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SsirrEMBEB 20; 1912. 



The Florists^ Review 



I 



THE RETAIL 



7SSGSSCS2 



FLORIST 



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WHAT'S THE USE? 



Does Artistic Work Pay? 



' What 'b the use of artistic work if 

 my trade is satisfied? Will it pay? 

 I'm in the business for the money. 

 Where's the advantage of raising the 

 standard of my work unless my com- 

 petitor is doing so? If my customers 

 do not demand it, why not give my 

 attention to selling more goods and in- 

 creasing the volume of my business? 

 Give the people what they want. ' ' The 

 attitude of this manager is that it is 

 up to his designer to show the metallic 

 luster and the greenback scent to his 

 class of work. If artistic work is 

 going to make him rich quick, it's the 

 artistic style for his. 



Well, what is the use, anyhow, of 

 striving to reach an ideal? Does it 

 pay? If the style of work put out by 

 a certain shop is of a high order, the 

 proprietor's influence, both as a busV 

 ness man and as an artist, is going^o 

 give him a standing in the commtmity 

 which is valuable as an advertisement 

 for his store. He can strengthen this 

 reputation by becoming prominent in 

 art circles, by working for the "city 

 beautiful" interests, and, if there are 

 none, by starting some. The publicity 

 which these things bring is well known 

 as valuable advertising. The moderate 

 amount of time and study which these 

 things require cannot help but be a 

 good investment and can be arranged 

 for from the day and night work of 

 even the busiest florist. 



Giving Customers What They Want. 



While it is true that you must give 

 people what they want, it is equally 

 true that it is somebody's job to show 

 them what they want. They would not 

 have accepted the average type of 

 work which has been handed out to 

 them for the last few years if they had 

 been shown anything better. Put a 

 commonplace arrangement and an artis- 

 tic production of the same piece side 

 by side, on your counter (and the artis- 

 tic article can be made for the same 

 or a lower price), and you will see 

 quickly enough which will be chosen 

 by the ordinary customer, and also 

 which wiU be called for next time. The 

 tastes of our own community are what 

 we make them or allow them to be- 

 come. We plow our own fields. Give 

 your poorer class of trade a sample of 

 high-grade work. They'll get the habit, 

 too. 



Another use of fine work is that it 

 will attract a cultured class as well. 

 Good taste in your store means a sim- 

 plicity not necessarily expensive. This 

 style, if displayed in your store finish- 

 ing and fixtures, will obtain in your 

 output of work also. "Beauty is 

 choice, ' * some famous person has said — 

 the sense of selection, taste. It enables 

 one to let a lot of things alone that are 

 offered to tempt one's purse. Taste is 



practical and economical, a good busi- 

 ness asset. Don't have a lot of junk 

 around which shall suggest to buyers 

 that they are helping to pay for stuff 

 that they do not want. 



It Fays to Be Progressive. 



Keeping your work up to the stand- 

 ard of a high ideal has the advantage, 

 also, of mental discipline, of keeping 

 you wide-awake, observant and recep- 

 tive, with an edge to the wits. Why 

 are growers dissatisfied with what they 

 produced twenty years ago? Why are 

 they continually striving to produce a 

 better, larger and finer flower or plant? 

 Improvements are profitable, they tell 

 us. It is a fact that the growers in our 

 trade are more progressive than the 

 designers. Another suggestion that y^e 

 might receive from our brother crafts- 

 men is that when we have something 

 valuable, we should exploit it. If you 

 can do artistic work, place special 

 emphasis on it by advertising, persist- 

 ent advertising. 



Another advantage: Beautiful things 

 will attract almost any eye, and the 

 more nearly perfect the manner of dis- 

 playing fine flowers is, the more at- 



floral work of today lacks more of the 

 quality of artistic work than ragtime 

 does of classical music. Bagtime has 

 a kind of rhythm and swing which, 

 though of a low order, is nevertheless 

 an essential element of music. As 

 much can not be said of the hit-or-miss 

 style of floral work put out by so many. 



Good Work is Economical. 



By no means an unimportant merit of 

 good work is its economy. The flowers 

 are not used to cover space in all cases. 

 If there must be size, use some foliage 

 or a cheaper flower for background and 

 construction purposes and decorate 

 with a moderate or small amount of 

 good quality, one kind of flowers, al- 

 ways remembering that sharp contrasts 

 are striking. Sometimes the time ele- 

 ment comes in, but to no great extent 

 if one has a complete plan in his head. 

 For instance, in the case of window 

 decorating, a few well chosen vases or 

 baskets or specimen plants, arranged 

 with reference to one another on a 

 suitable background, take no more time 

 and less material than a so-called com- 

 mercial window, made up of a dab of 

 everything on the place. The usual 

 exclamation of impatience, "What's 

 the use?" may be turned into a helpful 

 inquiry which will demonstrate the ad- 

 vantages of high ideals in every depart- 

 ment of floral work. G. B. 



A DABDS' DECOBATION. 



In the accompanying illustration we 

 have a table decoration by Charles A. 

 Dards, of New York. It was for a din- 

 ner for twelve at the Eitz-Carlton hotel. 

 The background shows the use of for- 



Decoration by Charles A. Dards, New York. 



traction is exerted. There is a great 

 hue and cry heard in the land that 

 showy work is the most attractive. If 

 this matter were looked into thor- 

 oughly, it would be found that correct 

 coloring and design are the most strik- 

 ing and attractive of all, not on account 

 of bulk always, but because of the 

 natural appeal to the cultured aa well 

 as to the uncultured eye. The average 



sythia and snowballs in bloom, which 

 were the decorations around the room. 

 Imperial china was used for the table 

 decoration, the waterways being filled 

 with boxwood sprays and the vases with 

 variously colored pansies. Corsage bou- 

 quets, which show only indistinctly in 

 the photograph because the flowers were 

 so near the color of the cloth, were of 

 orchids and valley. - 



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