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Our flower shops are full of all sorts of products that we use every single day in our business but are what we refer to as "give away's", things like wrapping paper, tape, flower food, and enclosure cards.

None of these items by themselves amount to a great deal, but day in, day out, they rob from your bottom line a penny or two at a time. So when the opportunity presents itself to save a bit on these essentials don't pass it by. That is why we knew that adding quality low priced enclosure cards to our wholesale line was a must.

After all, we all want to save a buck..........

Since we started wholesaling florist supplies we have asked our customers for suggestions on basic floral products we should inventory for flower shops. The response from our florist customers has been incredible and we have received a ton of suggestions, many of the products we currently carry are based on those suggestions.

Not wanting to fall into the same trap of carrying massive inventories that most florist supply wholesales suffer from, and simply add to their selling price we really try to stick to the basics found in every flower shop. So we are very pleased to announce we are adding another "basic" to our line of florist supplies.

Since we started wholesaling florist supplies through Odyssey a little over a year ago we have been amazed at the level of support that retail florists have shown us. What started out as a way for us to move some excess inventory in the florist supplies we were purchasing has taken on a life of it's own. Over that period what we have heard time and time again was "when will you start carrying floral containers".

When we started this "odyssey", floral containers were just not something we envisioned ourselves stocking, but guess what?

Post harvest cut flower care, most of us in the cut flower trade know that its pretty important that we feed our fresh flowers, both in our shops and once the consumer has purchased the product.

But just how important is it to the overall success of the average retail flower?

The answer to that depends on whether you intend to be in the flower  business for the short term or the long haul.  If its the long haul, it a critical component to reaching that goal.

Packaging.... It can enhance or ruin the presentation of beautiful flowers. So why not use the best packaging to show off your work that you can. If price is the issue, we can resolve that.

Like every other aspect of business when it comes the basic supplies in a flower shop the old 20/80 rule seems to apply to making money. 

We knew this day would come, just didn't know how soon. After all how could we offer a line of florist supplies for flower shops and professional floral designers and not have something as basic as "floral foam". Well folks, we now have floral foam, and not just any foam.

We took our time sourcing this one, we looked domestically and overseas, our two criteria were quality and price, and we are pleased to say we met both. In fact I believe we outdid ourselves with this one.

Frustrated  with receiving wire orders that include "$10.00" for a bear (that you really only see $7.30 for) and having to fill the order with a $6.50 bear!

Now the problem is solved! Well it will be in about 4 weeks when our first container of bears hit landfall. Until then they are sailing the open sea on a slow boat "from" China

If you are using helium to fill balloons you have no doubt experienced a double whammy, price increases and short supply! Is there any relief in site, apparently not. The bottom line is the domestic supply is dwindling rapidly and once it's gone, its gone. Unfortunately helium is a non-renewable resource.

So whats on the horizon and will helium still be affordable enough to sell in flowers shops ?

Just over a month since we officially went online and things are going well, as well as could be  expected. We have had a few hiccups but all very minor. Based on the response we have experienced from florists it is apparent that our pricing is a hit!

Good thing too, as we have lots more product on order and on the way!

What a great week, we had a load of new samples roll in and the response to them was incredible. The best part is that each one will be a major money saver compared to typical wholesale pricing! Gotta like that...

We love receiving samples, it's like going to a floral design show, you come out of it refreshed and with renewed enthusiasm about retailing flowers. It really gets the creative juices flowing as you imagine all of the wonderful floral pieces the samples will allow you to create for your flower business. It's like winning a flower shop lottery... well maybe not quite the same as you still have to buy the goods. But you know what I mean.

Months in the making.... but finally we are ready to launch our website and start
saving our fellow flower retailers some serious money on their floral hardgood purchases.

Like many good things in life we are starting small on a hope and a prayer that other florists are as interested in saving money as we are. As you peruse our website you will find a number of very basic products that virtually every retailer of flowers purchases on a regular basis. Everyone of these items were purchased by us because we knew the savings we would realize on them would go straight to our bottom line.

We've all been there, our fresh flower order arrives late and we have a big job to get out the door. Unfortunately, that does not leave enough time to properly hydrate the flower prior to their being delivered and we all know that is asking for customer issues.

So delay the order or not hydrate properly? Why choose either when there is a simple and inexpensive alternative?

After 35 years in the floral industry I find myself having to reinvent our business and update my skills continuously. It wasn't always this hard....So what gives? When I first started in the business over three decades ago, it was pretty straight forward and a lot simpler than it is today. Florists sold flowers and floral related products, competition was usually the next flower shop down the street, and a dozen roses typically sold for $60.00 and up. Business basically came from three sources .....