As novel an idea as it is, you have to give iflorist.com credit for what can be seen as entertainment – although at a snails pace. Yes what you see below is a Flower Cam! 

But don’t stare for to long waiting for something to happen.

The iflorist retail store features a large walk-in fresh flower cooler, with their live Flower Cam. You can watch customers select from a variety of fresh flowers! To boot, two G-scale trains travel over 300′ around the store and can occasionally be seen going through the plexiglass window on the upper-right side. The Cam updates every 10 seconds during store hours.

I think iflorist.com might be on to something big here.

Something that may perhaps revolutionize the way florist do business. Just imagine how cool it would be to place an order online and to see it being prepared by a florist right in front of you on a live cam and then watch the bouquet get put right on a delivery truck. 

That’s exciting! What do you think? Would you order flowers and watch the florist prepare your order.

So how about iflorist – are you willing to go there for your customers.

It think some bold and brave florist should give it a shot and see what happens? I bet consumers looking to buy flowers online would love the idea. Pay a little extra, get a lot of transparency.

Well if anyone sees this idea born-out in the near future just know you heard it hear first. 

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Teleflora, the world’s leading flower wire service, recently announced its plans for the 10th anniversary of Teleflora’s Make Someone Smile® Week, starting from Sunday, July 18 through Saturday, July 24. Thousands of Teleflora memnber florists and community volunteers will deliver bouquets in the company’s keepsake gift Be Happy® Mug, to those most in need of a smile — such as hospital patients, senior citizens living in nursing homes and assisted living homes. In honor of the 10th anniversary, Teleflora will also award 10 lucky member units a check for $1,000 to be given to a charity of their choice.

Teleflora plans to donate more than 50,000 of their Be Happy® Mugs to its member florists, who will work with local wholesalers and growers to secure donated flowers. Local Teleflora florists will use these donations to design cheerful Be Happy® Bouquets, full of roses and daisies, and deliver them to residents in their local communities.

Since its launch 10 years ago, Make Someone Smile® Week has become the floral industry’s most successful charitable program. In 10 years, more than 22,000 florists in the U.S. and Canada have donated their time. Teleflora’s program has delivered more than 200,000 bouquets to those most in need of a smile.

It’s your choice in life to do good things for others. Good deeds are a elusive trait not particularly evident to everyone, yet we are reminded on occasions that the world is full of kind hearted souls of compassion, who strive to genuinely do  good. 

You dont’ have to sit back and waite for opportunity to do good. Often it only takes a small gesture to change someone’s outlook on life when they might feel down. It’s the little things that can make a difference, such as volunteering at a food-bank, donating to your favorite cause or sending someone a bouquet of flowers.

For more information on Teleflora’s Make Someone Smile® Week visit http://www.teleflora.com/make-someone-smile-week-flowers.asp or how you can get involved, call 310.966.8328.

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Flowers have always been a great way to celebrate special occasions. But maybe it’s time to think differently and not wait for a special occasion to send someone flowers.

This summer, as we delight in spending more time outdoors with family and friends, enjoying our summer vacations and the warm weather how about the idea of sending someone flowers as a goodwill gesture as continuation of a joyful summer. This idea is the basis for the 1-800-Flowers.com campaign ‘Summer of Smiles‘.

As the world’s leading floral & gift shop, 1-800-Flowers.com is once again launching its ‘Summer of Smiles‘ campaign, encouraging its customers across the nation to send someone they know a bright bouquet of summers flowers and gifts that will leave a smile on their face – no special occasion required.

The ‘Summer of Smiles’ campaign will have 1-800-Flowers.com team up with various celebrities and renowned personalities throughout the summer to surprise fans and deliver smiles to unsuspecting customers. 

To encourage as many people as possible to participate, 1-800-Flowers.com is hosting a ‘Summer of Smiles’ sweepstakes to reward those who know how to make someone smile. Starting July 1, 2010, customers can submit who they would like to send a smile and why and be entered for the chance to win the Happy Day Bouquet™.  No purchase necessary to enter or win.

For more information on the ‘Summer of Smiles’ sweepstakes visit www.1800flowers.com/smile.

Here a just a few of floral arrangements designed to celebrate the summer holidays:

Summer Rose Mix Bouquet– Bright orange, yellow and green colors radiate from this 18-stem bouquet that is bound to bring some extra sunshine to someone in your life

Berry Beautiful™ – A vibrant combination of carnations, roses, and daisy poms arranged in a hand-designed berry bowl is a reminder of summer fruits and the sweetness of the season

To view the full summer flower collection visit www.1800flowers.com.

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What wedding flowers will cost you for the average wedding?

The good news is that flowers are not a huge cost for the average wedding.

In a research report but together by Krystal Wynn in bridepop.com, she breaks down the True Ccost of an Average Wedding.

The report indicates how much on average is spent on everthing from the wedding flowers, photographer, dresses for brides maids, favors, etc.,  - simply the entie wedding. See chart below courtesy of bridepop.com:

The Cost of Wedding Flowers

When it comes to wedding flowers, they only make up about 5% of the total wedding on average, which is just under $1,970. This includes bridemaid bouquets, corsages, bridal bouquets, flower girl flowers and decorative pieces.

The largest amount of spent on the average wedding is on the Reception, which will account for nearly 40% of the total cost.

The wedding budget is always an important deal when it comes to planning a wedding. Couples are usually careful not to spend to much on the essentials to make the day perfect. So now you can use this report as a template to go but if you’ve ever wanted to know what costs what for the average wedding. 

The bride and her bridemaids will certainly take plenty of photos and having the right bridal boquet averaging around $169 and bridesmaid bouquets at $274 gives brides to be an idea of what expense to expect.

Most of your wedding guest will spend most the wedding day celebrating with the bride and groom at the reception, having decorative centerpieces with flowers are key to a well planed and decorated reception.

Check your wedding expenses again against this chart if your budget is around $40,000. Be carefull not to get over charged on your wedding flowers.

Did you spend to much on your wedding flowers? Does this sound about right to you?

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FlowerShopDeals is now a co-branded partner with FloraFlora.com. 

As a trusted partner FloraFlora.com is also giving flowershopdeals.com customers and additional 10% off of  all purchases. To save 10% on any order, shoppers can use a special coupon code “FSD” anytime.

FloraFlora.com the only online floral shop that offers free flower delivery and no hidden fees on flowers. FloraFlora offers a large selection of flowers and plants delivered fresh from the farm or direct from your local florist.

For those who prefer to order by phone you can contact FloraFlora.com Customer Service toll-free at 1-888-375-2112 and mention the code “FSD” to receive your discount.

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CEO Chris McCann of  1-800-flowers, made due on his promise to have  a bouquet designed after one his most passionate employees in one of their retail locations. Dee, the expert floral designer was honored with the ultimate tribute. 

After going undercover on the CBS hit show “Undercover Boss”, McCann sought to find out the reason why this particular store Dee worked in consistantly outperformed others.

He soon discovered that the secret to the stores success had nothing to do with the customers affinity to 1-800-flowers per se, but with the connection Dee developed with customers in addition to her attitude and passion as a florist.

In a show of gratitude McCann decided to have a bouquet designed after Dee called Dee’s Paradise.  

See Dee’s Paradise here

The floral arrangement features roses, Gerbera daisies, snapdragons, carnations, lilies, hypericum, button poms and seeded eucalyptus among other flowers for a beautiful arrangement. 

The Dee’s Paradise flowers at 1-800-Flowers come in a special olive green glass hurricane vase which stands about 8 inches in height. 

A portion of all proceeds from the sales of these arrangments will go to the “Certified Floral Designer” program which is a scholarship fund for aspiring florists.

You can also see the full episode of “Undercover Boss” featuring Dee’s Paradise and 1-800-Flowers in our previous post or go here.

Dee’s Paradise reflects the passion and dedication behind her job much like the dedication and passion exhibited by Mom’s everywhere who love and care for their children.

For Mother’s Day find a bouquet that represents your Mom’s passion and dedication and honor her, for the jobs she has done.

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Chris McCann, President and COO of 1-800-FLOWERS, America’s largest florist and online gift shop, goes undercover to find out what its like  outside the corporate boardroom, in hopes of gaining a glimpse of what 1-800-Flowers employees day to day looks like. The conclusion of  this episode will force him to reveal his true identity on this seasons finale of Undercover Boss. 

Chris is the younger brother of Jim McCann founder of 1-800-flowers.com.

It’s been said that while the older Jim McCann was busy building a successful floral business the younger Chris joined the corporate ranks much later focusing much of his attention on the company’s structure and balance sheets. 

The entire expirement  for the younger McCann allows him to get a better understanding of not only the customers his comany serves but also to get  an understanding of the lives of his employees.

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The Cherry Blossom in DC is home to The National Cherry Blossom Festival (501(3)(c) non-profit). The festival is a two-week, annual event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the long lasting friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. The event begins March 27th through April 11th, with a parade on Saturday, April 10th beginning at 10am.

Prior to this intangible peace treaty, 19th century imperialism drew clear lines of separation between these two great nations. Through it’s strict policy of isolation, Japan remained untouched by western ways until the Treaty of Amity (1854). Although, feelings of mistrust and resentment continued to ride due to early U.S. Naval Leaders gunboat diplomacy upon Japan. In order to lessen tensions and restore peace, mutual Cherry and Flowering Dogwood tree offerings were given.

DC Attractions include multiple festivals, museums, monuments, and more. The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization that coordinates, produces, and supports creative and diverse activities promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and the environment, and community spirit and youth education. It’s also begins peak season for an influx of tourists to Washington, also brought in by the thousands of historical landmarks, museums, and other buildings. Some of the most popular DC Tours include Hop-On-Off Double-Decker Bus, Discover DC Segway Safari, & Arlington Cemetery, and Washington DC After Dark.

The National Museum of Crime & Punishment, located in Washington, D.C. contains excellent depictions of historically famous crime scenes along detailed information concerning past wars, forensics, organized crime, and more. Feel free to stop by our website and get a preview of some of the most notoriously famous crime scenes in U.S. History. There’s plenty of information on featured exhibits in our crime library along with a vast amount of Crime Data at our Forensic blog.