Celebrate the New Year with a Floral Design class

Celebrate 2017 with a floral design class!

Students are enrolling now 

save your design table

and save $$$$ now thru December 31, 2016

I am thankful for all the amazing students in 2016...take advantage and be a student in 2017.

Explore Floral Design Class - save $300

( only 2 sessions in 2017)

Explore Floral Design 2 - save $100

2 Day Wedding Workshop - save $75

Tall Vase Design - save $25

To enroll: email me(click address) for your pay pal invoice

flowerclassroom@gmail.com

The dates for these classes available on the right hand side of the blog: flowerclassroom.com

Thank you for a fantastic 2016....looking forward to meeting you in 2017!!🌷🌸🌹🌺🌻🌿🍀🍃

Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor

flower classroom: Celebrate 2017 with a Floral Design Class

flower classroom: Celebrate 2017 with a Floral Design Class: Celebrate 2017 with a floral design class! Students are enrolling now  save your design table and save $$$$ now thru December 31, ...

Christina Burton-Fox AIFDfloral artist & instructor

Celebrate 2017 with a Floral Design Class

Celebrate 2017 with a floral design class!

Students are enrolling now 

save your design table

and save $$$$ now thru December 31, 2016

I am thankful for all the amazing students in 2016...take advantage and be a student in 2017.

Explore Floral Design Class - save $300

( only 2 sessions in 2017)

Explore Floral Design 2 - save $100

2 Day Wedding Workshop - save $75

Tall Vase Design - save $25

To enroll: email me(click address) for your pay pal invoice

flowerclassroom@gmail.com

The dates for these classes available on the right hand side of the blog: flowerclassroom.com

Thank you for a fantastic 2016....looking forward to meeting you in 2017!!🌷🌸🌹🌺🌻🌿🍀🍃

Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor

Pantone 2017 Color of the Year Wreath design

Pantone Color of the Year   ~~  Greenery/2017


Showcase your "Greenery"

 Wreath design by Floral Art

Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor

AIFD Foundation Symposium Scholarship

American Institute of Floral Designers, 720 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor

Festive Flower Design by Bea Beroy | Flower Factor How to Make

Christina Burton-Fox AIFDfloral artist & instructor

Florists Review tip of the week

Florists Review Magazine      Tip of the week

Dec 12, 2016  Markdown to Clear Holiday Inventory  We hope your Christmas season has been a tremendous success so far, but even if it’s been record-breaking, it’s likely that you still have some merchandise that needs to be discounted and moved out before the holiday. You could start with a simple 20 percent discount and increase it as Christmas nears, but a new approach to markdowns may provide additional sales and help you more effectively clear out, so you can start 2017 with a clean slate. A few options for markdown strategies:     1.  Mark down different categories of holiday inventory, like candles or ornaments, each day, and let your customers know what’s currently on sale.    2.  BOGO (buy one, get one) is a popular sales concept and can be used in a variety of ways besides just “get one of equal or lesser value … .” Try combining products, like “Buy a wreath, and get anything with the color red in it for half price” or “Buy a centerpiece, and get a pair of coordinating accents for half price.”    3.  If you prefer to stick with a basic 20 percent, it might be more effective to present your discount as $10 off for every $50 spent. The flat rate of $10 is easier for customers to visualize, and it’s easily represented in your marketing by a $10 bill. Try one of these approaches this year, and gauge your clearance sales. If you’re not satisfied with the results, make a note, so you can be reminded to try a different approach next year.

Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor

Florists Review tip of the week

Calm the Holiday Rush During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s important to keep your cool and create a productive vibe rather than chaos and commotion. Floral expert Teresa P. Lanker, of The Ohio State University, shares several strategies: • Prioritize: Organize your tasks for each day into three categories — “must do,” “should do” and “like to do.” Save the “like to do” tasks until everything else is complete — or even until after the holidays. A list can help you keep on track and feel accomplished. • Communicate and delegate: Share your daily priorities with staff members so that everyone can work together to achieve the same objectives. • Team up: For major decorating jobs, mass centerpiece orders and other big jobs, team up employees and allow them to work out their own production methods to meet deadlines. • Celebrate: Don’t forget to set aside time to appreciate everyone’s good work – it can be as simple as a hot chocolate break or a special potluck lunch. Make sure, even during the busy times, that you and your employees take time to recharge and keep your energy up.

Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor

Slow Flowers December Newsletter

Home   |  Workshops & Classes  |  Articles  |   Blog   |  Press           Welcome to December! I hope the information shared in this month's newsletter is useful and thought-provoking, Warmly, Debra         Last Call for Images: Slow Flowers PR // Valentine's Day      Terra Bella Flowers in Seattle created this 2016 Valentine's Day bouquet and it was picked up by AdWeek!   Last CALL for your Valentine's Day Submissions! The Slow Flowers PR Campaign continues with an eye to February 14th -- with our goal of filling the news stream with local and seasonal floral design ideas for Valentine's Day! You're invited to submit images of your flowers or your design work for possible inclusion. This opportunity is available free to PREMIUM Members. If you have a Standard Membership and you would like to participate, there is a $35 fee.  The "Slow Valentine's Day" editorial package will be distributed nationally to lifestyle editors and bloggers during the first week of January. Don't miss out on this excellent opportunity to get published! We've extended the DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: December 15th What: Please submit up to 3 horizontal images (1024 x 768 dpi or larger is recommended) The images should illustrate local, domestic and seasonal botanicals suitable for Valentine's Day editorial. We're looking for ALTERNATIVES to traditional rose arrangements or FRESH ways to design with American-grown roses. For each submission, please provide: 1. Description of design 2. Source of flowers/foliage/botanical product 3. 1 design / decorating tip Be sure to share your Social Places for tagging (web site, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) Submit to debra@slowflowers.com. You are encouraged to use Dropbox or other FTP sites. Questions? Please ask, email address above or call 206-769-8211     Click here to see how the Harvest, Home & Holiday PR Package turned out ►   Slow Flowers in the News       "DECORATE YOUR HOME - AFTER PRUNING YOUR BACKYARD," by Debbie Arrington for the Sacramento Bee, came out just in time for readers in need of holiday decor inspiration. This popular gardening columnist tapped Slow Flowers founder Debra Prinzing for tips on gleaning seasonal gifts from nature and the landscape. Debbie wrote:  Debra Prinzing likes to combine two November tasks that on the surface seem polar opposites: pruning and holiday decorating. A leader of the “Slow Flowers” movement, she thinks of it as “garden gleaning.” “I love the term ‘garden gleanings’ because that sounds more pleasant than ‘garden chores!’ ” said Prinzing, author and creator of SlowFlowers.com. “However, gleanings for decorating indoors can easily come from your fall/winter garden cleanup, such as cutting back perennials and pruning branches. These gifts from nature are ideal for filling large urns or small vases, or for making garlands, wreaths or front-door sprays.” Just as “Slow Food” emphasizes locally grown food, the Slow Flowers concept urges people to think local farm to vase – or backyard to front-door wreath. With the holidays upon us, bringing some of that greenery indoors helps set the mood and makes the whole house feel more festive. Start by surveying what’s available in your own landscape.     Click here to read the entire story ►   "How Fresh are Those Flowers?" Writer, editor and gardening blogger Jean Starr interviewed Debra about the Slow Flowers' take on weddings in a column appearing in the online magazine Planters Place. She also interviewed Slow Flowers member Emily Watson, owner of Wood Violet Floral Design in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for her tips and advice for keeping wedding flowers as local and seasonal as possible. Other Slow Flowers members mentioned in the piece include Sunny Meadows Flower Farm and Buckeye Blooms, both Ohio-based, and Bliss Haven Farms, from Indiana.      Click here to read the entire story ►   HOT OFF THE PRESS! Heather Saunders, exclusive Flower House photographer, has just released her beautiful art book, "Flower House Detroit." The 300-page, 9-by-12-inch book contains Heather's impressions and thoughts as seen through her lens before, during and after the amazing foral art experience called The Flower House. Heather has collected essays and hundreds of her images between the pages of the book's elegant cover. Flower House creator Lisa Waud wrote the book's highly personal foreword and Heather asked Slowflowers.com founder Debra Prinzing to take part in a Q&A about Locally Sourced Flowers that follows.  It's super impressive and thoroughly inspiring to know Heather self-published this stunning volume. The book was printed by the French Paper Co., a Niles, Michigan-based printer operating with 100% green hydropower. In our Q&A, Heather asked what I first thought when Lisa told me she wanted to fill a house with American grown flowers. Here is an excerpt of my answer: "The inventiveness of Flower House will have a lasting impact on the floral community. We are at a crossroads in time, when the only relationship many Americans have with flowers is as a "commodity" wrapped in plastic at the checkout counter. We don't know where those flowers come from; we don't know who grew them or what practices or methods were employed. "Flower House tells a completely different story: Flowers are most ephemeral and beautiful when they become a work of art in the hands of a maker, when they are grown on our own land, when we celebrate the entire lifespan of that flower - from seed to installation - and when we honor every human who had a role in bringing that flower to life."   Click here to order your copy of Flower House Detroit ►   ON THE ROAD with Slow Flowers   From left: Katie Davis of Ponderosa & Thyme and I co-presented designs highlighting locally-grown flowers; Ali Dahlson of Mayesh models Katie's gorgeous bouquet; and I pose with my PNW-inspired arrangement   SLOW FLOWERS helps Mayesh Wholesale introduce its new Portland, Oregon Branch  In early November, Mayesh invited customers to join them in celebrating the opening of their brand new space in the Portland Flower Market! It was a great success thanks to manager Amy Gebhardt and the support of her team, not to mention the awesome new space! Large, open and fresh, the Mayesh space has been transformed into a welcoming place for customers and the ideal spot to host a party.  The event garnered about 200 guests plus a number of Mayesh employees and members of the family, including floral designer Ali Dahlson, whose blog posts appear regularly on Mayesh's web site. We kicked things off with a collaborative, hands-on demonstration. I was lucky to be partnered with Katie Davis of Ponderosa & Thyme. I created two arrangements, focusing on all-local flowers, while Katie made a textural hand-tied bouquet using a mixture of local and imported blooms. We had a blast and I loved meeting so many in the Portland floral community, including several Slowflowers.com members who attended!     Click here to read more ► Hilary Holmes of Emerald Petals designed beautiful centerpieces and a tulip installation suspended from the Holland America greenhouse rafters   Sharing the SLOW FLOWERS story with 125 Field to Vase Dinner guests gathered at Holland America Flower Farm in Woodland, Washington The seventh Field to Vase Dinner took place in early November, and I was thrilled to participate as a speaker. Hilary Holmes of Portland-based Emerald Petals,a Slowflowers.com member and past guest of the Slow Flowers Podcast, was the featured floral designer for the evening (see us together at right). Hilary's inspiration began with the hundreds of thousands of tulips growing inside Holland America's greenhouses. Check out some of the photos here! If you look closely, you'll see charming tendrils of pale apricot nasturtium, plucked from Hilary's own garden. Guests dined on local fare, sipped local wine and beer, listened to bluegrass music from a local band and toured the operations with flower farmer and CEO Benno Dobbe. Holland America's in-house florist Stacey Lane, also a Slowflowers.com member, adorned the greenhouse entrance and dining area with a bounty of just-harvested blooms. Guests left the evening with gorgeous pink and yellow tulips, courtesy of Holland America Flowers, and the popular Field to Vase swag bag was full of goodies every floral enthusiast could appreciate. The Field to Vase Dinner Tour continues for 2017 and dates for each host flower farm will be announced soon! We know for sure that Slowflowers.com member Beth Van Sandt of Scenic Place Peonies in Homer, Alaska, will host a dinner on July 29, 2017! I can't wait to see you there!    Click here to see more photos from F2V►   SLOW FLOWERS sponsors Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers annual conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan  We headed to the 2016 conference that drew hundreds of veteran flower farmers and newbies eager to soak up the knowledge of this wonderful community. Formed in 1988, ASCFG was created to educate, unite, and support commercial cut flower growers. Its mission is to help growers produce high-quality floral material, and to foster and promote the local availability of that product. Learn more at ascfg.org.       LISTEN: Slow Flowers Podcasts for November     Voices of the Slow Flowers Movement Each week the Slow Flowers Podcast releases a new episode featuring timely interviews with flower farmers and floral designers whose wisdom and insights will inspire you! Check out the wide range of guests we've heard from this month.  And please celebrate with me! During November, episodes of the Slow Flowers Podcast were downloaded more than 6,500 times!  Episode 269 (November 2): Living on a U-Pick Flower Farm and channeling your inner flower farmer, with Cathy Lafrenz of Miss Effie’s Country Flowers in Donahue, Iowa Episode 270 (November 9): Meet Mary Coombs and Dawn Clark of A Garden Party Florist, a New Jersey-based floral design, events and workshop studio Episode 271: (November 16) The flowering of Philadelphia with designer Dan Fingerhut of Floradelphia  Episode 272 (November 23): A Dahlia Love Story with Michael Genovese of Summer Dreams Farm  Episode 273 (November 30): A Tale of Two Floristas in Raleigh, North Carolina: meet Stephanie Hall of Sassafras Fork Farm and Maggie Smith of Pine State Flowers       THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS

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Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor

Pantone Color of the Year for 2017

Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor

Greenery, a refreshing and revitalizing shade. View email in web browser. GRAPHICS | FASHION, HOME + INTERIORS | PLASTICS See all of our color tools at pantone.com contact us | catalog | dealer locator | unsubscribe | privacy policy If you have trouble reading this E-mail, go to http://www.pantone.com/eblasts/20161208/index.html This E-mail was sent to you by Pantone. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add pantone@web.pantone.com to your address book. This is an outbound E-mail only. We will be unable to respond to your reply. ® Pantone, 2016. All rights reserved. PANTONE® Colors displayed may not match PANTONE Color Standards. Pantone, 590 Commerce Boulevard, Carlstadt, NJ 07072 PANTONE® and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone. Pantone is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated.

CMG color alert 2016+

Color Marketing Group presents "Generosity" from CMG's 2016+ European Forecast

Color Marketing Group gives offers a hue of hope, "Generosity."  With energy and spirit, it's a hue to transition to the new year. Generosity, a red with a slight influence of blue, revealed during discussions at Color Marketing Group's European meetings in 2014, to emerge in 2016, has advanced as a hue of hope for a new year. Generosity lifts the spirit, and announces the joy of a new year.  Seen as a hue that embodies hope and happiness, it is also an antidote to heavy, toned hues. Its generous spirit applies to its many iterations, too. With nuanced changes in the hue, it is suited to everything in home, fashion, cars, or personal electronics. It brings moments of color joy to everything from wood stain, to fashion, to automotive. It offers a new take on red-stained woods, as it casts a deep berry accent to the grain, and will give tabletops, furniture, and cabinetry a new spin on life.  Fashion accessories, outerwear, footwear, and knitwear will all embrace this new hue. You can anticipate it to be complemented by navy, petrol, black, taupe, and grey, as well as enlivening forest green and camel. Find it as a catalyst with those colors and in many textures in floor coverings, textiles and leather. From area rugs, to handbags, Generosity shares its hue while letting neighboring colors shine. At almost any sheen level, Generosity can ramp up its energy going from a subtle matte finish to high-shine gloss and becomes the perfect color to end the year, and bring in a new one. It is generous in hopefulness, and fun.

Christina Burton-Fox AIFD floral artist & instructor