68 



The Florists^ Review 



Jaxuaky 1, 1920. 



AUTO SHOWS AREj^COMING 



HOW THE TRADE MAY PROFIT THEREBY 



|ACH yoar !uitoniol)ile shows 

 bring business of varying 

 amount to retail florists. 

 Sometimes it is a large 

 order, the decoration of the 

 hall where the show itself 

 is held; sometimes it is in 

 siaaller decorative work for automobile 

 dealers, and always there are many 

 orders in the course of entcrt;iinraent 

 indulged in by the motor tradosi)eople. 

 Timely preparation will enable the 

 retailer to increase such business, par- 

 ticularly this season, when automobile 

 ■ales pass all marks and spending is 

 more liberal than ever. To enable the 

 trade in cities where shows arc to be 

 held to make such preparations, The Re- 

 view presents on this page a list, as 

 complete as possible at this time, of 

 places and dates of automobile shows. 

 From this each florist may know when 

 he need pet busy in order to reap the 

 advantages the show brings. 



A Gala Week. 



During the week that is to be given 

 to automobiles, the hotels, restaurants, 

 stores and streets will be full of men and 

 women acutely interested in automo 

 biles, either as hopeful sellers or as pos- 

 sible purchasers. 



While the radiating center of all this 

 interest is a show in a particular build- 

 ing, the florist's opjiortunities are not 

 limited to that place. Of course, there 

 will be decorations at the Armory, or 

 Coliseum, or whatever the show place 

 may be. And the exhibitors will want 

 some fresh flowers in the vases of li- 

 mousines and sedans to win with fra- 

 grance the favor of anyone who enters 

 the car to test the cushioned seats. In 

 the automobile parade which usually 

 inaugurates the show thtMC will be some 

 opportunity for the use of flowers. 



Displays at Dealers' Stores. 



During the week of the show, the 

 stores of tlic automobile dealers are 

 comparatively deserted, since most of 

 the motor-buying public and of the 

 salesmen and agents flock to the one 

 great market-place. In their absence 

 the large display windows of the deal- 

 ers may be made effective cooperators 

 in the advertising of the various cars. 

 The op]>ortiniity i- as big as the dealer 

 can be made to see it. A few vases of 

 American Beauties may be the mini- 

 mum. It is likely some store decora- 

 tions will lie wanted and tlie window 

 dressing may be made as elaborate as 

 the dealer's wishes — and willingness to 

 pay — will afford. When such an oppor- 

 tunity is presented, the florist's i)igenii- 

 ity will find greater range in the motor 

 field than in many other linos. 



Wide-awake automobile dealers will 

 welcome the florist's aid, if he does not 

 first hunt f'.r it. Tlie window at Penn's 

 store in Boston, illustrated on the op- 

 posite page, was the result of a tire 

 dealer's suggestion. 



Nelson Pierce James, of the Miller 



Tire Co., of Boston, came into Penn the 

 Florist's one day and said: "You flo 

 rists all say it with flowers. Why not 

 combine and encourage all automobile 

 and tire houses to say it with plants 

 .and flowers in all their windows and 

 (•howrooms;" and asked for permission to 

 display Miller tires with plants and 

 flowers in Penn's window^ 



The suggestion was acted upon, with 

 the result that Penn's later received 

 several calls for window displays from 

 tire dealers. 



Power in Own Windows. 



In the window of the florist is one of 

 the biggest opportunities to draw atten- 

 tion by employing the interest of auto- 

 mobile week. 



Effective window displays in florists' 

 stores mav be divided into three classes: 



When the Auto Show 

 Comes to Your Town 



New York Jan. 3 to 10 



Montreal Jan. 10 to 17 



Philadelphia Jan. 10 to 17 



Willimantic, Conn.. Jan. 16 to 18 



Hazleton, Pa January 



Topeka, Kan January 



Oakland, Cal Jan. 19 to 26 



Cleveland, O Jan. 17 to 24 



Hartford, Conn ... Jan. 17 to 24 

 Schenectady, N. Y.Jan. 19 to 24 

 Milwaukee, Wis . . .Jan. 19 to 25 



Spokane, Wash Jan. 21 to 25 



Chicago Jan. 24 to 31 



Amsterdam, N. Y..Jan. 26 to 31 



Kansas City Jan. 31 to Feb. 



New Brimsw'k, N.J.Jan. 31 to Feb. 

 Minneapolis-St. PI. Jan. 31 to Feb. 



Toledo, O Feb. 2 to 7 



Baltimore, Md Feb. 3 to 7 



Wilmington, Del... Feb. 3 to 8 

 Charlotte, N. C. . . . Feb. 9 to 14 

 Greenfield, Mass . . . Feb. 9 to 14 

 New Haven, Conn. Feb. 9 to 14 

 Nashville, Tenn....Feb. ?tol4 



Salt Lake City Feb. 9 to 14 



Cedar Rapids, la . . . Feb. 9 to 14 

 Deadwood, S. C. . . .February 

 Brooklyn, N. Y,...Feb. 14 to 21 



Detroit, Mich Feb. 14 to 21 



St. Louis Feb. 15 to 20 



Manchester, N. H..Feb. 16 to 20 



San Francisco Feb. 21 to 28 



Ottawa, Canada ...Feb. 21 to 28 



Bethlehem, Pa Feb. 23 to 28 



Louisville, Ky Feb. 23 to 28 



Pittsfield, Mass Feb. 23 to 28 



Portland, Ore Feb. 23 to 28 



Newark, N. J Feb. 28 to Mar. 



Buffalo, N. Y March 1 to 6 



Perth Amboy, N.J.March 1 to 6 

 Springfield, Mass... March 1 to 7 



Syracuse, N. Y March 1 to 6 



Denver March 2 to 6 



Lancaster, Pa March 3 to 6 



Jersey City, N, J... March 



Boston, Mass March 13 to 20 



New Orleans March 



Little Rock, Ark... March 15 

 Wilkes-Barre, Pa.. March 15 to 22 



First, those which simply present flowers 

 well arranged in pleasing combinations 

 of color; second, those which are domi- 

 nated by some design depending for its 

 interest on the idea within it or on some 

 novel activity taking place in it; and 

 third, those which have a design gain- 

 ing its attractive power from its con- 

 nection with some outside topic of im- 

 mediate popular interest. Examples of 

 the first class are genera!. Window dis- 

 plays of the second type are autumn 

 windows, wedding ceremonies and farm 

 scenes. Displays of the third type are 

 those which show portraits of political 

 leaders involved in some contest then 

 acute, or present a welcome in design 

 to a famous visitor to the city, or cele- 

 brate the importance of a show or con- 

 vention then being held in the city. 

 Most interesting and striking are usual- 

 ly those of this third class, in which 

 falls the window display during auto- 

 mobile week. 



Variety in Displays. 



The display may be simple, with flow- 

 ers largely shown for their own value 

 and with the automobile motive sug- 

 gested but not completely domin.iting, 

 as in the window display of Penn 'h the 

 two tires give the key idea to the win- 

 dow. 



Or it may go to the other extreme, 

 allowing the automobile dominance in 

 the display and drawing attention 

 through it to the idea of flowers. 



There is the broadest field for the ex- 

 ercise of the florist's imagination in the 

 portrayal in miniature of a scene in- 

 volving the natural use of the automo- 

 bile. To make such a display effective, 

 the designer must keep in mind various 

 elementary principles. Have either few 

 objects in the window or all the objects 

 well centralized around the one idea. 

 Take particular care to have an effect- 

 ive background. Have the central ob- 

 jects nearly, if not quite, on a level 

 with the eye, so that the passer-by will 

 be caught at once by the force of the 

 display without even unconscious ef- 

 fort on his part. Remember the great 

 value of motion in attracting attention. 



What the display shall be and how it 

 shall be worked out must be left to the 

 ingenuity of the individual florist. He 

 may choose to present an automobile 

 race, or a picnic group with the auto- 

 mobile parked l)y a clump of ferns be- 

 side a brook, or tourists motoring 

 through forests or fields. He may show 

 his range at one side of the window, liia 

 store at the other side and trucks carry- 

 ing flowers from one to the other. He 

 may have a miniature parade of flower- 

 covered automobiles. These are but a 

 few sug;^estions; ingenuity will disco\ er 

 genuine novelties. 



Prepare Early. 



Whatever the florist undertakes to do, 

 he should make early preparations in 

 order to make the most of the opportu- 

 nitv. The automobile shows are occa- 



