

;Ti^'^(»7^;^^.^w»n-'^.T.^«^^r7'7^^v»^s.'»iv"r'r*'7*^ 



The florist called on for a funeral piece at from $50 to $100 must make 

 it look worth the money. An occasional buyer will approve the use of ex- 

 pensive flowers, like orchids, hut the majority demand size and quantity, 

 so the choice of designs is limited. Here are two suggestions. 



HE family buys the casket 

 cover, so the pall is elimi- 

 nated from the lis^ of 

 things a florist can sug- 

 gest when the customer 

 has from $50 to $100 to 

 spend for a funeral piece. 

 Consequently the average 

 retailer will recommend 

 the use of one of the 

 standard designs and, if he gets the 

 order, will puzzle mightily in his effort 

 to please the people and make the piece 

 look like it was worth the money. 



It would be easier if everyone un- 

 derstood the value of flowers. Then 

 all one would have to do would be to 

 use cattleyas and valley and there 

 would be no trouble in 

 putting in value up to 

 the point that the flo- 

 rist's profits would dis- 

 appear. But the fact is 

 few people appreciate 

 the relative values of 

 flowers and the small 

 piece made of costly 

 stock will not often give 

 the satisfaction that will 

 be given by a big, showy 

 design of less expensive 

 material. 



Big Baskets. 



The accompanying 

 illustration shows a big 

 basket of Richmond 

 roses we made recently 

 for a large funeral. The 

 money had been raised 

 by subscription among 

 the employees of the in- 

 stitution in which the 

 deceased was an official 

 and the call was for 

 something large and 

 showy; the money was 

 there for the florist, but 

 he must make the flow- 

 ers look to be worth it 

 if the purchasers were 

 to be pleased. We used 

 over twenty dozens of 

 1 n g - s t e mm e d Eich- 

 monds, the basket stand- 

 ing six feet high, and I 

 can assure you it was a 

 beautiful arrangement. 



We have made up sev- 

 eral of these large bas- 

 kets this year and in 

 every case they have 

 stood out prominently at 

 the funeral and have 



By CHARLES T. KIPP, 



of the Sixjkane Florist Co., Spokane, Wash. 



created the impression that we gave 

 excellent value for the money, even 

 though the sum expended was consider- 

 ably above the average. 



The Satisfied Customer. 



And I do not need to tell any retail 

 florist that the best feature of any work 

 is that it gives satisfaction. When cus- 

 tomers are satisfied, they not only come 

 again but they tell their friends, or 

 even bring them. The best feature, 

 therefore, of these big funeral baskets 

 has been that they invariably have 

 given excellent satisfaction. 



Big Baskets Stand Out Prominently at Funerals and Give Satisfaction. 



From the florist's point of view these 

 big baskets have- the advantage that 

 they are more easily and more quickly 

 arranged than a design of anything like 

 equal value, size or showiness. While 

 they call for the use of a good quality 

 of stock, for one cannot make a large 

 basket arrangement with short-stemmed 

 roses, yet the retailer can get his usual 

 reasonable margin of profit on them, 

 for he gets a good sum for the piece. 



I am aware that there has been some 

 criticism of the use of baskets of flow- 

 ers for funerals, but in our experience 

 we have not been able to see that there 

 is any real objection to such use. We 

 do not find that the use of baskets for 

 the arrangement of funeral flowers has 

 any effect whatever on 

 the popularity of bas- 

 kets for flowers for 

 other purposes. But we 

 do find that many peo- 

 ple who are willing to 

 spend considerable sums 

 for funeral flowers want 

 something other than the 

 common, old designs 

 that have been in use 

 for years. 



Vajdety Needed. 



Unless they are mem- 

 bers of the family one 

 cannot make a casket 

 cover, so the big basket 

 usually is accepted 

 promptly when recom- 

 mended by the florist. 

 When the customer 

 wishes to spend from 

 $75 to $100 the big bas- 

 ket arrangement never 

 has failed to give satis- 

 faction. 



There is another thing 

 that the florist should 

 consider. It is the mo- 

 notony, the sameness, in 

 funeral flowers. For 

 years and years we have 

 been making practically 

 the same designs. Many 

 people are tired of them, 

 especially for use where 

 there are sure to be a 

 great many flowers at 

 the funeral. When one 

 has a great many orders 

 for the same funeral the 

 customers will not be 

 specially pleased to find 

 that the florist has made 

 a dozen wreaths all 



-*• — ^•' ~- 



^^i.^-' ^...■^., ;v- 



