Exotic Flowers in Boston

Sponsored by Telelfora, National Make Someone Smile Week 2012 (July 22 thru 28), is all about making others happy with the gift of flowers. Throughout the country thousands of local florists will deliver more than 30,000 smiley face mug arrangements. Scientific studies guarantee that flowers make people happy.

Of these 30,000 bright colored fresh flower arrangements, some will go to hospital patients, foster care children, Meals on Wheels residents and nursing home residents. As a National Account in good standing with Teleflora, the staff at Exotic Flowers is honored to be associated with this humanitarian program.

The 2005 Rutgers University study: 

Research Findings

A team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants' behavioral and emotional responses to receiving flowers. The results show that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.

1. Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed "true" or "excited" smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.
2. Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.
3. Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends.

"Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy," said Dr. Haviland-Jones. "Now, science shows that not only do flowers make us happier than we know, they have strong positive effects on our emotional well being."

On Tuesday July 17th, 2012 the Langham Hotel in Boston hosted the Improper Bostonian's Boston's Best Awards. For the event, the floral design staff at Exotic Flowers created dozens of flower arrangements in purple and gold. For the first time, Exotic Flowers was awarded as Boston Best Florist by The Improper Bostonian Magazine.  This best florist award has been collected by Boston floral icons Ilex and Winston Flowers in the past. Being recognized as Boston's Best puts Exotic Flowers in great company with places like Pizzeria Regina (best pizza), Legal Seafoods (Best Outdoor Dining), and J.P. Licks (best ice cream).

Being recognized as Boston's best also puts award winners under the microscope. Who is to say that Pizzeria Regina is better than Santarpio's or that Bernard's is better than Seven Star Street Bistro ? Awards like these do create a lot of buzz and recognition and I am certain that many of Stapleton Florist's customers are wondering how Exotic Flowers was considered the best florist in Boston.

It's summer time and we are fortunate to live on the east coast where trips to the beach are regular. Some of our favorite beaches include Old Silver Beach, Long Beach and Minot. When our floral designers make beach trips, they cannot help but be inspired by the awesome beauty of the ocean. Why go to Pinterest when inspiration can be had on the beaches of Cape Cod ?

This beach like inspiration is catching fire with floral designers throughout the United States. As a long standing member of The Society of American Florists (SAF), Exotic Flowers in Boston is offering its full support to SAF's latest public relations program. The latest installment of The VaseOff! Challenge, Society of American Florist's (SAF) online floral design  competition series, went live to the public this week, flaunting florists’ talent for matching flowers to recipients’ personalities. The Challenge: Design an arrangement sure to delight a friend who loves the beach and can't get enough of the sun, surf and sand.

The VaseOff! Challenge is SAF’s latest public relations program designed to drive traffic to the blog and promote positive floral messages to consumers and the media.

“In this world that revolves so much around social media, consumers like interaction,” said Jennifer Sparks, SAF Vice President of Marketing. “This challenge provides a fun, interactive way to spread the good news about the benefits of flowers and the expertise of florists, with the capability of going viral very quickly.”

VaseOff! is part of SAF’s 2012 Consumer Marketing Program, which uses public relations and social media to promote positive messages about flowers, plants and florists. SAF marketing programs are possible thanks to the SAF PR Fund, made up of retail member dues and voluntary contributions by wholesalers, suppliers, importers and growers. Since its inception in 2001, PR Fund programs have generated more than 1 billion consumer impressions, according to Ogilvy’s measurements.

On Monday June 11th - Dedham florist Paul Gately was arrested by the Dedham police for allegedly stealing $30,000-$50,000 from an elderly woman with dementia. Gately has been charged with 13 counts of larceny and two counts of identity fraud.

At Exotic Flowers we believe in the justice system of innocent until proven guilty. Hopefully, Gately is not guilty and this Dedham florist can reopen his flower shop. Unfortunately for Gately and his alleged victim, there is a lot of evidence against him.

Stories like this one really put florists in a poor light. As florists, we are not only trusted with sending your emotions, we are also trusted with your credit card number as well. Please know that Exotic Flowers in Boston gives each employee a thorough background check and we also have a secure system in place where are all credit card numbers are encrypted.

#1 Holidays: Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas; most guys in Boston need to cover the bases on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. These two holidays are the Super Bowl and World Series of flowers. Holidays are great for men, they get lots of national advertising and are always on a guy's radar. Holiday flowers are often the most memorable and can be tied into creating your own memories and traditions.

 #2 Funeral Flowers - You may not expect funeral flowers to be the number 2 reason guys send flowers in Boston. Funeral flowers have been scientifically proven to ease the grieving process. Funeral flowers are the backbone of our business at Exotic Flowers. Funeral flowers represent more than 30% of our sales.

#3 Anniversaries - Wedding anniversaries, first date anniversaries, anniversaries of your engagement; these special days are often commemorated with rose purchases. Although not a huge delivery item, most men will walk into our flower shop to grab roses for their anniversary.

#4 Adoration - Guys send flowers to men and women they adore. No mystery there. Some of our top clients order flowers for their favorite person more than twenty times per year. Of course adoration can be viewed in many ways. We also have a handful of clients who will woo love interests with flowers. We often have guys come in who only know the first name of the recipient and they will often include their cell # on the card message in hopes of getting that first date. 

#5 Apology Flowers - perhaps the greatest billboard ever created for the floral industry by the Society of American Florists (SAF), 'Exactly how mad is she ?' tells a story in three images. One of the reasons florists have stood the test of time is because guys screw up a lot and flowers are the peace pipe of our generation.

The Candy Roses of Cape Care is the third installment in The Beantown Tales: Green Series where a group of six cousins rally together to save a magical beach's candy sprouting roses from extinction. Growing every sweet treat imaginable from lollipops to gummy bears, the team must work fast to clean up their sandy shores before pollution threatens to halt the production of an enchanted potion produced by the sea. Keeping in theme with the prequels, The Land of Chocolate Cosmos (winner of the 2011 Green Difference Book by the Massachusetts Green Schools Org and 2011 Honorable Mention by the New England Book Festival) and The Popcorn Hydrangea of Poppingtom, Suzie Canale, the author educates while empowering readers to make key changes within their communities. This book tantalizes tummies with yummy imagery nestled in fantastical worlds. Suzie is also an Exotic Flowers' blogger and our poet in residence.

A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball… A quick read, kind of like a good short story; vintage Grisham. Cannot wait for the movie.

 On vacation but feel like you should be building your business ? Marketing guru, Lou Imbriano sets forth an ideal blue print for growing your business. Many of Lou's ideas are cost effective and easy to implement right away. 

No mystery why this novel remains a best seller. Now in paperback, you have no excuse but to pick up a copy. This is one of the best books I have read in years. If you enjoy baseball and have always wanted to find a great novel, you cannot miss with this book.

Micah Solomon's latest book really hits the mark. He lays a great foundation of customer service applications in the first seven chapters. With real world companies used as models, Micah provides a foundation that businesses of all sizes can implement.
Great takeaways include the importance of a company culture and showing how it really defines your business. Micah's book addresses an important need of creating on line loyalty. This question is asked by brick and mortar stores every day. Micah really understands the importance of quick response, anticipating a client's needs and the need for standards.
From his principles of on line self service to his theme of 'let customers hear from you before they have to ask for anything themselves.' This book will remain on my shelf as a reference/ customer service text book for years to come.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a web presence of any type, no matter how big or small.