Category: Flowers as Gifts

How Do You Send a Man Flowers?

Sending two tone tulips to your man an all time favorite
Shake things up a little! Romance Therapy Starbright Style!

 

Flowers can be thought of as a romantic gift.  Traditionally it is a gift that is given to a woman from a man (most of the time).  Romantic men send flowers often.  The flowers and the men that send them are appreciated; they give smiles and make memories that last a lifetime.  A woman that receives flowers will remember them forever… “I remember when I was having this really bad day and so-and-so sent me this big bunch of tulips.  It turned my whole day around.”  The cards men write?  They are saved forever!

Well ladies… How about turning the tables on the man in your life?  Do men like receiving flowers as much as they like sending them?  Consider the following:

Your man may have never gotten flowers before.  What impact do you think your bouquet will have?  Will he remember them forever?  Chances are “yes”.  Will the flowers make him smile?  He will laugh, he will smile, and he will feel giddy and like a king amongst men.

Want to take your honey’s focus off his work and onto you?  Want to make him delirious for the rest of his workday?  Send him a big bouquet of “anything nice”!  His productivity will go down and he will love you for it.

Write a romantically witty card and you have doubled the impact.  You may embarrass him a little but that is OK.  Bring out his softer side just as you know that he is going out for happy hour drinks with the boys; or when you know that he is going somewhere to watch Monday Night Football.  What about when he got that big promotion, when he closes the big deal, or perhaps when he did not?  “I love you” is all you need the card to say; the flowers do the rest.

So what kind of flowers do you send your dude?  Do they need to be masculine, over the top rustic, dark colored with lots of pointy things, twigs and branches?  Not necessarily.  I would even suggest not.  Should they be super-pink and feminine?  Not that either!  Unless… he has a super sense of humor and the goal is to embarrass your construction worker on the jobsite!  If you want to be funny and he can handle it, then do send all-pink.

More seriously, what do you send a guy?  All flowers are beautiful so send him something beautiful!  There is no need to over try for “masculine flowers” (I don’t even know that there is such a thing).  Send him his favorite colors or scents that remind him of you.  Did you go to a romantic dinner and there was a bud vase on your table that became the topic of romantic conversation?  Send him a bouquet of those.

Here are a couple of “rules” in picking your flowers:

  • Make your bouquet with one type of flower.  Not a mixed bunch.
  • Make your flowers in a short vase.  Nothing too tall and not in a wicker basket.
  • No pastels…

Bright yellow or mango-toned miniature calla lilies, purple tulips, burgundy orchids, or even a tight nosegay of green roses will all achieve the results you dream of… To get his mind focused squarely on you and nothing else!

Men are just as capable of appreciating the moment, the beauty of the bloom and the heart of the person that sent them.  NEVER underestimate your man’s emotions.

So now you have an assignment –

a. Think about what your card will say.

b. Pick your flowers.

c. Send them…

When your mission is completed, go to our Facebook Page (click on this link) and tell us about your experience.

Starbright Floral Design is the Official Florist of Romance and has been voted by Citysearch as the top florist in New York City.  We are very proud to be the most reviewed and highest rated florist and  flower delivery service.  Please visit our website at http://starflor.com/ to gain a broader perspective on the work  that we do.  Additionally to send a gift you can visit our e-commerce portal To Send a Starbright Gift.

Love you all,

 

The Official Florist

Keeping Romance Alive Since 1994

Starbright Floral Design – The Official Florist of the City that Never Sleeps

Located in the Heart of New York City’s Historic Flower District.

150 West 28th Street, Studio 201

Voice: 800.520.8999

Web: www.starflor.com

E-Commerce Portal: www.starbrightnyc.com

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Flowers… The “Feel Good” Medicine

Bright Colors and Sunshine
Blooms make us all happy!

Flowers make people happy and bring out smiles. Are you skeptical?  Try it! Go to a local florist (Starbright Floral Design), call one (800.520.8999) or visit a floral website (www.starflor.com) and send someone something small and stylish.  Sit back and wait for a reaction.

As I have stated in earlier columns, the best reason ever to send flowers is “just because”. Sure there are the standard occasions (birthdays maternity and the like) but those are almost expected (predictable I would say). It is the spontaneity of the moment that brightens a day.  Flowers pack thunder in the world of positive feelings and emotions.   Flowers on someone’s desk in the middle of the day (when it is a total surprise) is emotional firepower.

Think about this: You say to someone “have a good day” and more often than not they will say “thanks, I’ll try”. Then you think to yourself: “No I mean it! I want you to have a good day”. So off you are to your florist outlet and you send flowers. An hour later they arrive with an appropriately witty card. Question: how hard does that person have to try to have a good day after they see the bright colors, the vibrant varieties and the fragrance that brings them to life?  Chances are that you did not just cause that person to have a good day, but more like a great week!

For the next seven days (or so), the person sees your flowers first thing in the morning or a soon as they arrive in the office and all they do is think of you. They think of the great friend that gifted them a smile!  Imagine your friend ever so carefully changing the water every day, cutting the bottom of the stems and taking care of YOUR flowers!  Why do they do this?  They want the flowers to live longer, the feeling to last.

What’s more, you feel good too.  The real bonus is how it made you feel.  When we do something nice for someone else, we invariably feel good too.  It is impossible to receive a smile and not smile back. When someone flat-out says “you made my day” or “you sure turned this one around for me”, you will defy gravity.  You will walk on air. Your confidence will rise and you will feel like you can do anything.  You are a champ.

Practicing random acts of kindness is something we all like to do. Finding the right random act is always the challenge. So whether it is your mom, your lover, a friend, your work subordinate (or boss) or even a client; find the right words for the card and let the flowers do the rest.

These thoughts are brought to you by Starbright Floral Design. We are located in the heart of New York City’s Historic Flower District and we specialize in turning average days into great ones! Yes, we are in the mood altering business. We send flowers everywhere and to everyone.

Starbright will deliver bright, happy and smile-bringing flowers anywhere in New York City, anywhere in the USA or even worldwide. We invite you to visit our website (www.starflor.com), give us a call (1.800.520.8999) or visit us at (150 West 28th Street). We would love to meet you and help shock someone special!

Hope you have a great day!

 

The Official Florist

Starbright Floral Design is the most reviewed and highest rated florist on Citysearch.com.

Website: www.starflor.com

E-Commerce Portal: www.starbrightnyc.com

1.800.520.8999

150 West 28th Street, Studio 201

New York City

Sending Flowers – How a Romantic Man Should…

Lavish her with flowers of the season...
It is amazing how you will be remembered by the flowers you send!

Well this is the second time I am writing on this subject as the first article that was written and met an overwhelmingly positive response.  Ka-billions of folks read it.  So without trying to rewrite the same article over again, I wanted to offer up a different perspective.

GUYS – your interest in a woman should be shown on many different levels.  Women notice little things and they will catch not only your little mistakes but also the little things that you do right.  So make your flower purchases part of what you do right.  Blow her away with the unexpected!

Here are some ideas to think about (I called them “rules” and then changed to “ideas” because there really are no “rules”):

Don’t send flowers only on the typical flower holidays (birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s, etc.).  If you limit your flower sending to just those types of days, you look predictable.  You appear as though you only send flowers because you could not figure out what else to do.  I am not saying NOT to send flowers on those occasions, but mix it up.  “Just because” is the BEST reason to send flowers of all.  If you do not have the budget to send flowers on the special days and on the non-special ones, then skip the birthday (do something else) and send flowers on one beautiful August morning with a note that says “I love you” or “Cannot stop thinking of you”!  It will mean a lot more because it is so unexpected and who does not want to be surprised?

Secondly, FORGET the dozen roses!  Again, roses make you look predictable (“ah just send her a dozen roses, all women love roses”… yada, yada).  Be a flower connoisseur (or at least look like one).   What is her favorite color?  Purple?  Then make her a bouquet of “everything purple” and so on.  Spend time with your florist in person or on the phone.  If your florist is unwilling to educate you and won’t spend time with you to share his love of flowers, then find a different florist.  Certainly if you come to Starbright (www.starflor.com) we would love to share our passion with you and you will walk away with a Bachelor’s in Romance!  Learn the names of flowers, learn how long they last, what is in season, and so on.

You want to keep things interesting.  Imagine that if you send her peonies or hydrangea she will for the rest of her life remember only you when she sees this flower.  If you send roses (I hate to say this) but how many men do you think will come to mind?  Do you stand a chance of standing out?  Send interesting and unusual flowers!  There are enough varieties and colors for you to select from that you will never have to send the same flowers twice even if you send flowers ever week for an entire year.  Invest a little bit of time and your education will more than pay off.

Lastly, all these e-romance websites can claim all they want about having the best track record for bringing people together, making the most compatible matches and so on… While I cannot statistically prove this, I will claim that the following is true:

Send flowers to someone you love and the scent of the flowers will remind them of you for a very long time.  Flowers do keep romances alive, they make men sensitive and keep couples in love.  Make flowers your secret weapon and the special person in your life will be there forever.

Falling in love, Starbright Style is a truly unique experience.  We deliver fresh flowers daily anywhere in Manhattan or around the world.  Starbright is a full service florist and flower delivery service located on 28th Street in New York City in the heart of “New York City’s Historic Flower District.  Visit us at 150 West 28th Street (2nd floor), call us at 800.520.8999 or you can visit our website at www.starflor.com to gain a much broader perspective on the work that we do.

Starbright Floral Design is the most reviewed and highest rated florist in Manhattan (by Citysearch) and also was voted the Best Florist in our area for your wedding as voted by The Knot (dot com).

“The Official Florist of the City That Never Sleeps” is also “The Official Florist of Romance”.

With love,

The Official Florist

Starbright Floral Design

150 West 28th Street, Studio 201, New York City.

Telephone: 800.520.8999

WEB address: www.starflor.com

E-Commerce Portal: www.starbrightnyc.com

Having a Corporate Flower Policy

Flowers are great for business!
Flowers bring appreciation, create strong bonds and boost morale.

Are you in Human Resources?  Perhaps an Office Manager? Perhaps you are the owner of a small to medium-sized firm?

Does your company like to send gifts to clients and employees alike?  Is it a cost that is outside of your normal budgets and you cannot seem to get a handle on how much money is being spent on flowers and related gifts?  If so, read on!

Starbright Floral Design (www.starflor.com) has helped many companies organize their gift giving so that it is both fair and a controlled expense.  Our clients send the occasion-appropriate gift and they always do so with great savings.  Here  is what you need to do:

  1. Pick ONE florist to do all your business with.  We would like it to be Starbright, but even if it is not, you still want to use one source and become one florist’s good customer.  It makes no sense to go to the yellow pages or to the  internet and say “gee, I wonder which florist I will pick today”.  By having one vendor you know that this person will take care of you.  You are an important client to the florist and you will get a few extra flowers, an upgrade and even issues that arise are more likely to be resolved in your favor.
  2. Standardize your occasions (both for employees and clients).  Do you want  to send gifts for maternity? sympathy? promotion? anniversary? get well? birthday?  If you know in advance what occasions automatically call for a flower gift, then there is no thought involved (should we do it? should we not?).  It is a task that has been pre-decided, delegated and the vendor has been pre-selected.
  3. Do you classify your team?  Executives, front line employees, new hires, etc. Do you want to plan on a certain expense for floral gifts based on an employees title?
  4. What about budgets? Typically in a Flower Policy, you will see something like: Sympathy – $125, Births – $75, Get Well – $50 and so on.
  5. You may also want to consider other offerings besides flowers that your local florist may have like Fruit and Gourmet Baskets, Plants, Orchids, Stuffed Animals, Balloons, and so much more.  The greater the specificity in your policy the more standardize the procedure becomes and the greater the chances of success.

Flowers are a great way to boost employee morale and a Flower Policy will take the guess-work out of the equation.  Oh! There is one added benefit – EVERYONE gets treated equally!  Imagine if one assistant sends a $75 get-well arrangement and the next assistant a $40 one! Employees talk… Employees wonder… Flower Policies are great!

Now that you have decided that you need a flower policy all of us at Starbright will be thrilled to help you write one and to work with you so that your program becomes a success.  We have helped many small and large, local and international organizations benefit from our experience  in this area.  Whenever  you have a free moment, please feel free to visit our website at www.starflor.com or our gift-giving portal at www.starbrightnyc.com.  All of us at Starbright will be thrilled to have the opportunity to be of service to you.

With our warmest regards,

 

The Official Florist

NOTE: You can also find us on Facebook!

Dutch Hydrangea in Short Supply…

Hydrangea From Holland
Hydrangea - Fantastical Love

Good day everyone…

We all love hydrangea and no doubt that this is the time of the year for it.  I just got word from our friends in Holland that the Dutch varieties are almost done for the year.  If you  are planning a wedding, have an event coming up and are planning to use these magnificent blooms, please consult with your team, your experts and you may want to consider a second choice.  Here is a verbatim copy of the notice I received in the past day or so…

Good morning, we just would like to update you on the Hydrangea situation as it is at this moment.

Hydrangea are getting more and more limited, and difficult to get good quality ones.  Especially the fresh colors like pink, white, blue are almost done.  They will be available for another week or two, but because they are so limited available, they are very, very, very expensive, please keep that in mind when you take wedding orders for these fresh colors!

The Green and Green-Red Antique ones are plenty available, green-red, red-green, antique red, antique green are all available, and in good quality, decent priced.

Antique blue is available pimpernel antique, really, really nice, but are expensive!

Antique pink is done, we really do not like the quality no longer of those.

This is an unedited note from one of our main suppliers in Holland and we are posting out there so that if anyone has made plans to use these varieties in  the next few weeks, please check with your supplier for alternate colors or alternative sources (South America).

All of us at Starbright are truly grateful for every opportunity that you offer us to be a part of your special events, to decorate for your corporate events, your weddings and to send every day flower gifts in New York City and worldwide.  We invite you to visit us at http://www.starflor.com or to give us a call at 800-52-8999.

Starbright Floral Design is “The Official Florist of the City That Never Sleeps” and we are located in the heart of New York City’s Historic Flower District – at 150 West 28th Street, Studio 201.

To send a gift anywhere  in the world you may do so by calling us or by visiting the E-Commerce  portal of our website by clicking HERE.

Have a great day (and sorry about the Hydrangea news!),

 

The Official Florist

 

 

 

Starbright Floral Design is Back in the Blogosphere…

Visit Starbright for Bright Fall Sunshine
There are many bright colors available year-round... These are just some of them!

Hello Friends!

After a long hiatus from our blog and as our scribes grew stale, we needed to jump-start our adventure all over again.  I wanted to title this entry “Starbright is Back” but that would not have been accurate as we never went away.  Our amazing flowers have been around all year-long and our decor has graced more venues than you can possibly imagine.  We have really had a fun year so far.

So much fun in fact that while we did not forget to blog, the truth is that we lost our stride.  Our fingers clamped up and the writing side of our brain stopped thinking (or writing what we thought!).  Anyways, here we are and  I almost would  like to take a moment to reintroduce ourselves, who we are and what we do….

Starbright Floral Design (www.starflor.com) was started in 1994 fifteen years ago as a premier floral provider to the special event and hospitality markets of New York City.  Since then we have grown to offer world-wide delivery of flowers, plants, orchids and gifts of all  sorts.  We have  won many awards and  accolades (both local and national), but what we are the most proud of is the reviews that you will see about Starbright online.

If you  go to Citysearch, Yelp or even Google, you will see that we are one of the most reviewed florists nationally and certainly the most reviewed in Manhattan.

Stay tuned for many great articles that are getting ready to come down the pike.  In the meantime, if you would  like to send someone amazing flowers give  us a call at 1-800-520-8999.  Or you can visit our website at www.starflor. com.  We would love to hear from you and help in every way that we can.

Many thanks to all our friends and  clients.  We will always look forward to being of service.

Warm regards,

The  Official Florist.

Starbright Floral Design – The Official Florist of the City that Never Sleeps

We are  located in the heart of New York City’s Historic Flower District.  On 28th Street, in Chelsea – between 6th and 7th Avenue.

 

Getting Married? Mistakes to Avoid With Your Flowers…

So you decided to get married? Congratulations!  Your special day is coming!  It is truly a big day for you, your partner, your family and your partner’s family!  A big congratulations to you all…

Tom and I were talking and in casual conversation the subject turned to what some of  the more common mistakes are that brides make when planning their wedding.  Well in his own words, some of the pitfalls… Read On!

Meet the Starbright Team!

In my humble opinion, the most common mistake couples make in regards to their wedding flowers is listing too much to other people’s opinions.  A wedding celebration should ultimately be a reflection of the couple and THEIR tastes, not a conglomeration of their friends and family’s style.

I often find myself repeating the mantra, “It’s your day, it’s about you two!”  Brides are commonly overly concerned with what their guest’s opinions may be and often fear being judged for making certain bold choices.   If your friends are critical and negative in regards to the choices you’ve made, are they really friends worth having?

Selecting décor that is opposition to the colors or architecture of the venue is another error that is common.  Don’t fight it!  Go with it!  It will always look better if you chose a color scheme that works within the room’s existing décor.  If you don’t have the budget to drape the room completely and create a blank slate, you will always have a more harmonious design scheme if you complement the surroundings.

You will spend less of your budget if you are not trying to distract from or cover over the undesired elements of the room’s trappings.

Here in New York City we have many venues with incredible views.  If your venue has stunning skyline or river views, why distract your quests with overly complicated, tall centerpieces?

Generally, you’ve paid a pretty penny for the view!  Why take away from that?!  I would suggest doing a lower centerpiece so that your guests’ eyes go toward that stunning vista.  Perhaps it would be better to create a composite style of arrangement with multiple vases that echo the skyline your quests will be spend the evening admiring.

A little bit about Starbright Floral Design… Starbright is a full-service florist that offers a wide array of services to its clientele.  We are located in the heart of New York City’s Historic Flower District (on 28th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenue).  We serve the general public, our corporate clientele and the Manhattan Hospitality and Special Events Industry all from one central location. Delivery of Flowers, Plants and all types of gifts is available from our store at 150 West 28th Street, by phone at 800.520.8999 or by visiting our website at www.starflor.com.  We hope to see you soon!

We LOVE the Newest Member of the Starbright Family!

Every year in January, Tom Sebenius (our Creative Director) takes a sabbatical to go to his home state of California to work decorating floats for the Rose Bowl Parade.  This past January there was a professor and some students from BYU that were a part of the creative team in Pasadena as well.  Through good old fashioned networking, Tom heard about Jaime Garrett (A BYU – Idaho) who was just dying to find an internship in a high impact florist and would just be thrilled with a New York City experience in the Summer of 2010.

After a few back and forth emails, Jaime packed her bags from Idaho and headed East for the summer.  She has been  with us for about six weeks now, taking in the New York City experience and having the time of her life in our store.  All I can say is that I truly hope that she is enjoying her time with us and getting as much out of this experience as we are by having met her.  Jaime is an amazing, dedicated and super dynamic person that will truly be missed when she heads back to school at the end of her internship.

They say that a worthwhile life is a life that you spend positively touching the lives of others.  Jaime has touched us all with  her smile, her positive outlook and her attention to detail.  A true pro in the making.  JAIME:  You have made lifelong friends at Starbright!

Here is a short version of Jaime’s experience at Starbright in her own words:

I am Jaime Garrett and I am a student at Brigham Young University Idaho. I am currently studying horticulture with a floral design emphasis. One requirement of a horticulture major is to do an internship. Ever since I learned that I would need to do an internship, I knew I wanted to intern in New York.  There was something about the city the never sleeps that always intrigued me.  So, when the time came for me to find an internship I made a list of different floral shops and began my hunt to find the right place for me. I found Starbright Floral Design through students and teachers from school who had worked with some of the Starbright team at the Pasadena Rose Parade. When Starbright said they were willing to take me on for the summer I could not have been more excited.

When I arrived in New York I was overwhelmed with the millions of people, the crazy taxi drivers and the very confusing subway system.  But, I was not going to let a little culture shock bring me down! I was ready to start work at Starbright. Things were definitely different and new to me when I first started working and I had a lot to learn.  I was excited to learn more and adapt to their style of design. Everything about they way the designed impressed me and made me want to learn more.

I have now been working at Starbright for a few weeks and am really enjoying myself. Some of the things I have had the great experience to be part of are; working on events and parties, working on site at hotels, and helping with wedding work. I have learned more than I could ever imagine and am still learning more each day. My time here is not done, and I am really grateful for that!

A few words  about Starbright Floral Design:

We are a premier New York City Florist (highest rated on Google and Citysearch) that specializes in décor (plant and cut flower) for corporate and institutional clientele.  Our plantings and floral is featured in many prominent New York City offices, hotels and restaurants throughout Manhattan (references are available).  We are permanent members of NYC & Company and HSMAI.  Our presence in the corporate community has been well documented since our inception in 1994.

Starbright is located in New York City’s Historic Flower District on 28th Street.  Our location enables us to provide outstanding service and prices while offering displays whose freshness is at its peak.

You may visit us online at www.starflor.com or call us at 800.520.8999

Starbright on National TV

On Thursday the First of July Starbright Floral Design will be featured on the Today Show in the 8AM to 9AM time slot.  Our very own Stephen Faitos leads our team in  the execution and design of a backyard deck for a couple in Brooklyn… Watch the Today Show tomorrow and see what we are all about!

Visit our website at www.starflor.com to learn more about our organization and the type of work that we do.  Would you like to send someone a gift anywhere around the world? CLICK HERE for the gift section of our site or CLICK HERE if you would like to see our online portfolio for events.  We would love to hear from you!  Give us a call at 800.520.8999 or go on line.

Thank you to all our friends and clients that have made the last fifteen years of Starbright more amazing than we could ever imagine!

The Official Florist

Starbright Exclusives…

Our new designs are here! Introducing the Starbright Exclusives…

We invite you to visit our website at www.starflor.com and once on our site click on the giant “G” for gifts.  There is an entire section devoted to Starbright Exclusives.  (It is listed on the top left).  In this section you will see new, modern and unique gift ideas that were created at our own design table.

Apple Lime Ice

These gift selections are not part of a mass catalog that any FTD-type florist can recreate.  Rather they are bespoke and created with individuality and to your taste.  The Starbright Exclusives section is a line of floral gifts that is available in New York City (within our own delivery area) and in most major markets where  we have developed strong partnerships with florists that adhere  to the same principles of design and customer service that we do.  This is a group of stores that has developed a code of standards that exceeds the typical flowers by wire environment.  By placing your flower order with us, you know that your request is in great hands and your gift will always be delivered just as you requested. Click on THIS LINK to see all our unique designs.

What is even more  fun, is that as our designs are being rolled out we are giving our clients the opportunity to name the arrangements!  Every time we are about to add a design to our collection, we will post the photo on our Facebook page and we will ask our fans (over 1600 at the present moment) to submit their ideas of  what we should call each composition.  Names have been created like “Purpleberry Lady”, “Orchid Alleycat” and “Apple Lime Ice” and they have all come from our friends and fans.

Exotic orchids, amazing calla lillies, elegant presentations of spring flowers and the most modern presentations imaginable are all there.  Have a look at our collection (CLICK HERE) and have a look.  We hope you find the presentations to be both refreshing and an interesting alternative  to common flowers!

Starbright Floral Design is a leading floral organization in the New York Metropolitan Area with our studio located in the Historic Flower District on 28th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.  We have been honored by our audience as the most reviewed florist in New York City (consistently earning five stars), recognized by Citysearch and The Knot as the top florist in New York City for 2009 and 2010.

Flowers, Festivals and Celebrations.  It is what we do!
Cheers, Nf

Find us online, give us a call (800.520.8999) or stop on by.  We would love to meet you!