Sbkikubeb 14, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



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THE RETAIL . 



FLORIST...... 



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LETTEBINO ON DESIGNS. 



In The Review of September 7 there 

 appeared an illustration of a funeral 

 wreath by the Quakertown Plant Co., 

 Quakertown, Pa., showing how letter- 

 ing should not be done, except where 

 the florist's customer insists on it. 

 Here is another illustration reproduced 

 from a photograph of the work of the 

 Quakertown florist, showing how a long 

 and cumbersome inscription may be 

 handled to good effect, even though the 

 design to which it is attached be 

 neither large nor expensive. In this in- 

 stance the fellow employees of the de- 

 ceased took up a collection, raising a 

 not large sum, for which they natur- 

 ally wanted to make the best possible 

 showing. The draping of the deceased 

 mill operative's chair was the order 

 and the inscription called for was 

 "Sympathy of Quakertown Silk Mill 

 Employees." Six words, some of them 

 long, presented quite a problem for the 

 florist, but by putting them on two 

 streamers of the ribbon bow, doubling 

 up 80 that in reality the inscription 

 made four lines, the entire inscription 

 was kept in view, while at the same 

 time it did not seem badly out of pro- 

 portion to the size of the design. 



PHOTOGBAFHS AND DRAWINGS. 



As Aids in MaUng Sales. 



For aid in displaying flowers and 

 plants and in stimulating customers 

 to see what your descriptions mean, 

 there are numerous helps which can 

 be bought, made or practiced. There 

 should be two places in the store where 

 cards or notes can be written — one 

 where miscellaneous trade can be taken 

 care of, and one for special customers, 

 where much discussion of an order may 

 be carried on without interruption or 

 overhearing. With the small stock of 

 imagination which the average custom- 

 er possesses, you must either sketch 

 out your proposed decorative plans or 

 have some pictures to show her. 



It requires some study to arrange 

 and show these pictures and decide 

 what their quality should be. If noth- 

 ing better can be afforded, clippings 

 from The Review will do for a begin- 

 ning. Paste them in an invoice book, 

 classified and spaced. Separate the 

 funeral work from other Resigns. Do 

 not choose every design that is pub- 

 lished, but the best according to your 

 taste and needs. This will make a good 

 beginning. 



The Use of Albums. 



After a time you will be able now 

 and then to get a snapshot at some 

 of your own best work and will need 

 to have a better way of displaying it. 

 You may have accumulated enough 

 photos to warrant your purchase of a 

 good album for funeral work and one 

 for other designs, such as table center- 



pieces, house, church and hall decora- 

 tions, baskets, theater bunches, bridal 

 outfits and corsages. 



If you can not get good photo work 

 done near by, it may be more satis- 

 factory to do your own work. The 

 most diflBcult proposition will be to con- 

 trol the light. Advice from a good 

 commercial photographer may be neces- 

 sary. However, it is not our business 

 at this time to discuss the process of 

 photographing, but the disposal and 

 value of the photograph. 



the times and be ahead of the trade.. 

 Your own work in photos will inspire 

 the confidence of the prospective cus- 

 tomer. Necessarily one book will not 

 last you always. Let each successive 

 collection show a creditable advance. 



Photos of One's Own Work. 



It is a matter of regret that so much 

 of one's best work must be gotten out 

 of the shop so quickly after completion 

 that it is impossible to get a snap at it. 

 It is also a matter of regret that so 

 much stock goes to waste during the 

 dull season, and time also passes with- 

 out fruitage. Why not take this stock, 

 which the dullness leaves on your 

 hands, and work up a few good pieces 

 for model pictures — some of those 

 things to which you could not work 

 up. a customer's imagination by verbal 

 description, and some of which might 

 have seemed too difficult except for 

 experiment! 



Have the photos mounted on linen, 

 ready for the album. Learn all you 

 can critically about photographs, what 



A Cumbersome Inscription 'Veil Handled. 



' A loose-leaf album, bound so as to 

 stand wear and tear, will be found 

 most desirable. In arranging the pho- 

 tos, group the lodge and society em- 

 blems by themselves, baskets by them- 

 selves, miscellaneous funeral emblems 

 alone, different treatments of the same 

 design in a group, and so on down the 

 list. Let the collection keep pace with 



constitutes a good floral photo, how it 

 differs from a portrait photo, how to 

 choose backgrounds and at what angle 

 you can secure the best picture. Pre- 

 serve the negatives carefully for future 

 use in circulars, announcements and 

 other advertising matter. 



In photographing a room decoration 

 it is better to take details rather than 



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