JUNB 20, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



9 



.<^^w^<<^w^w^w^-^c»>^; ^-k»,-^r»>-k^-k»>-k#.N 



7iSJ^J[ 



THE RETAIL 



FLORIST, 



^^<»^w%.<»%.<»^.<»^.^»^.<*^<»^'fe*>'fer»>'fef»)'fef»>'feid»-^-»>'fef»>'fe^-'fef»>' 



?^ 



1 



TWO WAYS or SELLING. 



The consumer has been taught to buy 

 bargains. Below-cost bargaining has 

 been so firmly hammered into the minds 

 of consumers that more selling is culmi- 

 nated by artifices than by values. 



In every community one store in every 

 line was found that maintained prices 

 and did not indulge in special sales. 

 These stores had a steadier, more per- 

 I manent trade, and sold with far less 

 effort. — System. 



DISAGREES WITH THE CBITICS. 



In reading the remarks on the de- 

 signs submitted for criticism, in The 

 Review of May 30 and June 13, I 

 noted what some of the critics said 

 about decorating the easel. I do not 

 agree with them. I do not think that 

 trimming the easel adds to the beauty 

 of the design, but rather detracts from 

 it, as it adds to the bulk of the easel 

 and is likely to destroy the form of 

 the design by becoming an apparent 

 part of it. I always use a compara- 

 tively small easel and simply gild it; 

 then it looks neat, though hardly no- 

 ticeable. Its purpose is simply to sup- 

 port the design and it is merely a 

 convenience, particularly at the grave. 

 It takes considerable time and mate- 

 rial to trim it, and in doing funeral 

 work both time and material count, 

 and I take it for granted that most 

 design makers, and florists generally, 

 are working for their daily bread and 

 not alone for the love of it or for the 

 little glory that is attainable. 



I use ribbon and gauze — preferably 

 gauze — profusely, and not to tie any- 

 thing, but as an accessory, like pretty 

 ferns with some daintier flower than 

 the whole design has been made pf. 

 In short, I use the gauze and ribbon 

 as trimming, just as the ladies love 

 to revel in laces, ribbons and plumes 

 on their $50 — more or less — Easter 

 bonnets. 



Miss Blair advocates the bunch, to 

 the exclusion of designs. I do not 

 agree with her, as the designs, while 

 showier, are also suggestive. The 

 wreath is suggestive of eternity; the 

 cross, of fealty, of many burdens 

 bravely borne; the lyre and harp, of 

 celestial music; the pillow, of rest; 

 the anchor, of safety. These are among 

 the prettiest designs, and they can 

 be made easily and can be varied in 

 a hundred ways, so that they never 

 look "samey." I have attended 



bunch funerals" and noticed that a 

 great deal of the beauty of the flowers 

 was lost. Flowers in a pretty design, 

 J'lgbtly treated, keep and look better 

 than in a spray. I do not mean to 

 ^ay, of course, that I like any of 

 those freak designs, or huge affairs 

 that are clumsy and really a trouble 

 to the family and friends at the 

 *"^eral. Sue Cabaniss. 



NO NEED FOR EXCITEMENT. 



At Memorial day, in certain sections, 

 '^l^e numbers of artificial wreaths were 

 ^old, and a custom has arisen of using 

 ooor crepes of artificial material in place 

 ot the black drape at one time universal 

 I^i't which among the wealthier has been 

 '" a measure supplanted by a door 

 J'iger of fresh cut flowers. The fact 

 ^hat retail florists have sold and are sell- 

 I'lg these artificial arrangements is excit- 

 I'ls,' some of those members of the trade 

 ^^ho forget how quickly such fashions 

 'i<ie. It was only two or three years ago 



when these same gentlemen thought the 

 flower business was to be ruined by the 

 then somewhat prevalent custom of wear- 

 ing artificial flowers. The only trouble 

 with that fad was that during its brief 

 existence the florists got no share of the 

 profit that came from it. This time they 

 are, let us say, more fortunate, for it is 

 doubtful if much wisdom has been ac- 

 quired. There is no danger that the use 

 of artificial materials is anything more 



THE GATES AJAR. 



While not as popular as formerly as 

 a funeral piece, the design known as 

 the gates ajar is still attractive and 

 telling when artistically done. The 

 illustration herewith shows the design 

 as carried out by the Hayward Floral 

 Co., Los Angeles, Cal. The flowers used 

 were principally sweet peas and Mar- 

 guerite Mrs. F. Sander, withi a few free- 



Gates Ajar by the Hayward Floral Co^ Lot Angeles, Cal. 



than a passing fad. The more general, 

 it becomes, the sooner we shall see its 

 end. There are a good many fads that 

 chip off part of the money that really 

 should go to the florist, in which the 

 florist can get no part of the trade, but 

 when there is a call for artificial wreaths 

 the florist should supply them, as long as 

 they are demanded — and when public 

 fancy turns away from the "imperish- 

 ables" the florist should be the one to 

 lead the demand in the direction of the 

 loose and graceful arrangement of high 

 grade cut flowers. In the meantime, there 

 is no cause for alarm. 



sias, interspersed with adiantum and 

 Mexican ivy. 



NEWELL 'S NEW STORE. 



An interior and an exterior view of 

 Arthur Newell 's new store, in Kansas 

 City, Mo., are given in the two illustra- 

 tions on page 10. The store is situ- 

 ated at the northeast corner of Tenth 

 street and Grand avenue, one of the 

 most central and most prominent loca- 

 tions in the city, and is reached by al- 

 most every one of the city 's car lines. 

 It has been estimated by the street car 



