Exotic Flowers in Boston

 I was born in Boston in 1970 and grew up in Roslindale. As a child, we were fortunate enough to be able to walk or ride our bikes to our friends' houses, play baseball by ourselves at Healy Field and street hockey at Fallon Field. Our bikes were like our own cars and gave us a freedom that almost no Boston child can experience today. With a pocketful of change, we could go to the local store and fill our pockets with bubble gum, baseball cards, candy cigarettes, and jaw breakers. Stores like the Town Spa, Florence Street Variety and many other corner stores kept a close eye on all of us as we gazed at all the goodies under the glass.

Imagine seeing a kid with a candy cigarette today. Not only not cool, but you would think it was a joint. Candy stores today are few and far between and the ones we find today are like Candy Kitchen in Delaware.

While the average corner store candy sale was less than a dollar, a candy store today must average twenty dollars per transaction to stay in business. As we appoach Sweetest Day on October 19th, 2013 we are reminded how candy stores have innovated and struggled to remain relevant.

Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of October. In 1921, a group of Cleveland candy makers brought the event to the public. The idea is to celebrate someone sweet with something sweet. Sweetest Day was started to gain some commercial recognition for the confectioner's craft and flourishes in cities like Cleveland and Detroit. Although not that popular in Boston or New York, many college students will bring their traditions to the northeast to celebrate loved ones with candy, cards and even flowers. Why not start your own tradition and this Sweetest Day ?

At Exotic Flowers in Boston, we admire those trailblazing confectioners of Cleveland. As smart businessmen, they grouped together to keep their business relevant. Florists throughout the world can learn from these men. Teleflora makes an attempt with National Make Someone Smile Week and FTD tries with Good Neighbor Day. In 2013, the floral industry needs some trailblazing flower shops to adopt an idea to keep our business relevant.

Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in October every year. This holiday does not catch much exposure in the Northeast. But in the Great Lakes Region, Sweetest Day rivals Valentine's Day as a day for sweethearts to show their affection. The celebration is marked with small gift giving such as flowers, candy, and greeting cards.

Traditionally, Exotic Flowers in Boston and Roslindale has tried in vain to promote flower purchases for this holiday; hoping that some of Boston's college students would bring their traditions to Boston. In 2010, Exotic Flowers decided to drop the Sweetest Category from www.exoticflowers.com. The sales over the years have shown very few orders.

Along with Sweetest Day, Exotic Flowers also chose to drop Bosses' Week (10/11 thru 10/15) from our category list as well.

Boss's Day is traditionally celebrated in the United States and Canada every October. This holiday was created as a way for employees to show thanks to their bosses. Although, we can think of no better way to show thanks than fresh flowers from Boston's Premier Florist; we also feel that the best thanks an employee can show her boss is to do their job well.

We appreciate every floral order for both Sweetest Day and Boss's Day, but we also feel that our clients October dollars can be spent wisely on all our Halloween and Harvest offerings.