{ yx y May 14, 1914. REMOTE STORAGE The Florists' Review iiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiHiiiiiJiJiiiiiiiiiiiiiijijiijiiiijiiiiiiiijjijijiiiiiiiijiijiiiiiH MAKING THE MOST x OF MEMORIAL DAY 3Bmn g^^gg^ I |T may be taken for granted thaf almost every florist, however little ambition he may possess, will make some special preparation for Me- morial day, the greatest flower day of the year. In- deed, he can hardly avoid making some little effort to get- ready, for the ob- servance of the day has become so gen- eral that some extra business is almost certain to come along and hit him, and it will be inconvenient not to be ready. The prime object of this article is to urge florists to make the most thorough preparation within their pow- er, and to do it now — with all possible emphasis on the "now" — since Memo- rial day is, only about two weeks in the future. There is an old quotation that has established itself as a permanent tenant in the writer 's memory and refuses to be evicted; it bobs to the front when- ever the necessity of prompt action is under consideration. The exact word- ing of it cannot be vouched for, but it runs something like this: "The state of the world is such, and so much depends on action, that everything seems to say to every man, 'Do something! Do it! Do it!' " Perhaps that quota- tion can be parapiosaed a little, so as to fit the present oc- casion precisely. A G-cod Prospect. Since encourage- ment is frequently the best incentive to ac- tion, i t should be stated that this year's Memorial day — business — the weather man and other powers permittin g — will probably be unusually heavy and profitable, if only for the reason that the great day falls on Saturday, thus providing, prac- tically, for two days of decoration. The experience of the trade has proved that when Memorial day immediately precedes or follows Sunday, the circumstance is a fortunate one for flo- rists. There are at least thfee essential forms of prepaiation for the big event — obtaining a sufficient q u a n - tity of the right sort of stock, attending to the advertising, .and making such arrange- ments, with reference to the store force and the delivery outfit, as will make it possible to handle the increased business swiftly, systematically and satisfac- torily. Everybody's Day. It is well to secure for Memorial day a good supply of such stock as will make a satisfactory showing at small expense, for on this occasion the florist is catering to the common people — not common in the old-time, outworn sense of being inferior or plebeian, but com- mon in the truly American, modern sense of including everybody. Memorial day is not simply the sol- diers' day; it. is some time since we got away from that restricted idea. It is not especially the wealthy people's day; most of the wealthy people make ar- rangements to keep the homes of their dead permanently beautified and are perhaps less likely than others to give special attention to the matter on the day custom has set apart for the pur- pose. It follows, then, since Memorial day is everybody's day, and everybody is not rich and generous, that the stock provided shall be largely of such a kind that a small outlay of money will ac- complish the desire^ purpose. Wreaths a Specialty. What, then, is the best sort of stock Memorial Day Wre»*^ X.- Memorial Day Wreath Illustration Popular for Use in Retailers' Advertising to be placed conspicuously in the front and pushed as a specialty for the flo- rists' day of days? Of course there will be a good*\demand for loose flow- ers and there ought not to be any great difficulty in meeting the demand, espe- cially if there is an abundance of peonies and cape jasmine to compensate for any shortage of other flowers. If a cemetery vase in each instance is purchased along with the bouquet, the transaction will be more satisfactory to both buyer and seller. Many of the more fastidious class of customers will prefer flat sprays and the florist should be fully prepared to satisfy such pa- trons, but the sale of these "must be limited by the briefness of the time allowed for the making of them. However, there will also be a large demand for wreaths and the florist will find it perfectly safe, as well as highly profitable, to make his best ef- forts to increase the demand for them, since the wreatiis can be 'Constructed of prepared magnolia leaves or othsr jiuch durable material and a sufficient supply of them can be made beforehand, leav- ing only the trimming of them to be done during the strenuous eleventh hour. On account of the reduction that has taken place in the price of magnolia leaves during recent years, it is easier than ever before to supply these wreaths . ; at attractive prices, and any remaining unsold at Memorial day can be kept in stock for later use. The Advertising. There are few flo- rists who do not make use of some method o f advertising for special occasions like this, even if they are contented a t other times to make no public plea- for pat- ronage, but simply accept such business as happens to come their way. The ma- jority of wide-awake florists, however, find it profitable to carry on a more or less reg- ular tjampaigiLof pub- licity, and such wide- awake florists are also likely to make the biggest use of adver- tising for such big events a s Memorial day. It is the es- sence of good adver- tising— or at least it is one of the main ■3550S2 18 The Florists' Review Mav 14, 1914. coHHtituents of good advertising — to watch alertly for special occasions and special opportunities, and to derive the greatest possible advantage from them by means of special stock and special advertising. As to the best method of advertising, that question must be settled by each florist in conformity with his locatiorf and environment. A well arranged window display is a good form of ad- vertisement, varying in its effectiveness according to the number and character of the passers-by, and the arrangement of a Memorial day window is a com- paratively easy task, since the accouter- ments of war and the emblems of pa- triotism are easily available and make good settings for flowers. But he is an exceptionally fortunate florist who can build up a large business without any other means of publicity than his front window. Other methods of advertising must be used and in a large majority of cases the daily news- paper is the best and cheapest medium. though in certain circumstances the mailing of cards or circulars may be a good substitute. However, as already intimated, thia is not intended principally as a discus- sion of methods of action, but rather as a reminder of the necessity of in- stant action of some sort, if the full possibilities of Memorial day are to be attained. So we finish, as we began, with the well-meant and not officious exhortation: Do something, and do it now. • RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE AB* DOLNG TAUSENDSCHON IN DECORATION. Working straight through the night of May 8, the decorators of the E. Wien- hoeber Co. put up at 1516 Lake Shore drive what is said to have been the largest decoration in the history of the Wienhoeber' business and what is be- lieved to have been the finest floral dis- play ever seen in Chicago. The event that called for this eff'ort was the wed- ding of one of the daughters of Edward T. Blair and Mrs. Blair. The ceremony was performed in the Fourth Presby- terian church, the day before the dedi- cation of that ornate new edifice, and the decorations there were, simple, the eff'ort being centered on the work at the home, where the reception was held ajid'the wedding breakfast served. The Blair residence is one of the new- est of the millionaires' homes on the ■^ drive and called for different treatment tkiAn that ordinarily employed in house decorations. When called on for sug- gestions Ernst Wienhoeber proposed the use of the Tausendschon rose and his idea was accepted. Frank Oechslin flowere