Flower File : Clematis

Clematis
Clematis

 

Quick Notes /

Sometimes refereed to as Queen-of-the-vines, clematis is a member of the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family. It can be found in most countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Clematis grows naturally as a climbing vine / lianasand has been harvested by many cultures for it’s medicinal values. But be careful! Clematis are toxic if eaten.

 

Visual Notes /

With over 250 cultivars grown around the world, the clematis flower is visually varied. All varieties feature a number of leafy petals clustered around the center of the flower. The colors range widely, but blue-purple, white and pink are especially popular.

 

History /

Because it’s found everywhere, Clematis is one of the first flowers early botanists and genetic researchers really took note of. As a result, it was widely used in early genetic experiments. Many of the British cultivars are the result of this early groundwork in understanding genetics.

 

Clematis
Clematis


Insider Info /

– The name Clematis comes from the Greek word “klematis,” meaning vine.

– Clematis are scented, but their scent is rarely strong enough for perfume making.

– A few clematis varieties change color when between blooming.  This is caused by environmental factors, like sunlight.

 

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Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.

A Hand Picked Romance

At Starbright Floral Design in New York City we’re inspired by the stories clients share with us. Roughly one out of every fifteen weddings we get to participate in decorating this season are for same-sex couples. Each one comes with a unique pair of individuals, with love in their eyes and a desire to give their family and friends an event to remember. We’re excited to share their experiences, and how those experiences have inspired us as we continue through the seasons.

As seen on The Edge, Boston 

Floral centerpieces
Centerpiece with late Summer garden flowers

 

A Hand-Picked Romance

“My partner and I have been dreaming about getting married for fifteen years. Being a same sex couple, I thought it would remain but a dream. When New York gave us the right to make it official we jumped at the chance. We booked a restaurant downtown for an intimate celebration with thirty or so friends. The floral designs were wildflower themed. I told Starbright I wanted it to look like I picked the flowers out of my garden. What they came up with from such limited direction was incredible. We got married in New York, with friends around us, with good food, surrounded by beautiful flowers. It was a dream come true. Starbright’s help in making this dream a reality can’t be overstated.”

– Shared by Jonathan V.

Jonathan and his partner’s earnestness inspired the Starbright team to craft arrangements that would imbue the atmosphere with the same sweet, everyday hopefulness that goes along with a bouquet of wildflowers.

Working With Wildflowers

Starbright-Flowers18

The trick to successfully using wildflowers for wedding decor is to know which varieties are in season. From early Spring to late Summer, new bloom varieties appear in the shop each week. Some of our favorites re-appear only briefly before they disappear again until next year. In Spring, blooms such as the lace-like aster, sweet smelling lilies of the valley, and the many petaled ranunculus are popular for weddings because they remind us of new beginnings and softer feelings. Late Summer wildflowers are a whole different ballgame. Be ready for bright colors, lots of texture and a trip to the wild side.

Late summer wildflowers tend to be wind-swept-and-wild. The colors, shapes, and textures are a great way to add a twist to standard floral fare. During this time of year, herbaceous florals begin to fill the Starbright Floral Design cooler; small, untraditional blooms stand out amongst twisted stems in shades of green. Great for adding dimension, texture, and scent, herbs first became popular in wedding arrangements during the Victorian era when they were used to also convey specific meanings. For the traditionalists, our favorite herbs to include are lavender for luck and devotion, rosemary to remember friends and family who cannot attend, and sage for a long life together. And for the bride or groom with stage fright, thyme or mint in the boutonnière is a must – the scents will help keep you calm and collected.

Unlike many popular wedding flowers, wildflower arrangements actually look better when they aren’t meant to be identical! The wild nature and shape of these flowers keeps them unified and also unique, just like the couple saying “I do.”

Today, weddings don’t have to mean what they used to. Mix it up! Define what’s right for you and then explore it. When it comes to the flowers, we’re here to help. From all of us at Starbright Floral Design, congratulations AND best wishes to all the happy couples!

 

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Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.

Color Profile : Yellow

Ever wonder where flowers got their “meanings”?

Color psychologist don’t. And they have loads of studies backing up their theories.

The general model of color psychology relies on six basic principles:

  1. Color can carry specific meaning.
  2. Color meaning is either based in learned meaning or biologically innate meaning.
  3. The perception of a color causes evaluation automatically by the person perceiving.
  4. The evaluation process forces color motivated behavior.
  5. Color usually exerts its influence automatically.
  6. Color meaning and effect has to do with context as well.[1]

Over at Starbright Floral Design, we get to work with lots of colors everyday and all of us have our favorites. But why are they our favorites and what does that say? First color up for consideration, the king of the color psychology world:

Yellow

Starbright floral design yellowHow wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun. -Vincent Van Gogh

Yellow is most often associated with happiness and competence. Due to the amount of light that is reflected, yellow is the most visible color of the spectrum. Because it is so easy to see, yellow is more attention-getting than other colors. It also stimulates stronger reactions in people than most other colors.

Starbright Floral Designs in Yellow
Starbright Floral Designs in Yellow

 

To an office

A little yellow in an office goes a long way.  Physiologically, yellow stimulates mental activity.  It can help to increase the speed of analytical processes and logical reasoning.

 

To support and encourage

A bouquet of yellow flowers can increase the recipients energy, confidence, and happiness level. Bright yellows also relate an optimistic outlook, while pale yellows may be better for also communicating sympathy.

 

To congratulate

Help aim the spotlight and say “well done!” with an arrangement that calls attention to the recipient.

 

 

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Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.

 

Flower File Friday : Sunflower

Sunflower
Sunflower

QUICK NOTES /
Native to the Americas, but grown in Europe from the 16th century in large numbers, sunflowers are cultivated and used around the world as cut flowers, a source of oil, and a source of food in the form of seeds. Because it was introduced during the Age of Discovery, the religions of Europe didn’t have any qualms with practicioners using sunflower oil to cook during Sabbath – it’s popularity was as much a result of it’s beauty as it was it’s usefulness. It’s thought that sunflowers point their blooms towards the sun throughout the day – while this behavior, known as heliotropism, is sometimes observed in young plants, typically flowers end up facing east (and staying that way!)
VISUAL NOTES /
Sunflowers come in a wide variety of yellow, red and golden hues. The “seeds” of the sunflower are actually little tiny flowers – on some varietals the seeds will actually open, while in plants with a dark center the seeds are closed. Sunflowers grow on hairy stems that are stiff enough to stand up eight to twelve feet straight.
FLOWER HISTORY /
Native to North America, the Sunflower was domesticated as early as 3000BCE. Much later, around 1500CE, Spanish explorers brought the bold headed flower back to Europe.  Though the flower was generally thought to be ornamental in Western Europe, by 1716 an English patent was granted for squeezing oil from sunflower seed and by 1830 Sunflower oil was manufactured on a commercial scale. In Russia, during the same time, farmers were growing over 2 million acres of the sunny flowers for foodstuffs. “By 1880, seed companies were advertising the ‘Mammoth Russian’ sunflower seed in catalogues. This particular seed name was still being offered in the US in 1970, nearly 100 years later. 
INSIDE INFO /
– Sunflowers are a great gift for celebrations of life – they’re great in baby shower arrangements.
– Wild Sunflowers don’t look anything like their cultivated cousins. In the wild, sunflowers have many branches with small flower heads and small seeds.
– The sunflower is the state flower of the US state of Kansas, and one of the city flowers of Kitakyūshū, Japan, and the national flower of the Ukraine.

 

 

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Looking for flowers in New York City? Visit our Event Gallery for inspiration. Or see our daily selection at Starbrightnyc.com.

 

Protea

Pincushion Protea
Pincushion Protea

 

QUICK NOTES /
With a wide variety of styles and typically larger bud sizes, a protea bouquet is a dynamic choice for situations that want a bold floral statement.
According to the language of flowers, proteas symbolize diversity and courage.
VISUAL NOTES /
With over 1,400 cultivated varieties, there’s quite a bit of variance among members of the protea family. There are three dominant petal shapes – feathery spikes, leafy spades, and more stiff colored scallops. Buds come in a wide variety of colors, as well, with individual petals often showing color gradation. Overall, protea tends to be large enough to act as the focal point of an arrangement.
FLOWER HISTORY /
Named by the famed botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1735 for Proteus, a Greek water god who could change it’s form at will, to allude to the dizzying array of shapes the plant comes in. Native to southern and eastern Africa, protea are among the only flowers who’s nectar was used as a sweetener. The Boers of South Africa called sweeteners made from protea nectar bossiestroop, which was more-or-less rainwater and plant nectar drained from the flower into a bucket, cooked down into a syrup, and used to sweeten tea.
INSIDE INFO /
Pincushion protea are an especially interesting plant – the long spiky petals have enough structure that they are able to serve as creative placecard holders or picture frames.

NYC Summer Flowers Series: Gladiolus

NYC Summer Flowers:Gladiolus
NYC Summer Flowers:Gladiolus

Gladiolus

Gladiolus is the August birth flower.  It has been dubbed the flower of the Gladiators and a much-loved flower in NYC.   It represents strength of character, sincerity, generosity.  In the Victorian age with its secret language of flowers it was said to represent “love at first sight”. Gladiolus derives its name from the Latin word for sword and is sometimes called the sword lily.  As a member of the iris family it contains about 260 species.   Only about 10 are native to Europe the rest are native to southern Africa.  The species vary from very small to the spectacular giant flower spikes you see in floral designs. The flower stalk of the Gladiolus contains an extended row of trumpet-shaped, fragrant flowers, all of which face in one direction. Their colors include pink to reddish or light purple with white, contrasting markings, or white to cream or orange to red.

For some great ideas on summer flowers in NYC please visit our website at http://www.starbrightnyc.com/ and take complete advantage of all the great flowers that the season has to offer!

Hope you are staying cool and are surrounded by the splendor and beauty of Gladiolas!

Sincerely,

Nicodemus Faitos and The Team at Starbright Floral

Peonies Season – Almost Over!

Peony season is almost over!
Visit us by phone, in our studio or online to see the last of the season’s peonies. Brought to you by Starbright Floral Design.

Peonies are a late springtime flower and their season is almost over.  All of us at Starbright Floral Design enjoy the time of the year when peonies make their grand entrance in the late springtime.  We will continue to bring them to you from Holland as they may be available for a few more weeks – but soon it will be a wait until next year!

There are many other floral varieties that are making a grand entrance into the summertime and we hope you enjoy them all!  For some great ideas on summer flowers please visit our website at http://www.starbrightnyc.com/ and take complete advantage of all the great flowers that the season has to offer!

Hope you are staying cool and having fun! The Starbright Team

NYC Valentine’s Day Flowers & Gifts: A New Yorker’s Survival Guide

Roses, chocolates, gourmet baskets and mixed flower arrangements by Starbright in NYC and throughout the world will clearly deliver the desired message to a loved one on Valentine’s Day.   Flowers in concert with Godiva or Baci chocolate is a safe bet.  Even better, for the person who believes “one day is not enough to display my love for you”, is a blooming orchid plant guaranteed to excite for weeks to come.  For the person who believes “one day is not enough and I missed my chance to declare my love by jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch”, is a standing order of flowers to be delivered weekly or monthly (contact us for more details).

Tips on what not to do; the no-nos of valentine’s day gift giving.  Do not send a gift containing a thinly veiled message of “you’re fat”.  Examples of these are edible arrangements, gym membership or gift certificate to diet centers. Do not send a gift of flowers that travel in a box across the country.  Imagine how you would look and feel after a long airplane ride followed by a holdover in a warehouse, followed by handling by a freight operator working a double shift on a holiday somewhere.  The same holds true for those flowers.  Instead of delivering a smile and message of love, they deliver a lesson in mortality.  The number one no-no for Valentine’s day is to forget about it all together.  Avoid this tragic mistake by ordering your gifts from Starbright early and painlessly.

This public service memo is brought to you by Starbright Floral Design, voted “The Best Florist of New York City”.  Along the way we try to find and write about the fun side of flowers.  Starbright delivers flowers all over the world for the endless romantics everywhere.

Starbright Floral Design is the “Official Florist of Romance” and most of the time we deliver flowers, love, passion and hope everywhere in Manhattan and worldwide.  Sometimes we deliver yellow carnations.

Give us a call, visit our website or pop on in!  We would love to meet you….

Passionately yours,

The Official Florist

Starbright Floral Design

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

150 West 28th Street, Studio 201.

T. 800.520. 8999

Web: www. starflor.com

E-commerce portal: www.starbrightnyc.com

November Birth Flower: Chrysanthemums, flower with an identity crisis…

Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a flowering herb in the 15th Century BC.  The flower was brought to Japan in the 8th Century and the Emperor adopted the flower as his official seal.  The flower was brought to Europe in the 17th Century and named from the Greek for “Gold Flower”, a reflection of its original color.

The Chrysanthemum - November Flower....

These days the flowers come in various forms and can be daisy-like, decorative pompons, or buttons.  In addition to the traditional yellow, other colors are available such as white, purple and red.

In the United States, Chrysanthemums are identified as cheerful holiday flowers.  Fall arrangements and Thanksgiving Day Flowers in NYC and throughout the country incorporate Chrysanthemums in their decor.  However, many European countries (France, Italy, Spain, Hungary and Croatia) have identified Chrysanthemums with death.  Accordingly, their use in floral arrangements is limited to funerals or on graves.

Other Uses:

Be sure to bring Chrysanthemums with you when taking a walk in the jungle.  The flower is considered a natural source as an insect repellent.  The Pyrethins when extracted and applied on the skin in an oil suspension or as a powder can be lethal to insects such as mosquitoes.  The Chinese have used the flower for its antiseptic and antibiotic qualities for centuries.

Starbright Floral Design is located  in the heart of New York City’s Historic Flower District.  We are in a second floor loft space from where our customer’s orders get dispatched.  To learn more about our organization and the work that we do, we would like to invite you to visit our website at www.starflor.com or you may call us at 800.520.8999.  Either way, we would be thrilled to hear from you and to be of service.

Starbright deliverers flowers in Manhattan (our home city) as well as world-wide.  In addition to flowers and plants, fruit and gourmet baskets, balloon and the like; we are also the go-to florist for events (both corporate and personal).  Flowers, Festivals & Celebrations…. It is what we do!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

 

Starbright Floral Design

“The Official Florist of the City that Never Sleeps”

website: starflor.com

to order flowers: www.starbrightnyc.com

by phone: 800.520.8999

Starbright Floral Design: Our Press Kit

Hot off the press this is our updated Press Kit.  It will be distributed to all our friends, corporate clients and to all who consider us as  their florist in the years to come.  To share with our readers and to give everyone an idea of what the Starbright brand stands for, the accomplishments of our team and to let everyone know what we have been up to, we are posting our corporate resume on Blooming Thoughts…. Thank you to everyone for a wonderful seventeen years!

We raise our glass to everyone that helped us get here and contributed so much along the way.  Our clients, the concierges at the hotels we serve, the venues, the event planners, our corporate clients, those who have trusted us with sending flowers to your loved ones… AND of course the entire Starbright Team.  Everyone who has passed through our doors has left their mark.  Thank you for all you  taught us and the footprint you left behind.  Here is to a bright future to everyone we know… Thank you!

Nic Faitos, Senior Partner – Starbright Floral Design

“The Official Florist of the City that Never Sleeps”

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

Flowers, Festivals & Celebrations… It is what we do!

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF STARBRIGHT FLORAL DESIGN

Starbright was founded in 1994 as a corporate and institutional florist in New York City with a mission to serve the non-walk-in and non-retail trades.  The focus has always been to serve the corporate floral and decorating needs of our clients.

We occupy production and administration space in a loft on 28th street in the center of the wholesale flower market.  Starbright is open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

In the past sixteen plus years we have had the opportunity to develop relationships and execute events at the most known venues throughout Manhattan including most hoteliers and restaurateurs.  In excess of two-hundred of the city’s top concierges at the leading hotels of Manhattan use us as their go-to florist.

Today Starbright is positioned to execute its plans for growth into the future with exemplary customer service and a quality product at a fair price.  Protecting the standard of quality and service that we have set over the years is our priority.  We will always be known as a supplier that offers a customer experience that earns five stars at every level; from the first encounter on the telephone to the execution of our client requests.

‘’When the history books write the Starbright Story, we will be judged kindly if we remembered to always do our best, give everyone we meet a smile and lead our industry with innovation, creativity, quality and service.’’

Statement of Mission, Starbright Floral Design, 14 September 1994.

 

 

 

 

 

CAPABILITIES AND SERVICES

Sending Flowers Anywhere – Through our private network of florists we are able to send exquisite floral gifts (as well as gourmet baskets and plants) anywhere around the world.  From our own store we can deliver anywhere in Manhattan even if the order comes in late in the afternoon.  With about three or four hours notice we can send flowers anywhere in the USA during local business hours.

Weekly Flowers – Seasonal flower varieties in a vase that will alter in style from time to time. The floral varieties will vary with the season and in no two weeks will either the flowers or the design be identical.  The designs will be sculpted to blend seamlessly and complement your décor and replenished weekly.

Event Décor – No event is too big or too small to receive the personalized service and expertise of an experience Starbright representative.  From holiday parties, client hospitality events as well as events at any venue in New York City (or beyond) we can provide consulting services and decorations at any level. Most of the recognized venues in New York City are familiar with Starbright Floral Design as we have decorated at most places on multiple occasions (Ellis Island, Madison Square Garden, The Plaza Hotel, and many others). We welcome you to review a sampling of our work at www.starflor.com

Human Resources and Client Gifting – We are fully capable of delivering a gift of flowers, plant or fruit and gourmet baskets anywhere in the United States on a same day basis and with 48 hours notice worldwide. At any budget that you may have, we will be happy to provide gift flora at anytime and anywhere. As part of our commitment to HR we can either help implement or follow existing flower policies set by our clients.

Plant Maintenance – To many of our clients we provide lush phalaenopsis orchid plants for a pre-set monthly fee and we arrive at the office once weekly to take care of all the orchid plants. When the orchids are fully bloomed and start to drop their flowers we replace the plants with new ones (once about every six weeks) at no additional cost to our client.

Employee Discounts – We offer our services at a discounted rate to the employees of all the companies that we work with. Once our relationship is established, employee who calls upon us and identifies his/her affiliation will receive a discount on any floral (or related) gift that they send at anytime, anywhere to anyone. This is a benefit that they can use repeatedly and has virtually no limitations beyond a low minimum of $35.

We are also involved with many clients and PR firms to create a variety of Co-Branding, Continuity and Cross-Promotional Programs.

 

STORE HOURS

  • We are open and delivering seven days per week.
  • Our Monday to Saturday hours are 8AM to 8PM.
  • Sunday we are open from 9AM to 6PM.

 

CREDENTIALS

Starbright Floral Design is a member of the following professional organizations:

  • NYC & Company – the tourism marketing arm of New York City. We have donated for all their events (including Annual Meetings, Galas, POW WOW, etc) since 1994.
  • Society of American Florists – This is the lobbying body for all florists and cut flower growers in Washington DC. Nic Faitos (our Senior Partner) has been an invited speaker on a variety of subjects with the organization’s conferences, annual meetings, etc.  Additionally, Starbright is regularly quoted in SAF’s industry magazine, Floral Management.
  • HSMAI – The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International.
  • Chamber of Commerce – New York City
  • Teleflora – a recognized leader in flower-by-wire services throughout the world. Starbright Floral Design ranks in the top 50 members in an organization of over 20,000 members worldwide.

 

Recognitions and Awards:

  • The highest rated and most reviewed florist based on user reviews online (five stars across the board) on sites such as Citysearch, Google, Yelp and the like.
  • Was awarded “Best of” by Citysearch users.
  • Selected as “best florist” for weddings by The Knot.

 

CLIENT ROSTER SAMPLING

  • The New York Marriott Marquis
  • All W properties in New York City
  • Gramercy Park Hotel
  • British Airways
  • Ernst & Young
  • BBVA
  • NYU Dental School
  • Baruch College of Business
  • Columbia University Teacher’s College
  • The Kitano New York
  • Open Hospitality
  • Axel Johnson
  • Edelman PR
  • Quintessentially
  • NYC & Company
  • Oscar de la Renta
  • The NBA
  • Jimmy Choo
  • Benjamin Steakhouse
  • Spirit Cruises
  • American Eagle Outfitters
  • World Yacht
  • VISA USA

 

NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE SUPPORT

  • The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
  • Big Brothers / Big Sisters of New York City
  • Jumpstart
  • Coalition for the Homeless
  • The Ronald McDonald House
  • Fashion Fights Cancer

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION….

Our website:

www.starflor.com

Our e-commerce portal:

www.starbrightnyc.com

Our Web Log:

Starbrightfloral.wordpress.com

Social Media:

www.facebook.com/StarbrightFloralDesign

www.twitter.com/#!/starbrightFD

LinkedIn Profiles:

www.linkedin.com/ (search: Starbright Floral Design and Nic Faitos)

150 West 28th Street – Studio 201 – New York City – 10001

800.520.8999