Apbil 30, 1908. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



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THE RETAIL 



FLORIST 



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AN ORCHID BOUQUET. 



For the average bride, where people 

 have the price, nothing will do but an 

 orchid bouquet. That was the case with 

 the young woman for whom the Metairie 

 Bidge Nursery Co., New Orleans, made 

 the shower shown in the accompanying il- 

 lustration. It is said to have been the 

 first bunch of white orchids ever carried 

 at a wedding in the Crescent City, but be 

 that as it may, the illustration serves to 

 give an excellent idea of the character of 

 the work. For so large a bunch, the ef- 

 fect is light and graceful. The manner 

 of using the adiantum is somewhat out of 

 the ordinary. The scarf was tied in a 

 large bow just in front of the hold pro- 

 vided for the hand and added a great 

 deal to the appearance of the bouquet. 



THE BRIDESMAID'S STRAW HAT. 



The floral decorator is not infrequent- 

 ly confronted with the problem of deco- 

 rating for a social function the same 

 rooms which were not long before the 

 scene of a funeral. In such a case the 

 decorator's work never is a success if it 

 in any way reminds those present at the 

 social function of that sadder event 

 which has gone before. 



W. J. Smyth, Chicago, recently had a 

 case of this kind. He was called upon 

 to decorate for a musical and only a few 

 months before had draped a mantel, with 

 its large mirror, for the funeral of one 

 of the children of the family. In the first 

 case he had used asparagus around the 

 mirror above the mantel, with vases of 

 flowers on the mantel itself. To escape 

 any suggestion of the previous decora- 

 tion, for the musical he used a light 

 garland of smilax around the glass and 

 hung a basket of jonquils in front of 

 the mirror. 



The basket was out of the ordinary 

 and hence held one's attention. It was 

 made of the broad-brimmed, flat- 

 crowned straw hats which are carried by 

 bridesmaids instead of bouquets. As 

 where the hats are used by bridesmaids, 

 the brim was drawn together, forming 

 the basket, with the jonquils filled in ir- 

 regularly, and a* large bow of broad Nile 

 green ribbon attached on the side. A 

 long loop of ribbon, much longer and 

 broader than if the arrangement wer^ 

 to be carried on the arm, sufficed to 

 bring the hat into the proper position 

 when hung from the top of the mirror, 

 and at the point of attachment to the 

 wood another big bow was made. The 

 basket was hung slightly to the right of 

 the center of the glass, to avoid formal- 

 ity. 



THE ARTISTIC IN A STORE. 



There is doubtless no merchant in 

 America who has given closer thought 

 to the value of the artistic in the fur- 

 nishing of a retail store than has Finley 

 Acker, of Philadelphia. Whether the 

 business is the sale of flowers or other 



articles, **the primary purpose in every 

 commercial enterprise is to make money, 

 and whether or not money is made de- 

 pends upon whether the aggregate ex- 

 pense of doing business, including de- 

 preciation of plant, interest upon invest- 



prices may be quoted and yet insure a 

 profit to the firm. In such cases it is 

 unwise to give the artistic element seri- 

 ous consideration, for two reasons: 

 First, if allowed to permeate the details 

 of management it will necessarily in- 

 crease the ratio of operating expenses; 

 second, even though the increased ex- 

 pense were immaterial, it would suggest 

 the idea of costliness of operation to 

 the bargain hunter or to one' to whom 

 price is the first consideration. 



"On the other hand, there are many 

 buyers in this country to whom quality 

 — quality in the article bought, quality 

 in the service rendered and quality in 

 the environment and appointments of the 

 salesroom — are features which appeal to 

 their sense of refinement and comfort; 



Bride's Bouquet by Metairie Rid^e Nunery Co.^ New Orleans. 



ment and loss by bad accounts, is less 

 or more than the aggregate gross profit," 

 says Mr. Acker. 



' ' The cheap character of business done 

 by some firms, and the exacting de- 

 mands of the customers who are served, 

 require that the operating expenses be 

 reduced to a minimum in order that low 



and these buyers are willing to pay a 

 fair price for these advantages. 



"My personal opinion is that where 

 prospective patrons are of the well-to- 

 do class, and particularly where they are 

 refined, educated and have extensively 

 traveled, the artistic in a store not 

 only appeals to them favorably, but 



