Flowers from the Rainflorist - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Flowers From The Rainflorist is A Winner in A World-Wide Competition!

2008-10-07T22:19:00Z

We have winners! Finally, after a day of waiting for votes to be counted, re-checked and cross checked, a Big Sigh of relief has been heard around the world! The winners of the world-wide competition for the most interesting design of twelve roses have been announced. The nail biting competition was sponsored by the Flower Chat Group, the back-bone of the Real Florist Community, and participants all submitted unusual designs, traditional designs and outlandish designs hoping to be a winner and to be able to display the winning badge on their web-site. Looking at all of the entry’s, it was easy to see “personalities” in each one. The world wide community had ten days to look at each entry and to make their votes count. Albert Cortes of Flowers From the Rainflorist is in the top twelve winners from around the world and we are so proud of him.

Albert designed an intriguing arrangement of red roses, kiwi vines, monstera leaves and sword leaf in a design that was to honor his family's Conquistadors history.

The submissions were limited to other Real Professional Florist, some with years of experience and some who have never competed before but who are the Real Experts on Flowers. Voters were limited to Real Florists from around the world who are part of the Real Florist Community.

Flowers From The Rainflorist is proud to have received significant votes to be a top twelve winner! This is a Great Honor to have Real Professional Florists look at Albert’s design and chose it as a winner! Enjoy Albert's Design!

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VIP Party with the Duchess Fergie at Hard Rock Cafe

2008-10-05T01:15:00Z

Hard Rock’s Ambassadors of Rock< Tour, a global concert series featuring top artists and bands stopped at Hard Rock Live this week with the Duchess Fergie. The prettiest part of the Black-Eyed peas performed solo at Hard Rock Live but before her performance, she popped in at Hard Rock Cafe for an appearance at a VIP party. She presented a check to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital from a part of her evening performance. This check for $20,000 is going kids' care facility down the road from the Hard Rock in Hollywood!

The Floral Artisans at Flowers From The Rainflorist were called upon to decorate the room with red roses...lots of red roses..... and we had our first opportunity to work with the experienced crew of 2rProductions, who did a phenomenal job of creating a lounge atmosphere with trendy furniture and rich fabric draping that changed a Cafe into a lush looking lounge. The tables glowed, the klippen sofas were comfy and the bourgie lamps really set the tone for "lounging" in style. Add some Pantone chairs and everything was ready for our flowers. Their rental equipment is awesome for any party and this was just perfect for the VIP's gathered at the Fergie Lounge.

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Ambassadors Rock Tour with The Duchess Fergie

2008-10-02T11:51:00Z

Hard Rock’s Ambassadors of Rock Tour, a global concert series featuring top artists and bands stopped at Hard Rock Live this week with the Duchess Fergie. The prettiest part of the Black-Eyed peas performed solo at Hard Rock Live but before her performance, she popped in at Hard Rock Cafe for an appearance at a VIP party. She presented a check to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital from a part of her evening performance. This check for $20,000 is going kids' care facility down the road from the Hard Rock in Hollywood!

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Society of American Florists Convention

2008-09-29T03:07:00Z

After twenty years in the Floral Business, Flowers From The Rainflorist finally had the opportunity to take part in the SAF convention in Palm Beach at the Breakers Hotel this past week. What a treat to be able to meet up with old friends and to meet new ones…some of us only knew each other through forums but we have chatted online for years, so to meet face to face was really awesome. Although the name Society of American Florists would lead you to believe that it is only open to the retail florist, wholesalers, growers, suppliers, educators and independent designers from around the world are members.

I was able to attend several conferences but the most informative was one led by Renato Cruz Sogueco, Chief Information Officer of the Society of American Florists, who led the group in a hands-on “blog” crash course…….it was so informative that my note taking wore my pencil down to it’s nub…yes a pencil in the high tech world of blogging. Kind of funny isn’t it…must be an age thing.

During the convention, new varieties were submitted from Floral Farms across the world to the SAF Outstanding Varieties competition for SAF and were judged on performance, foliage, fragrance, durability and color….the room was so powerful in it’s beauty that many other guests staying the hotel asked to be allowed to come into the room to enjoy the view. There were many “ohhs and ahhs” and it brought many of the attendees back to earth on the importance of how flowers impact consumers. Eufloria Flowers received the Best In Class ribbon for their new spray rose Flash Night. Just beautiful!

And Green Valley Floral won Best in Show for it’s beautiful Oriental Lily Robina.

I’ll be posting the dates over the next six months when we are able to have these beauties available to us.

Just walking to each seminar was a visual treat as Professional Florists from all over the country come to these events and donate their time and lots of energy to creating awesome designs. A few that we saw the first morning were in the corridor leading tto the morning breakfast and one outside our first roundtable.

Other seminars that I was able to attend were Digital Deadbolt, Thinking on Your Feet, Sustainability, Idea Swap and new products on the market.

I was able to meet the new CEO of FTD, Mark Goldston and listen to his new perspective on the growth of the company. He is youthful and it was invigorating to listen to his perspective of our industry.All in all the Convention was well worth traveling up to Palm Beach. Next year will be the Societies 125^th Annual Convention and will be held at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort Phoenix, Arizona.

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Bringing the Outside In …….with a Miniature size Volcano Plant From Hawaii

2008-09-27T04:01:00Z

Volcano Plants Have Arrived at Flowers From The Rainflorist!

Do you need a gift for someone who has absolutely no “green thumb” or the time to take care of a green plant….or are you looking to improve the air quality of your own home or office by incorporating plants but just don’t have the time or want the expense of plant maintenance? Consider the easy to care for Volcano plants. One might be the perfect solution for your dilemma.

Flowers From The Rainflorist just received their first shipment of Volcano Plants directly from Hawaii and each plant is unique and provides it’s own habitat for growing. At full growth, each plant will only reach about 8-10 inches which make them a great gift as a starter plant for the Bonsai Gardener. The plants are grown on a lava rock, also called Hawaiian Volcano rock and the varieties available include bromeliads, red and pink anthuriums, and green or variegated scheffleras. These plants also help keep the indoor air clean while being easy to care for! They put water vapour back into the air, while absorbing heat and filterering dust and harmful substances out of the air.

To maintain these plants, all that is needed is a shallow dish, a cup of water and some filtered bright light. They actually thrive on bright filtered light which is perfect for offices, small spaces in the home and are especially nice for those that practice feng shui décor and want to add a special element to their decor.

We welcome you to stop by and take a look at these fun plants and maybe you will want to take home a gift of paradise for yourself and one for a friend! They are certainly the gift that keeps on giving.

For more info on how plants improve your home and office décor we suggest you visit http://www.healthygreenatwork.org

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Meet the Buzz in our Design Room

2008-09-24T23:27:00Z

Flowers From The Rainflorist has a buzz in the Design Room and everyone is asking who it is…well we’d like to introduce Albert Cortes to all of our customers today. Albert has joined our team of Floral Artisans as the lead Designer and he is already turning heads with his creative designs and interpretive work.

Albert started in the floral industry when he was seventeen as a driver for a Latin Flower Shop in Miami until the owner discovered that Albert's gift of design was needed in the store more than on the road. A few years later, he added to his design experience when offered an opportunity to assist a pastry chef at the Grand Café where he was able to combine flowers and cakes. What a great combination! After his apprenticeship with this famous Chef, Albert was able to take his “design on the road” and travelled extensively doing free-lancing across the country from New York to Boston, and Denver to San Francisco designing in upscale venues until he was discovered by a Floral Shop in the Castro District where he stayed for several years creating designs for parties, weddings, home décor and furniture staging.

We are fortunate that the sounds and spices of South Florida lured him back and Flowers From The Rainflorist is excited to have him join our family! Come in and introduce yourself to Albert and have him design your next party, wedding or special floral gift and share the excitement with all of us at Flower From The Rainflorist.

Meet Albert Cortes

and some of his work!

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Seminole Hard Rock's High Roller Party has a 60's theme!

2007-12-01T20:49:00Z

When it comes to treating the High Rollers to a party at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino you can bet that the walls will Rock and the High Rollers will Roll.......after all, they know how to have a good time. That is an easy bet to win! Combine the partying nature of the Hotel with the Beatle Mania Band, psychedelic linens from Over the Top Linen and flowers from The Artisans at Flowers From The Rainflorist, the night was awesome and filled with lots of good times. Oh, and did I mention the great food from the world reknown Chefs.?..well, when you talk about excellent food, Seminole Hard Rock Chef's are right up there with the most highly regarded Chefs in our City...... they really know how to treat your palate to mouth watering treats at their buffets. It is no wonder that the room was filled with over 500..yes 500 High Rollers partying and having a grand time. The walls were lite up with psychedelic flowers, the tables were accented with flower child blooms reminescent of the 60's and the band played all of the Beatles hits...

Psychedelic "wall" flowers The other side of the room

Guest tables The whole room!

Buffet Designs Lots of Buffets for 500 guests!

This room is huge! Our "Yellow Submarine" Gerbera Daisies

So now you can see just a few reasons why so many folks like "playing" the "games" at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. You can stay in the Hotel, gamble whenever you feel like it, sample the food in any one of the dozen restaurants, visit the Okalee Historic Seminole Tribal Museum, swim in the waterfall pool or sit under one of the Chickees with a drink and enjoy the view or just come out and play and and become a High Roller! If all the activity and partying become to much for you, just turn the corner enjoy the Spa on site !

Call Flowers From The Rainflorist and we'll deliver flowers for your room or any event that you are planning...we're the Floral Artisans when you need Flowers at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino!

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December 12th is Poinsettia Day! Send something red...or white...or pink...or cinnamon colored!

2007-12-01T02:03:00Z

Well it is less than a month away from Christmas day and you have probably already seen someone in your office or neighborhood receive a lush healthy looking red, white or pink poinsettia plant being delivered by their Local Real Florist. But do you know anything about this gorgeous plant?

The poinsettia is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett who was the first American Ambassador to Mexico in the 1820's and who during his travels there, discovered a red blooming plant along side of the road, brought cuttings back to his greenhouse in South Carolina and the story begins. Since then, over 100 varieties are available with red being the most frequently purchased. In 2004 ..alone...a total of over 61 million poinsettia plants were sold.Contrary to old wives tales, they are not poisonous.Poinsettias represent more than 80 percent of all potted plants sold during the holidays.

But even as a Professional Florist for almost twenty years, I really never gave them much thought...we got them in the store for Christmas, we sold them, we took home the few that were left over and planted them and now have a yard with some pretty plants that require a little bit of care but that bloom every year..even when we are not as careful of them as we should be. Recently my path crossed that of Joe Mioux of Mioux Florist and Greenhouse in Carlyle, Illinois who has an amazing greenhouse and stories to match. He graciously shared pictures of his seedlings and their growth with me and I want to share them with you. Listening to him talk about his little seedlings and watching them grow, and his stories of gas heaters failing and having to make emergency runs in the middle of the night to keep the plants from harm have increased my respect for the growers and for the pretty red ( and white, pink and cinnamon ) poinsettias. Here are a a few of Joe's pictures of his babies, toddlers and now teenagers ready for delivery to you from us at Flowers From The Rainflorist.

Cuttings Some starting to grow

Getting a little bigger

4 months old...wow a lot of green!

What color will they be??? A hint of color

Almost ready for your house

Snowy White

And lastly a new favorite that we will be carrying......the peachy/cinnamon...makes me think of cinnamon buns on a cold day.....and of course a cappuchino!

Call us if you'd like more information on the care of your plant and we will gladly offer it to you even if you did not receive a healthy Mioux poinsettia from Flowers From The Rainflorist.

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When "Free" really isn't "Free"

2007-11-23T03:28:00Z

What does getting something for free mean to you?...to me, it means I do not pay for it, I am not charged for it, the real price for it is not raised to accomodate giving it to me for "free" and it is not a "free" such and such" with an added "whatchamacallit added at the end of my order to cover the cost of giving me something for "free". Free means it is mine for no charge...simple isn't it? Well at least that was what I understood until I ran across the 1-800 Flowers ad that reads "Free Shipping" . So the assumption is that it is "free", right?. Here I am thinking, "wow...how do I offer my customer this great "free" thing..after all,I have labor costs, gas costs ...oh yeah..gas that is currently over $ 3.15 per gallon and soon to increase, anyway lots of costs to be able to give a "free delivery" to my customers to compete with 1-800 flowers. My customers will be thrilled to save money, won't they? So I figure I'd better investigate this a little further because no matter how I crunch my numbers, I can't seem to make this "free" thing happen without a serious loss. So I talk to other florists, look at Floristdetective.com and it seems like the "free" thing really isn't "free" after all. In fact, so many Real Professional Florists...the ones that do design, have flowers in their shops and actually know what time of year you can get Amaryllis in Texas or sunflowers in Michigan......well they have formed a pettition to urge that the FTC to investigate this "free" offering because when you read the fine print....it isn't really "free" anything after all. Flowers From The Rainflorist has joined this petition and we are urging the FTC to Investigate 1800Flowers.com "Free Shipping"offer.

What 1-800-Flowers.com is billing as "shipping" for florist delivered items is actually a service charge they keep. According to their contract with florists, the price a consumer pays for a florist-delivered arrangement includes a $7.99 delivery fee. That means, for a $39.99 arrangement, $7.99 goes toward delivery, and $32 is for the flowers.

As a wise Real Florist said "Let's review that--the prices shown on 1-800-Flowers.com's website include a delivery fee, in addition to the $12 "Shipping" fee they are discounting. Hiding a delivery fee does not make it free, and many, many florists take issue with this practice of adding and discounting a false "Shipping" charge as providing free delivery." Amen to that. So when you are ordering online and you get offered a "free" delivery take the time to look closely at the fine print....better yet, call your Real Local Florist and get the best deal in town!

A request, signed by over 100 local florists (signed by most bloggers here at FloristBlogs.com) has been sent to the FTC. You can read the full complaint, and see the signatories, at Florists Urge FTC to Investigate 1800Flowers.com "Free Shipping". 1-800-Flowers.com is not the only online order broker to try the free delivery deception. Visit Florist Detective for more background on the Free Delivery Ruse.

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Love, flowers and online florists

2007-11-23T00:45:00Z

"If It Is Love Use An Online Florists For The Best Selection" was a recent blog I read online and being new to this "blog" thing, I was curious as to how and why anyone would think that using an online florist was better than using your Local Real Florist...and I'm not sure they should even be called "florists"..after all...they are at a desk taking orders...Real Florists are the ones that create, touch and care for your flowers before they are actually delivered to you. Of course they mentioned a study that said Online Florists were the best choice to use for sending flowers...but failed to mention the name or who lead the study but they did mention that online florists are doing very well and growing daily. Of course they are...their pictures look great and their web pages make you think they will deliver that great bouquet for you exactly as it is shown. They also mentioned that part of the reason for this growth was the "packaging" and that the "online florist" has a better selection of flowers that a Real Local Flower Shop"....Okay after reading that comment, I had to get up and walk around a bit and dry my eyes from laughing so hard......that comment was followed by another equally funny comment that "using an online florist you don't really get to see the flowers and this will work to the consumers advantage"...huh?

Please don't get me wrong...our shop is all about being online as well but the difference between us and an "online florist" is that we actually have a Real Storefront that you can walk into and smell and touch flowers. You can meet the designer that will create your special memory or floral gift. You can tell them all about what you like, what your friend likes, what colors you want etc. You cannot do this with an "online florist". The "online florist" can only show you pictures of what they are "selling you"...and at this point you need to cross your fingers that you will get that, or that they won't just toss it on the doorstep in any weather, or that they call ahead to see if your friend/lover/wife/sister/Mom etc is home and ask when it will be convenient to deliver to them...nope, they do not do that. Real Florists do that.....Check out the flowers that were delivered on Valentines Day to this couple...they are Real Florists and they too wanted to see what the difference was with what they sell and what they would get from an "online florist"....sit down before you view it and have a box of tissues handy...it is laughable. Of course if they were the flowers you had sent...well the response might be not so funny. And a recent addition to how "online" florists send your flowers ..take a look at this video...consumers all over are getting fed up with it and taking videos of what they received form these "online" florist

The other things that your Local Real Florist can accomplish is making sure that your flower order going out of town is taken care of as if you were there to see it. We are fortunate to have an amazing group of trained, experienced, Professional Florists known to us in every city in the USA...and many in other countries as well. If we have a special request, we call them for you...if you have a special delivery time...we call to arrange that....we'll take the guess work out of sending flowers...so be cautious when you are looking for a florist...if you can, visit your local Real Florist..develop a relationship with them.....they are the ones that employ local folks, keep the tax dollars in your town and who really want you to come back to them for every special occasion in your life. If you need to place an order online, look at the address, google it, call the 800...come right out and ask" are you a Real Florist?...Can I stop in and pick out my flowers....you'll be surprised at how many "online florist" will stumble and mumble and get down right defensive over that question....

When it comes to flowers,they are one of the greatest reminders to that special someone of just how special they are to you and is one of the nicest gestures that they will remember for a lifetime.....everyone of us remembers a special time whe we received flowers...ask your Mom or Grandmom, daughter or even Dad...everyone has a flower memory. Send one today...be remembered for a lifetime.

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What do flowers, Iraq and Ipods have in common at Thanksgiving??

2007-11-21T01:12:00Z

As a Professional Florist, we have had requests over the past 19 years that would curl some toes, make the toughest bird blush and make you question " how can this person make eye contact with me while asking me to do this?" But this week has been a really wonderful time with more and more folks sending flowers for their loved ones tables, birthdays, anniversaries and a multitude of other occasions. We had a very special request from a sister of a soldier stationed in Iraq who had managed to download a birthday message to his fiancee, send the ipod to his sister, who called us and asked if we could help...help a soldier...you betcha! He wanted the Ipod with roses to be delivered to his fiancee in our town and for it to be a total surprise. Now this is an International delivery if there ever was one...He is in Iraq, sister is in Georgia, his fiancee is in Fort Lauderdale and we are located in the burbs in Sunrise, Fl. It is beginning to sound like the United Nations...even better cause we get it done....

We delivered 2 dozen red roses in a vase with the ipod earphones attached so she could hear his message as soon as we got there, took pictures, a video, watched Becca blush and got to send a message back to Greg, managed to get them downloaded and off to Irag within the hour of delivery, sent his sister an email delivery confirmation ...and a picture too for her hard work. This is what Real Professional Florists do ...and what Thanksgiving and sharing blessings is really all about.

message footage of Becca receiving flowers

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