year we will be offering FREE DELIVERY for Valentines orders delivered Monday February 12th and Tuesday February 13th. Just think how surprised she will be not only when you send her roses, but when you remember to send them early when she least expects them. Be the hero in her office, order today!
Just in time for Valentines, Lampe Berger released this years two Limited Edition collectible lamps.
The Red Heart is perfect to show her that your heart is always with her. This lamp is a Limited Edition, and will no longer be available once sold out. We have 3 left in stock. The Red Heart Lamp measures 6.25" tall, 4" wide and 2" thick and retails for $127.00 including a fragrance starter bottle.
The T-shirt with Red Heart Lamp is perfect for him. Yes, even guys like their homes to smell good and be germ free. This too is a Limited Edition Lamp, and will no longer be available once sold out, we have 1 remaining in stock. The Red Heart Lamp measures 6" tall, 4.5" wide and nearly 3" thick and retails for $114.50.
Also included in the photo above, is the Red Gem Lamp, and while this is not a limited edition it is still a nice lamp for the Lampe Berger Collector on your Valentines list.
You can read more about Lampe Berger HERE
Also arrived recently are several new fragrances in larger bottles, and in February Lampe Berger will release their new catalytic burner with all new lamps. It will also be available for replacing old worn out burners.
The Esperance Rose is a new addition to the coolers at Smith's Flowers just this past summer and has already created a stir with both customers and our staff. The bloom pictured above is a full 5.5" across, basically an average Esperance as we have seen the grow to nearly 7" once out and open. They ahve a high 40-50 petal count as well. Esperance also have an extremely long vase life. We have had them out of the cooler on display in the store for 26 days before they showed much wear and tear and have heard from customers that they achieve the same results at home quite often.
The Esperance Rose is by no means a "pink rose" in the true sense of the word. Is "guard petals" are green with a bright pink edge and a creamy center. The rose itself has a varied color. The wavey petals are a creamy pink on top, changing to a true clear pink towards the cetner of the bloom. The only thing missing from an Esperance is fragrance. To achieve a long vase life fragrance was sacraficed through breeding, but still the beauty of this rose makes up for the lack of fragrance.
Esperance Roses are available year around, but tend to go quickly in the store early in the week, so we would suggest ordering ahead of time should you choose to send someone (even yourself) a stem or two or even a dozen.
Colonial Candle's fragrance of the month, Apple Orchard. A crisp fresh scent for fall, Apple Orchard gives the aroma of fresh cut apples, and fills any room with a crisp clean scent.
Available in votives, 3" and 9" pillars, and 8oz and 22oz jar candles.
The fragrance of the month special is 20% off any size or style of Apple Orchard. Stop in soon, supply is limited.
As the Christmas season approaches, we're working on getting all the new items on display. This past July, Cherie, Dad and I went to Chicgao for a week and attended the Home and Gift Show bringing back many new wonderful things for the season.
The Gossiping Grannies, aren't they adorable, all decked out in their Holiday best, sitting on a park bench catching up on all the latest gossip. Measuring 14" by 16" these Gals have it all. The bench is cast iron and wood, their outfits are authentic down to their bloomers, rich Velvet, cotton and more. Retail $199.99.
Santa and Mrs Claus. Santa's resting his toes, as he goes through his bag of mail. Each one measures 18" tall by 10" wide and comes with their own dark green Velvet chair. Attention to detail is impecable, and these will make a fine gift or addition to any Christmas scene. Retail $169.95 each.
A wonderful collection of Carollers, a complete collection or perfect for addition to an existing collection. Ranging from 8" to 22" tall, children, to adults to a drunk with his own light pole. Fine Velvet clothing, and again impecable detail. Retail from $54.00 to $139.95 each.
Stop in soon, we at Smith's Flowers are working to get more and more items unpacked and on display daily. Many of this years items are one of a kind for us as we wanted to offer a wider variety, and make many items exclusives...we hope to see you in the store soon.
Wire service rules read in part - members will be held responsible for ethical business practices and all orders shall be sent for full value paid by the consumer including delivery if collected. Incoming orders are to be filled for full value minus a florist delivery charge which should be the same as they would charge a local customer to deliver to the same address. ___
Judging by recent postings here and elsewhere on the web, along with comments from florists about the difficulties they have when trying to leave a wire service, one has to ask, "Where are the ethics?"
The wire service's have turned a blind eye to the practices of their "member florists" where curtailment and skimming have been documented and demonstrated to be a continuing problem for both florists and consumers alike.
We know the reasons, it all boils down to greed, and the money readily available. The battle for order volume among the wire services seems to have taken away their ability to do whats right for not only the industry but consumers as well.
On top of that, the various National Floral Publications, and floral organizations like SAF have chosen to walk the fence on this subject, rather than to choose a side (either side) and make a stand. Florists have begun to do just that, make a stand, and as we move forward into the future, those companies, organizations and publications that choose not to do so, will more than likely be left without any florist support.
Florist Complaints make BBB Top Ten List
Real local florists have known it was only a matter of time until the quality problems associated with the cumulative effect of deceptive and misleading florist affiliate advertising hit the radar screens of national consumer /business organizations.
In 2005, florists were ranked as the # 7 source of all complaints made to the Better Business Bureau's Canadian Division. The US BBB lists complaints about florists in the top 4% of all business categories, coming in ahead of even credit and debt counseling, telemarketing services and real estate services.
While the BBB report does not separate the 'online-only' florists from the real brick and mortar shops, one only needs to read the myriad complaints against Vancouver BC operation Urban Florist to surmise the primary source of that #7 ranking. Based on files at RipoffReport.com, the majority of those Canadian complaints were likely made by US consumers since Urban Florist has targeted (and continues to target) American flower buyers via Google AdWords advertising with phrases that lead some consumers to believe they're purchasing direct from local florists. Urban's continued fraudulent claim that local florists deliver their flowers for free has been a major issue with real flower shops.
Recently, Urban Florist was joined by yet another Canadian-based virtual florist operation, Flowers Flowers aka 180066roses.com and flowers444.com, in Buyer's Alerts issued by the Vancouver, BC Better Business Bureau. These alerts are meant to warn consumers about companies that fail to respond to BBB efforts to resolve complaints. (One has to wonder why 180066roses.com recently changed its mailing address to a Blaine, Washington PO Box while still maintaining its Burnaby operation.)
Both Urban Florist and 180066roses.com are partnered with US-based floral wire services that enable the companies to process orders and forward them to local US and Canadian florists for fulfillment.
Seeing florists listed as a top source of complaints in either country is a black eye on the industry. Two solutions could go a long way to help consumers get the flower quality and value they expect and deserve:
Request the BBB classify online-only wire service affiliate transaction complaints separate from real florists. It may be a bit difficult since so many affiliate-brokers build websites and yellow page ads specifically to appear local, but it could be done. The BBB doesn't lump travel agencies in with hotels so separating real florist local services from wire service agents makes sense.
Hold wire services accountable for their 'repeat offender' affiliates. Every business makes mistakes, but patterns of complaints should be monitored closely and affiliates should face swift suspensions if they fail to operate in a professional manner. Without the floral wire services, their commissions, their credit card clearings, and their networks, these companies could not exist.
Isn't it way past time florist trade associations weigh in on this cross-border issue to help restore consumer credibility to buy flowers from florists?
Communities across the USA will acknowledge and thank teachers the first full week of May, including the second Tuesday, National Teacher Day.
Thank your teachers, staff and volunteers for the outstanding contributions they make. Let real florists help you show teachers how much they mean during Teacher Appreciation Week.. Great ways to say thank you include flower arrangements, mylar balloons, potted plants and unique gift items, all available from your local florist.
No matter how you want to communicate your thanks to the teachers and educators, your florists will make the message loud and clear! Call today and discuss the many options florists have available!
Matt McClure NewsChannel 32
When the Charlie Company came home Thursday, they saw their friends and family lining the streets of Gainesville.
But, among the cheering crowds were dozens of yellow bows.
"I was asked by one of the soldiers' wives about making some red, white and blue bows. Did that, and then the city asked me about doing some yellow ones. Or, at least helping with it," Sharon Rich, who owns Sha’s Lanier Florist, tells NewsChannel 32.
...press release
BY MARIECAR MENDOZA Knight Ridder Newspapers
Feeling sad? Consider making your way to the nearest florist, because a recent study shows that flowers really do have power.
Creating Excellence is the theme for 2006 Administrative Professionals Week and Day, April 23-29. Celebrate with Secretaries' Day Flowers, Administrative Professionals Day Flowers by taking a moment to show your appreciation.
Real local florists will help you honor your administrative professionals. If you need help finding a real florist, use our directory of USA florists or our directory of Canadian florists.
Happy Administrative Professionals Week April 23rd thru 29th from your friends at FlowerChat.com
Wednesday April 19, 6:00 am ET Beverly Doolittle, Frances Dudley and Howard Kazanjian to Choose the 2007 Rose Parade Float Award Winners
PASADENA, Calif., April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tournament of Roses has selected Bev Doolittle, Frances Dudley and Howard Kazanjian as float judges for the 118th Rose Parade themed, "Our Good Nature." Twenty-four of the floral beauties in the Parade will receive awards in a variety of categories and specifications. The Judges' scores are based on criteria such as creative design, floral craftsmanship, artistic merit, computerized animation, thematic interpretation, floral and color presentation, and dramatic impact. Doolittle, Dudley and Kazanjian were appointed by the Tournament's Judging Committee....press release
CARLE PLACE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2006--1-800-FLOWERS.COM (NASDAQ: FLWS), a leading multi-channel retailer of thoughtful gifts for all occasions, today announced that the Company will release financial results for its fiscal 2006 third quarter on Thursday, April 27, 2006. The press release will be issued prior to market opening and will be followed by a conference call with members of senior management at 11:00 a.m. ET.... press release
Celebrate Easter with family and friends, send a floral arrangement from real local florists. If you need help finding a real florist, use our directory of USA florists or our directory of Canadian florists.
Happy Easter this Sunday April 16th from your friends at FlowerChat.com
Also known as National Professional Secretaries Week and National Secretary's Day. The title is changing and evolving. But, the recognition is important.
The theme for 2006, "Creating Excellence" is the official theme for the 2006 observance of Administrative Professionals Week (April 23-29) and Administrative Professionals Day (April 26).