The Sylvia Cup
The Sylvia Cup is the nation's longest-running floral industry design competition hosted by the Society of American Florists. Now in its 46th year, SAF is celebrating its newest cup holder ... drum roll, please... Joyce Mason-Monheim, AIFD, AZMF, PFCI of Designer Destination in Tucson, AZ.
All of the featured floral designs for the competition were displayed on "CA Grown" table cloths, and adorned with blooms from California, to authenticate the origin of the American grown flowers used in all of the amazing floral designs.
To see more images from the 2013 Sylvia Cup Competition, visit SAF's Flickr page: http://bit.ly/15RmLHg
Using Twitter as a Secret Weapon
A recent article on Mashable reported that 97% of the top 100 brands had a Twitter presence, giving it equal footing with Facebook. It went on to say that "close to 100%" of the Fortune 500 analyze Twitter's data to look for consumer trends. Why is this interesting? Well, as a platform, Twitter makes it easy to find out what people are saying about your brand or product. Even more, it allows you to directly engage with those consumers in building your brand. The data you find can be used to help streamline a strategy based on consumer opinion.
For flowers, we work closely with all flower farms and florist to continue building the California Grown brand. The efforts help educate consumers about where their flowers come from, so they can demand California flowers because they are the "local" choice for flowers. And Twitter has been a valuable social media tool for the CCFC in those efforts - in fact, the CCFC even participates in a "Twitter Team," built with flower farmers and flower fans to help spread the word.
If you'd like to contribute to flower fodder, be sure to use the hashtags, so we can follow the conversations and track the trends:
#AmericanGrown
#CaGrown
#OriginMatters
It's helpful to know who our fans are, especially the ones who are ultra-passionate about spreading the word about California Grown flowers. Be inspired by the American Grown movement for flowers and follow @caflowers on Twitter. For regular updates between issues of "Field Notes," subscribe to CCFC's blog "Field Position," by CCFC's CEO/Ambassador Kasey Cronquist.
And don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook!
Sustainability Certification Project Secures Funding
California's flower farmers' focus on sustainability earns them a $224k grant.
With input from our farms every step of the way, the Commission's vision, dedication and efforts to lead the industry were instrumental in securing two grants from the California Department of Food & Agriculture. In the first, $224k has been earmarked to advance the development of the CCFC's sustainability certification project, designed to provide California's flower farms with a certification program that recognizes the unique sustainability position our farms have in the U.S. floral industry.
Additionally, the California Flower Growers Co-op received $126,456 to help fund their efforts to develop an online marketplace for selling California Grown flowers. The grant includes funds for promoting and marketing the Co-op's new platform. The newly formed Co-op will now begin work to review proposals to develop out the concept that is designed to help provide more California Grown Flowers to more people everywhere. Co-op membership is open to California flower farms that would like to be a part of developing this important asset.
Helping Spread The Word
Debra Prinzing speaking about her passion for locally grown flowers during a "Field to Vase" event in Portland, OR.
Some new resources have become available to help you learn more about California's flower power, and to help educate and spread the word about the importance of locally grown flowers:
Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing: American Grown Flowers from a California Point of View
Listen in on the Slow Flowers Podcast while Debra interviews Kasey Cronquist and learn about the opportunities ahead for California flower farms.
J Schwanke's uBloom.com Resource Guide
The uBloom Professional Resource Guide is a list of more than 50 products, suppliers and growers of flowers and foliage. The guide is a free resource to help you grow your business.
J Schwanke atop a tractor in a field of California Grown stock during a farm tour of Ocean View Flowers in Lompoc, CA.
One Extraordinary Flower Fan Rose to the Top
Earlier this year, the California Cut Flower Commission embarked on a mission to find the nation's biggest flower fanatic - and we are pleased to announce the grand prize winner of the search ...
The Winner of the Farm-to-Float Contest
is Rochelle Greayer
Creator of The Gardenist on Apartment Therapy, chief and Founder of Studio G, a website that provides ideas and inspiration for gardeners, and editor and co-founder of Leaf Magazine, Rochelle impressed the judges with her social media presence, her deep personal passion for flowers and her desire to help share the California flower farmers' story with her network. Rochelle loves and appreciates local sourcing of flowers and will help broadcast a behind-the-scenes look at float building during the final stages of "Deco Week," including providing a side-line view of the floats as they take their place in the biggest flower parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day 2014.
The Top 10 entrants who also rose to the top received bouquets from San Francisco-based FarmGirl Flowers and they are generating rave reviews: Red, White and Grew by Pamela Price; photos by Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs; and, video by Bren Haas of BG Garden.
If you're a flower fan, but have yet to join the conversation, "Like" us at California Grown Flowers on Facebook.
