Febrdabt 15, 1912. 



TheWeekly Florists' Review. 



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I THE RETAIL -^>f^^^^ i 

 l^^^^ FLORIST 



PEOORASTINATION. 



Do you recall that for the few days 

 before Christmas it was difficult if not 

 impossible to procure good red ruscus? 



Then, early this week supply houses 

 were flooded with telegraph orders for 

 red heart-shaped violet boxes — but the 

 stock had become exhausted. 



The moral! Don't put off ordering 

 Easter novelties; get what you want 

 by ordering early. 



SIMPLICITY IN WINDOWS. 



Two Cardinal Bules. 



A clever retailer, one whose windows 

 were always attractive, said that he 

 had two cardinal rules that he never 

 broke, under any circumstances. The 

 rules were: Always to use as simple 

 methods as possible in his window dis- 

 plays, and to change them frequently. 

 There is no doubt that customers are 

 attracted to a store where they expect 

 to find something new every day or 

 two, while simplicity, if the material 

 used is good of its kind, is an unfailing 

 drawing card to people of taste. 



It is quite an item in the daily 

 routine to have to change the window 

 or windows, but ■^Hrhen once the habit is 

 formed of never leaving the same stock 

 in two days, it becomes easy. It is not 

 quite so easy, however, to think up 

 new ways of drawing the customer 

 daily, and a decorator who can and 

 will do it is deserving of all the suc- 

 cess coming his way. And a good deal 

 of it will come. 



Crowded Windows Not Artistic. 



A crowded window is never an ar- 

 tistic success and seldom a financial 

 one. Jars of roses, sweet peas, carna- 

 tions or other flowers, set out in rows 

 like a drummer's samples, only appeal 

 to people who are anxious to buy just 

 that class of flowers and these will 

 come to the store anyway. The true 

 function of the well dressed window is 

 to suggest something to the would-be 

 patron, to bring the hesitating customer 

 to a decision and, incidentally, to give 

 a finish to the whole establishment. And 

 a simple arrangement, frequently 

 changed, will do the trick almost every 

 time, certainly oftener than an attempt 

 at elaborate displays in which one class 

 of goods detracts from another, either 

 in beauty of form or color. Here is 

 where the florist must endeavor to 

 raise his window above the level of 

 that of the grocer or the confectioner. 



A Begonia Window. 



A few really good plants of Begonia 

 Glory of Cincinnati, on a window cloth 

 of deep green velvet, with a winding 

 or snake-like effect of ribbon of the 

 same tint as the begonia flowers, gave 

 a charming effect in a local retailer's 

 window recently, The plants were pur- 

 chased a few days before they were 



needed for a decoration, so the display 

 cost nothing except the little trouble 

 of fixing it up. 



An ornate window, but one that 

 could be copied only at a time when 

 orchids are plentiful or by r store that 

 does a good business in them, was com- 

 posed entirely of Cattleya Trianae and 

 Adiantum Farleyense. Here the grower 

 of the orchids shipped the plants to his 

 retailer customer and he agreed to cut 

 and use all the flowers within three 

 days, so the plants were not injured. 

 The Farleyense were from stock. There 

 is no other setting so perfect for or- 

 chids, and especially cattleyas, as this 

 adiantum; the somewhat heavy pin- 

 nules and the pretty, soft green tint 

 suit them perfectly. 



Violets and Acacia. 



A window of quite a different char- 

 acter, but equally effective, was made 



contrast between the bright yet soft 

 green of the mimosa and the violets 

 was exquisite, while the rather heavy 

 setting of the latter was relieved by 

 the grace and lightness of the mimosa. 

 "Nothing really new or striking 

 about this," someone may say, and the 

 impeachment must be admitted, but 

 there may be some readers who have 

 not tried these simple yet effective 

 methods of decoration and are trying 

 to get away from the sample style of 

 Tvindow. They may, perhaps, find a 

 useful hint herein. 



MODERN SALESMANSHIP. 



[A paper by Fred ('. W. Brown, read before 

 the BuBTalo Florists' Club, at Buffalo, N. Y., 

 February 0, 1912.] 



The florist of today finds many ob- 

 stacles in the making of sales. He 

 should give careful thought and at- 

 tention, therefore, to th? methods em- 

 ployed. Modernism and adaptability 

 to existing conditions are most neces- 

 sary. 



The first great and successful step in 

 changed methods was when we began 

 to realize that we must be on the 

 plane of the prospective customer. So, 

 to gain the confidence and respect of 

 the buying public, we threw away our 

 counters and met our customers on an 

 equality that removed the store aspect. 

 In this we are pioneers in what I be- 

 lieve will be an almost universal 



Wreath of Galax and Roses by Fred C W. Brown. 



by a clever young decorator the other 

 day. Violets were so cheap they could 

 hardly be given away, so he lined the 

 whole of the window with them and 

 overlaid these with loose bunches of 

 the feathery acacia or mimosa. The 



method in the sale of the higher class 

 of merchandise. 



A Peculiar Condition. 



Our salesmen are confronted by a 

 peculiar condition in the judging of 



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