HI All!  I called the store today, and after dialing the number 3 or 4 times and getting an "out of service" message 3 or 4 times, I started to get worried.  It turns out that we had been waiting for our new phone service provider to come in for several months, and they finally made it today. 

Unfortunately, the communication between the old service and the new service was sorely lacking, and before we were up and running on the new service, ALL OF OUR SERVICES were canceled by the old service!  This included not only the phones, but our internet connection, credit card and debit processing as well.

Thankfully we are back up and running, and it is business as usual.  Scratch that, business is better than ever!  This change includes a new phone system that will allow us to serve all our customers better overall, and we are excited that we were finally able to get this change made.

Anyway, this reminded me of the move Clerks where, when the guy couldn't open the front door, because someone jammed gum in the lock, he used a sheet and shoe polish to create the sign pictured above.  Well, we don't have gum in the locks, and we are still Winnipeg Florists for All Occasions and are open to serve!

        

Dragonfly Flowers is proud to support Twestival Winnipeg on September 12th, 2009.  As part of Twestival Local 2009, the Winnipeg Twestival is a way to bring Winnipeg Tweeters together and support a local charity. 

Proceeds from the event will go to the Siloam Mission, which provides many needed services to Winnipeg's homeless community.

"Siloam Mission is the connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg's less fortunate."

This years event looks like it will be a really great time, and we hope to  see a lot of Winnipeg Twitter folk out and about on Saturday!

Come on out to the event!  (You may just win some flowers!)

Follow us on Twitter: @WinnipegFlorist

        

Dragonfly Flowers has been providing Winnipeg and the surrounding areas with fresh cut flowers for over 5 years.  During this time, we have sent thoughts and feelings through flowers to thousands of Winnipeg families.  More often than not, those flowers are delivered in a glass vase.  Many of our customers are repeat customers who visit us or order online many times throughout the year, and the question is often asked of us:

What should I do with all these flower vases?

We have the solution! 

September marks the beginning of Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips  Vase Recycling Program. 



We decided to provide a recycling outlet for those vases, and while we help the environment, we can also help you reduce your clutter!  This program is part of our ongoing efforts to become a Green Florist, and do our part for the community and the environment on a daily basis.

How it Works:

Very simply, just bring in your unwanted vases, and we will do one of the following with them:

-  Quality vases that meet our standard for re-use will be re-used in the store.

-  Ones that we can't re-use will be donated to the Salvation Army or Canadian Diabetes

-  Damaged vases will be sent to the appropriate recycling centers.


There are a lot of great reasons to recycle glass products:

• Glass recycling is good for the environment..

• Glass recycling is sustainable

• Glass recycling is efficient..

• Glass recycling conserves natural resources.

• Glass recycling saves energy.

• Recycled glass is useful. 

Here are a few more resources we found about Glass Recycling that you might be interested in:

• Glass Recycling on Wikipedia
• Glass Recycling from the Recycling Guide

We also found a bunch of other florists who are also providing their customers with Vase Recycling Program:

• Flowers from the Rainforest, Ft. Lauderdale
• Dr. Delphinium Designs and Events, Dallas
  
• Humphrey's Flowers, Chattanooga
• Heaven Scent, Saratoga Springs
• MyFlorist, McLean
• Smiths Flowers, Midland
• Coleman Florist, Syracuse

What's Next?

We will keep you updated through The Winnipeg Florist Blog about how the program is going and about some upcoming events we have planned to go along with this new initiative.

Keep an eye out as we develop this program into something really special as we will be running a few programs throughout the next year, including "Flowers for Vases" and "Vases for Charity".

        

It’s August, and we are well into Wedding season at Dragonfly Flowers.  We’d like to send out a warm Thank-You to all of our summer brides, and we hope that the weather man was good to you on your special day!

Those of you who live here will be all too familiar with the weather picture here in Winnipeg over the last couple of months.  It’s been bleak to say the least!

When is our summer going to get here!

Perhaps it is about to arrive.  The Winnipeg forecast for this next week looks just about as good as it can get for us, so I hope everyone gets out there to enjoy it, because it may be fleeting.

We still have some wedding dates available for the fall and into 2010, so please don’t hesitate to give us a call and book an appointment for all your wedding flower needs.

Here's hoping that the rest of the summer in Winnipeg is sunny and warm.

(We deserve it!)

        

Hi Everyone!  Today's post has nothing to do with flowers, but I thought I would share some awesome videos that a couple of florists recently posted on a florists forum we frequent.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

        

Today I was researching some of the local organizations around Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips, and came across a program from Seven Oaks General Hospital that I thought was really cool.  They call it  "Well Wishes".

In a nutshell, its a quick internet based form where you add your name, some patient information, and a message to any patient in the hospital.  The message is then delivered by one of the many great volunteers to your friend or family member, free of charge.

How it Works

"Seven Oaks Hospital Volunteers deliver “Well Wishes” to patients on adaily basis (excluding weekends and holidays). Submit the informationbelow and our volunteers will receive the printed e-mail and handdeliver it to the patient. The system is designed for well wishes only.We cannot send outgoing replies from patients. E-mails intended toconduct personal business, containing questionable content orbusiness/vendor solicitations will be deleted from the system. Sendyour love through the Seven Oaks General Hospital “Well Wishes”program, and let your loved one know you are thinking about them."

Of course, there are a few rules, but overall I think its a great idea!  Some times you don't have the time to make it to the hospital for frequent visits, you have already ordered flower delivery to Seven Oaks Hospital, or you just want to get a quick note off to wish someone well and brighten their day.  if you got really creative, you could do a treasure hunt, I spy with my little eye, riddles, puzzles; all kinds of great stuff if you put your mind to it!

        

The retail flower industry in Canada has just completed Grad Week.  This is typically a great time for florists to show off their skills and create some wonderful corsages and boutineers for impending graduates an their dates.

As with any special occasion, it's best to order your flowers and requested design at least a week prior to the event.  During busy times such as Grad, Mother's Day, or Valentines Day, it gives your florist the opportunity to plan for your event flowers and be sure that they have both the product and the available staff on hand to create something wonderful for you.

Of course we don't always have the opportunity to plan ahead and make prior arrangements for the events that happen in our life, or sometimes we just plain forget!

Your local Retail Florists have a variety of ways to make sure that you can get the product you need and have it in your hands in a timely manner.



- Staff up during busy times to make sure we have designers available
- Keep a few of these items in the cooler - ready to go when you walk in
- Provide expedited priority delivery when you have little time
- Realize that things don't always go as planned and make sure that
  we are there for you when you need us most!

When searching for flowers in Winnipeg, Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips is here for you!  For those who find this blog from out of town, always make sure you are dealing with a real local professional florist, and not one of the national providers. 

You will be glad you did!

        

Hello everyone! 

I finally had a chance to log into The Florist Blog today and saw that it has been 67 days since our last blog post!  That is unacceptable by any standards I can think of!

A lot has been going on at Dragonfly Flowers.  We just finished the holiday season which includes, Valentine's Day, Easter, Administrative Professionals Week, and Mother's Day.  Our little shop has seen some fantastic growth, thanks to every one of our great customers, in Winnipeg and abroad for making Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips your preferred Winnipeg Florist!

Some changes have happened during the past little while.  We are still working on completing our store branding initiatives, we have painted the store, and soon we will have our new signage up on both the store-front and on the street pylon, which we have never had before.

Stay tuned, I hope to blog about it all in the coming weeks!

        

I have been wondering lately if the average consumer really has any idea how long a "Long Stem" rose actually is.  When searching the internet for long stem roses, I have found that it is very unlikely that you will actually find a web site that describes them properly, or actually sells what a Real Retail Florist would define as a long stemmed rose.  A good friend and colleague of ours, Catherine Hillen Rulloda of Anaheim Florist, Avante Gardens has been blogging about roses for some time and has some great descriptions and images on her web site, like the one below.



You can obviously see that Avante Gardens has incredibly beautiful designs, but what is really great about this image, is that it shows the consumer a wonderful array of rose designs and you can really see what actually defines a long stem rose.

Here is a sample of the choices that Retail Florists and drop ship flower providers have from the growers and wholesalers.

Rose Assorted 30cm
Rose Assorted 40cm
Rose Assorted 50cm
Rose Assorted 60cm
Rose Assorted 70cm

Hmmmm.  So, which one is the long stem rose?  The chart below, again provided by Anaheim Florist, Avante Gardens, tells us about the length of the stem, and the size of the buds.



You can see that there is definitely some vast differences in both the size and perceived quality of roses.  Those huge buds that everyone loves to see come from true Premium Long Stem Roses.  When searching for Long Stem Roses online, you will find that even the mighty Google can't seem get it right.  As always, it is best to find a Floral Professional, wherever you are, or wherever you are sending flowers to.

There are so many great local florists out there like Avante Gardens, and your local retail florist can definitely provide you with the answers you need to make the right decision on your roses, and can help you find the right roses and a great design for whatever occasion you have.

        

A few months ago, Dragonfly Flowers was blessed by the opportunity to hire one of Winnipeg's most experienced freelance Floral Designers.

Rosalyn came to us with 30 years of Floral Design experience, and has worked in several Winnipeg Flower Shops during that time.  She brought with her not only this great industry experience, but also a wonderful attitude, great customer service skills, and has added her very well rounded career experience to the team.

I asked Rosalyn what she loves about designing flowers, and why she has stayed in this industry for so long.

"I love working with flowers, because there is always something different and something new to work with.  Some people might ask how I could do this for so long, but having been in this industry so long, I have seen many changes, in both the industry and the way flowers are designed.  With continued training and watching the current floral design trends, I have been able to recreate my design techniques many times during my career.  So, it never gets boring."

"In addition to all that, designing flowers just makes me happy!"

Although you can see she is a little camera shy, you can see Rosalyn's creativity and passion for flowers in the store, or anytime you have flowers delivered by Dragonfly Flowers on McPhillips.

We would like to formally welcome Rosalyn to the team and wish her the very best success with Dragonfly Flowers.