10 



The Florists' Review 



JuNB 25, 1914. 



The emaller furniture may be of a 

 different color and design, though not 

 enough so to clash. Writing desks, 

 settees, etc., are being placed in many 

 flower stores for the personal con- 

 venience of cus-tomers and have 

 brought no reasons for regret. Per- 

 sonal convenience adds to customers' 



Cotsage ol Paosies. 



satisfaction and that is the end of the 

 storekeeper's striving. 



One Modem Flower StoM. 



The illustration shows the store of a 

 progressive retailer in a smaU town, 

 the new store of the Kemble Floral Co., 

 •t Oskaloosa, la., which was opened 

 JiBB 4. Tb^ store proper is 23x50 and 

 ihJm rear is a workroom 20x50, while 

 ov^^^ad is a conservatory 20x50. The 

 dM^P^tions are in brown, and the fix- 

 tures and furniture a mission green. 

 The T*irigerators,~ counters and wall 

 oases w^te built to order by Buchbinder 

 Bros., of Chicago. 



For a town of 10,000, the store is 

 ^ quite up-to-date. One of its progress- 

 ive points is a corner where a writ- 

 ing desk, chairs, etc., for customers 

 make the store a convenience as well 

 as a place of business. 



COBSAOES FOB ALL. 



"Sweet peas are so common," said 

 the society lady, as she considered the 

 question of a simple corsage to wear to 

 her club that afternoon; "but orchids 

 are so expensive," she added under her 

 breath, with the "so" in italics. She 

 was a happy lady when she wore the 

 fine looking corsage of pansies her flo- 

 rist made up for her, and received the 

 compliments of her friends at the club 

 that afternoon on the "sweet" ar- 

 rangement. And her husband had no 

 reason to grumble when he saw the bill. 

 A pansy corsage, especially when made 

 up of fine flowers two and three inches 

 across, is an extremely fine decoration 

 for the society lady, when it is made 

 by a florist who takes pains. Just how 

 fine one may be can be seen from that 

 shown in the illustration on this page. 

 This particular one was finished with 

 shaded green ribbon and a violet cord. 



But if, for perhaps a more important 

 occasion, the lady had wanted some- 

 thing really fioie, or her husband had 

 "loosened up" to give her a token of 

 his regard, the florist might have sent 

 something of orchids like the corsage 

 shown on this page. Then, indeed, she 

 would have been a happy lady to have 

 such, an excellent florist. The corsage 

 shown herewith has in it — in addition 

 to the orchids — valley and adiantuni, 

 and is finished with tasseled ribbon on 

 the ends of which are embroidered lilies 

 of the valley. 



Both of the accompanying illustra- 

 tions show work of the ■ class in floral 

 arrangement at the University of Illi- 

 nois, displayed at its recent exhibit at 

 Urbana. 



SUNDAY CLOSING. 



A Personal Matter. 



For years and years The Review has 

 told its readers that the retail end of 

 the flower b|pines8 cllght well shut up 

 shop one day in sefen. Already much 

 progress has been made in the direc- 

 tion of Sunday cloaing and this year 

 there is promise of the custom becoming 

 almost general, as a wave of interest 

 in the proposition is sweeping through 

 other lines of business and helping to 

 convince florists. 



Not all agree, but Sunday closing 

 really is a personal matter. Some flo- 

 rists are so located that Sunday is the 

 best day in the week for them. Others, 

 like most of the downtown retailers in 

 large cities, are so situated that Sun- 

 day sales never have amounted to 

 enough to pay the boss' carfare to the 

 shop. There are all degrees between. 

 In almost every large city there are 

 stores that never open on Sunday un- 

 less, perhaps, to deliver some important 

 funeral work, others that open for part 

 of the day and still others that are 

 open all day. It is a matter of locality 

 and sometimes the localities are not far 

 apart. 



Hours Are One's Own Making. 



If a florist can do more business on 

 Sunday than he can on some other day 

 of the week the unorthodox idea would 

 be to go ahead and do it; he can do 

 as the grocers do in many towns and 

 shut up shop Thursday afternoon be- 

 cause it is inconvenient to do so on 

 Saturday. 



But with the average man in any line 

 the hours of business largely are a mat- 

 ter of his own making — he can build 

 up a business on the plan of the all- 

 night restaurant or he can work it up 

 on the basis of reasonable business 

 hours. It is the same with Sunday. 

 One can educate his trade to expect him 

 to be on the job at every unseemly hour 

 or he can educate the neighbors to buy 

 their flowers at such hours as the seller 

 may set. It 's all a matter of habit. It 

 may take a little more time to build up 

 a sixty-nine hours per week business 

 than it does one that consumes eighty- 

 nine to ninety-eight hours per week of 

 somebody 's life, but when built a short- 

 hours business is infinitely better worth 

 while. 



Best Methods Win Trade. 



And there is this further fact that is 

 worth thinking about: Business is not 

 lost by the man who keeps decent week- 

 day hours and closes Sunday. The man 

 with strength enough t6 lead in this 



direction is almost sure also to do other 

 things better than the competitor who 

 thinks it necessary to keen open long 

 hours seven days a week. Tliere may be 

 the occasional loss of the sale of a 50- 

 cent bouquet, but when any consider- 

 able purchase is to be made the people 

 will find a way to get to the better 

 man. 



Florists, however, are not the only 

 ones who have thought it necessary to 

 be open Sunday. In many towns the 

 clothiers do it, in some the grocers open 

 for half a day, and there are a few 

 fair-sized cities in which,J.he retail sec- 

 tion of the business people scarcely 

 know one day from another. It is the 

 general movement toward shorter hours 

 and six-day weeks, in some states now 

 required by law, that is arousing the 

 retailing florists to direct their thoughts 

 in the same direction. Everybody has 

 recognized the desirability of shorter 

 hours — it has been only the fear of los- 

 ing business that has held so many 

 back. 



Perhaps it will interest some readers 

 to know that The Eeview has for sev- 

 eral years found it possible to let its 

 entire force of employees have a Satur- 

 day half holiday winter and summer 

 alike, in spite of what others in the 

 same line think necessary to require of 

 their help. If anything has been lost 

 by it, it has not been apparent. 



HINTS FOB BETAILEBS. 



If you patronize one of the high class 

 specialty stores in your town you usu- 



G>r8age of Orchids and Valley. 



ally will find that every little detail 

 is looked after, from the condition of 

 the salesman 's shoes and the modulation 

 of his voice clear through to the neat- 

 ness and accuracy of the bill that fol- 

 lows delivery of the thoroughly satis- 



