On International Mother’s Day, Sunday 9th May, you have a special chance to declare your love to the dearest person in the world – your Mother. Don’t take Mom for granted and show your gratitude and love by sending beautiful Spring Flowers!

With Flowers by Florists sending flowers overseas to your Mom is easy and more affordable! Just enter Voucher Code SPRING10 at the check-out page and get 10% discount on the splendid bouquet or arrangement you are sending.

Like a ray of sunshine, gorgeous fresh flowers will make this day special for your Mom!


Voucher Code valid until 1 June 2010

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night – November 5th

Remember, Remember

The fifth of November

Gunpowder Treason and Plot

We see no reason

Why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot!

Wish someone a Happy Bonfire Night with fresh bouquet from Flowers by Florists!
Just enter the Voucher Code FIREWORK6  at check-out in the reserved field and get 6% off your flower order.

British Summer Time Ends

Don't forget to change clocks backwards by one hour on Sunday 25th October and remind your loved ones.
Best option to do so is to send them a sweet reminder with fresh bouquet from Flowers by Florists!
Just enter the Voucher Code STIME6 at check-out in the reserved field and get 6% off your flower order.

Honour our fallen soldiers on Remembrance Day with Flowers by Florists

We will never forget all those who fought for our freedom and peace.
On November 11th we'll stand in silent prayer for our Grandfathers, Fathers, Husbands, Brothers and Sons...
Let's commemorate them with silently beautiful wreath or roses from Flowers by Florists.
Just enter the Voucher Code RMDAY8 at check-out in the reserved field and get 8% off your flower order.

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British Florist Association Newsletter Update

Next Hub Meeting and RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year Heat

Thursday 8th October -  Van Vliet Cash & Carry, Unit 5 Wednesbury One, Black Country New Road, WS10 7NZ

Start time 6.30pm, demonstration by Sarah Cunningham. Please register your intent to attend by emailing info@britishfloristassociation.org with your shop name and number of attendees. Hub meetings are free to BFA members (2 attendees per shop) and £10 per head thereafter, and non members may also attend at £10 per head.

To enter the competition you will need to submit a piece of floristry, following the relevant competition schedule, into one of the regional qualifying heats to be held at the BFA Hub Meetings. The highest scoring entries from each category will qualify for a place at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. See the BFA website for full details and further dates. Two categories available: Under 25, and 25 and over.

Competition schedule: Create and Design a funeral tribute for a keen gardener.Fresh flowers/ foliage must predominate. The judges will be looking for a high standard of composition and technique.

Minimum Wage Increase

A gentle reminder regarding changes in law on October 1st 2009

THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE WILL INCREASE TO:

£5.80 - workers aged 22 and older
£4.83 - workers aged 18 to 21
£3.57 - workers aged 16 to 17

ALSO REDUNDANCY PAY WILL INCREASE FROM £350 TO £380 PER WEEK.

 FleurEx Free Giveaways!

Our Conference Flower Sponsors, Dutch Creations have announced free surprise giveaways, for the first 100 attendees at FleurEx on Saturday, and first 100 on Sunday!     Trade Exhibitors UTV Internet will also be offering a free 1GB USB memory stick to all attendees who visit their stand.

If you are a BFA member and have not yet registered for your FREE FleurEx ticket, don't leave it too much longer as you may miss out! Tickets will also be available on the day at £10 per person, cash only. Full information on FleurEx, including demonstrations, trade fair, business seminars and hands on workshops, can be seen on our website: http://www.britishfloristassociation.org/home.htm?id=18

Retail Workshop Update

 it too Over 100 delegates have now attended the Florist Management Workshops “Managing through the downturn in the UK Florist Industry”. The response continues to be outstanding - 75% of delegates said the workshop “exceeded” their expectations!

Please find what florists had to say at the most recent workshops ...

“A good day, lots of new ideas to take away – thank you” – The Rose Bower Sutton in Ashfield

“The information was very relevant and will be helpful for future planning, the workshop exceeded my personal objectives” – Young Blooms Trowbridge

“I was very excited to come today; Paul met all my expectations and showed great knowledge” The Stem and Petal Co. London

“Very insightful, made me think outside my comfort zone – thank you” Ena’s Florist Bournemouth

“In all honesty, all the of the workshop was very helpful – I’m a new start-up florist business” Flowers of Perfection Bath

Delegates have stated the following areas are of particular help to their business:
• Web Development
• Margin improvement
• Improving your pricing position 
• Building the company business plan - issues and opportunities
• Creating competitive advantage – competing online
• Future market and customer trends
• Sustainability and Fair Trade
• Business efficiencies – particularly improving cash flow
• Winning new and profitable customers
• Increasing customer transaction spend – 29 gifting occasions
• In-store design, product ranging, point of sale and staff training

Future Training and Skills
UK Independent Florists face significant challenges to remain competitive, particularly at this time of economic uncertainty. One of our most valuable assets is the skills of our staff – young and old.
Investment in staff skills improves: Business Profitability, Competitiveness, Productivity, Staff Morale and Motivation, Customer Service
 At the Management Workshop we identify the future skills and development needs for owners, directors and staff. Also, we put in place the right Company Training Plan, which is precisely aligned to improve your Company’s future financial and competitive performance.

Autumn Workshops - Delegate places remain available at the following 2009 Management Workshops:

• Darlington – 14 October
• Newcastle - 15 October
• Exeter – 20 October
• Crawley – 22 October
• Chelmsford – 4 November
• Cambridge – 5 November  
• Norwich – 11 November
• Ipswich - 12 November 
• High Wycombe – 17 November
• Oxford – 18 November
• Luton – 19 November

Remember if you employ 5 staff or more inc. owners, partners, directors and part-time staff you are eligible to recover the full cost of the workshop through the Train to Gain Leadership and Management Scheme. Workshop registration is easy – just visit and download the Registration Form from the BFA website http://www.britishfloristassociation.org/home.htm?id=47

Cheer Up your Grandparents with Flowers by Florists

Send your love to the world's greatest Grandma and Grandma on October 4th - Grandparents Day!
It's easy to do with touchingly beautiful Flowers by Florists.
Just enter the Voucher Code GPDAY8 at check-out in the reserved field
and get 8% off your magnificent fresh flowers.

Flowers by Florists will deliver the sweetest congratulations to your lovely Grandparents!

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Cast a spell on someone special with SPOOKtacular Halloween Flowers

Decorate your home with thrillingly beautiful flower arrangement or send a fabulous bouquet to someone you love this Halloween.
It's easy to do with Flowers by Florists! Just enter the voucher code HALLO8 at checkout in the reserved field and get 8% off your thrillingly beautiful flower order.

Treat yourself or a friend to a charming flower gift from Flowers by Florists!

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Summer moves on... And it's time to enjoy relaxing cool of Autumn! Golden yellow, orange and deep red colors of our gorgeous bouquets, arrangements and hand tied flowers will keep your summer feelings alive.

So spread the warmth of your heart to someone special with our fabulous Autumn flowers! Just enter the Voucher Code AUTUMN10 at check-out in the reserved field and receive 10% off your magnificent fresh flower order.

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Welcome to the new style BFA e-news!

You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time,simply click the link at the bottom of the page.

 New BFA Website

We're very excited about our brand new website, which is due to launch any day now... we'll be sending out an update when it is live, so you can tell us what you think!

Florist Management Workshop Update!

The BFA in partnership with CBG and Train to Gain continue to deliver the highly successful Florist Management Workshops throughout the Autumn of 2009 – since the June launch the response has been outstanding - 72% of delegates said the workshop “exceeded” their expectations!

Please find what delegates had to say from the August workshops ………………….

“I have found the workshop to be extremely useful for my future plans and taking the business forward. The workshop was an excellent introduction to thinking about the wider picture and how florists could develop their business. The ideas I took away from this workshop have taken shape into plans to implement in the future”

Stem by Stem – Folkestone

“Very insightful – the workshop made me think outside my comfort zone”

Ena’s Florist - Bournemouth

“I was really excited to attend the Management Workshop – it met all my expectations”

Stem and Petal – London

“In honesty, I found the entire workshop relevant and helpful to my business”

Flowers of Perfection - Bath

At the workshop we present and build new strategies with you to meet the future challenges and opportunities facing Independent Florists, the most popular areas of discussion and strategy development are:

Managing in the recession
Winning new and profitable customers
Increasing customer transaction spend – 29 gifting occasions
Improving your margin – protecting your Balance Sheet
Next generation web development for Florists

 Emerging customer trends – Fair Trade, Ethical Shopping and Local Supply
Targeting your most profitable customers
In-store design, product ranging, point of sale and staff training
How to differentiate vs. your local competitors
Business efficiency – cash flow, waste, stock management, pricing and cost
At each workshop we aim to achieve up to 15% business efficiency improvement and new business worth a minimum of  £50,000 pa

Autumn Workshops throughout the UK

Delegate places remain available at all of the Autumn Management Workshops; remember if you employ 5 staff or more inc. owners, partners, directors and part-time staff you are eligible to recover the full cost of the workshop through the Train to Gain Leadership and Management Scheme.

Workshop registration is easy – just download the Registration Form from the BFA website www.britishfloristassociation.org . Simply post or fax your registration to the enclosed address and we will do the rest!

Any queries on workshops or content, please contact Paul Drabble on 01453 872096 or pauldrabble@cbg-ltd.com

More ways to keep in touch! Do you Tweet? Are you on Facebook?

Twitter is a real-time messaging service that allows it's users to update short messages.The BFA is now on Twitter.com as BritishFlorist.