Decbmbeb 22, 1921 



The Rorists^ Review 



21 



THE RETAIL STORE 



A PAGE OF HINTS AND HELPS 

 FOR THE RETAIL FLORIST 



FRISCO STORE ENIiARGED. 



There is one experience more encour- 

 aging than opening a new store and that 

 is enlarging the old one. The first in- 

 stance is a start to success; the second 

 is a manifestation of success already 

 achieved. Such a manifestation ha-s 

 come to Brown & Kennedy, of San Fran- 

 cisco, who recently doubled the capacity 

 of their store, at 3091 Sixteenth street. 

 This enlargement makes the store, the 

 proprietors say, the largest in the Mis- 

 sion district of the western metropolis. 



There are now thirty-five feet of 

 frontage and a depth of seventy-five 

 feet. And there are two large show 

 windows, about eight feet deep, with 

 the entrance of the store in the middle. 

 The store is papered throughout with 

 waterproof paper. 



The store as it now appears is shown 

 in the illustration on this page. Autumn 

 coloring and putty-like shades feature 

 the new decoration, the walls being done 

 in autumn leaf designs. The color effects 

 are likewise carried out in the capacious 

 writing desk, the four sections of which, 

 centrally located, are handily placed for 

 customers' use. Behind the latticework 

 reaching to the ceiling iK the rear of 

 the shop are the workrooms. This lattice- 

 work is putty-colored and serves as an 

 excellent background for the display of 

 art floral baskets, of which the firm has 

 a large supply. 



The salesroom is equipped with all the 

 conveniences of an up-to-date flower 

 store, with indirect lighting throughout. 

 Among other improvements there are 

 four telephones located at different sta- 

 tions, which save a great deal of time. 

 In the words of Charles W. Brown, "We 

 are of the opinion that we now have one 

 of the most up-to-the-minute stores in 

 the city and are equipped to handle a 



large volume of business. This is the 

 result of eleven years' business in the 

 same location, where we have served 

 customers from all sections of the city 

 and where we now expect to make many 

 new friends, both locally and by wire." 

 The firm is composed of Charles W. 

 Brown and William E. Kennedy. They 

 are members of the F. T. D., believe 

 strongly in the florists' telegraph deliv- 

 ery service and promote their business 

 in this line by advertising it widely. 

 They are active workers for the San 

 Francisco Cooperative Market, the 

 flower shows and many other activities 

 that have to do with bettering the trade 

 locally. 



MAKING A GRAVE BLANKET. 



Will you tell us how to make a grave 

 blanket, mentioning the size, material 

 to use, etc.? One of our customers or- 

 dered one in Chicago last Christmas and 

 wants us to make it this year. Also, 

 will you advise as to what a Chicago 

 florist, moderately priced, would charge? 



E. H. P.— Ind. 



Grave blankets or covers may be made 

 in several ways and of various kinds of 

 foliage. Flowers, except artificial or 

 prepared ones, should not be used, as the 

 cover is made to hide the bare earth; so 

 it must last for some time. Any kind 

 of foliage that will keep fresh-looking 

 for a considerable time may be used. 

 Prepared foliage of the oak and beech is 

 excellent, as is also the fresh foliage 

 of boxwood, lycopodium, arbor-vitse 

 and other forms of conifers. A com- 

 bination of the natural and prepared 

 foliages is often desirable. 

 • Whatever foliage or combination of 

 foliages is used must be worked upon 

 some kind of background that will hold 

 the stems in place and will also allow the 

 cover to be fastened down firmly to the 



soil. Such a background may be rigid 

 or flexible. In the former case, a rigid 

 framework made of wire, somewhat as 

 in the case of designs, may be used, but 

 should not be mossed, as the foliage is 

 easily fastened to the wire. A flexible 

 background is easier to work up and la 

 also much cheaper. Whatever is se- 

 lected must be sufficiently strong to hold 

 the foliage in position and to allow 

 handling; it must not rot too quickly. 

 A piece of ordinary wire cloth, such as 

 as is used in window screens, answers 

 admirably, as it may be secured in va- 

 rious widths and of any length desired. 



For convenience, the preparation of a 

 cover of brown oak leaves, prepared,' and 

 arbor-vitse sprays will be discussed. The 

 materials required will consist of a piece 

 of wire cloth of the required size; pieces 

 of 22 or 24 wire, five to six inches long, 

 bent into the form of hairpins, and suffi- 

 cient foliage to cover the frame prop- 

 erly. 



To be prepared most easily, the cloth 

 should be stretched on a framework so 

 as to be raised about six to ten inches 

 above the table top. If no framework 

 is at hand, the wire may be stretched 

 between two boxes or even between two 

 tables. 



The first step in the covering is to 

 place an edging about the cloth, with 

 the tips of the foliage pointing outward. 

 To do this, small clusters of oak and 

 arbor-vitae sprays are placed along the 

 edge and held in place by passing one 

 of the wire hairpins over the stems, 

 through the cloth, and twisting it firmly 

 on the under side. The ends of the wire 

 may be bent flat to the cloth or pushed 

 upward. The center of the cov.er is 

 then filled in the same manner, except 

 that the clusters should be worked from 

 the ends toward the center. Enough 

 foliage should be used so that the cover 

 ■ is fairly thick, in order to withstand 



Two Exposures of the Camera ^ere Needed to Show Adequately the Enlarged Store ef Brown & Kennedy. 



