Featured are Southern California floral designers Jenny Barker of Magical Blooms, magicalblooms.com, Tara Cottrell of Hidden Garden (WestlakeVillage), hiddengardenflowers.com and Eddie Zaratsian of Tic-Tock, tictock.com.  Should be catty good fun!!

A team of researchers explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants’ behavioral and emotional responses to receiving flowers. The results show that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.

1. Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness. All study participants expressed “true” or “excited” smiles upon receiving flowers, demonstrating extraordinary delight and gratitude. This reaction was universal, occurring in all age groups.

2. Flowers have a long-term positive effect on moods. Specifically, study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.

3. Flowers make intimate connections. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family and friends.

“Flowers bring about positive emotional feelings in those who enter a room,” said Dr. Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers and lead researcher on the study. “They make the space more welcoming and create a sharing atmosphere.”

The full report and article can be found online at Society of American Florists.

The entire story written by by Susan Dominus can be found at www.realsimple.com.

Kim coordinates with host David Musial from Fusion NW – “Backyard Bouquets” Channel 6 to demonstrate the use of flowers from your own garden to create one-of-a kind arrangements for your dinner table!

For those of you cultivating an interest in home gardening, here are some tips from Real Simple magazine online to help make your garden grow!

According to the study, cut flower growers in CA employ about 7500 people.  Overall, the state’s floral industry employs almost 15,000 people while generating billions in economic activity.

The research indicates that the expenditures of growers, wholesalers retailer and others affiliated with the industry create a ripple economy effect generating the equivalent of 121,950 full time jobs in CA , with a total of 3.3 billion in gross wages.  The report states, that without these jobs, number of unemployed in CA could rise as much as 12.5 percent.

The report points out the California’s cut flower industry’s achievements are particularly impressive due to the aggressive pricing of imports from other countries and wholesaler/retailer consolidation.

The full economic impact report and related facts can be found at www.ccfc.org.

Joseph Breza is extremely accomplished, being exhibited and collected internationally.   Breza is known for his use of color and bold brushstroke in brillant Impressionistic landscapes, garden still lifes and scenes from France, Italy, and New Mexico.   Between 1984-1985, Joseph Breza studied under renowned artist Richard Goetz at the Art Students League, N.Y.

In His Own Words: “Each artist creates his own language in color. I consider color to be the foremost component of my painting. By laying down large fields and flattening them out in some areas, I can draw out strong planes of color from the image. I am always experimenting. Sometimes I lay down thin washes to catch the power of the idea more quickly. I like to observe the reflections on a pond in the Spring and Fall. Winter interests me because  the snow creates big, abstract areas. The more I get into the art, the more depth I find. The simplest idea, like Cezanne’s apples, is sometimes the most incredible.”

Also on display will be beautiful flowers, unique gift products.

Grayson Handy is the creative director of New York’s Prudence Designs and Events, www.prudencedesigns.net.

He is the co-author of a gorgeous new designer book. Flowers for the Home,
Inspirations from the World Over by Prudence Designs.

Showcased are 100 simple and stylish floral arrangements for both everyday and special occasions that have been shaped by Handy’s worldwide travels. These floral designs are inspired by cultures and traditions from such far-flung places as China, the tropical rain forest, the English countryside, and the American South.

]]> http://www.fineflowers.com/2010/06/25/a-feast-for-the-eyes/feed/ 0 http://www.fineflowers.com/2010/05/11/to-design-or-not-to-design-%e2%80%93-that-is-the-question%e2%80%a6/ http://www.fineflowers.com/2010/05/11/to-design-or-not-to-design-%e2%80%93-that-is-the-question%e2%80%a6/#comments Tue, 11 May 2010 23:02:45 +0000 Estelle Mays http://www.fineflowers.com/?p=539 Arranging flowers is a creative, artistic process in which beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. What some people find beautiful, others will find unappealing. An avant-garde’s cutting-edge design may be a traditionalist’s eyesore. But that is precisely how art stays fresh—by constantly experimenting, reinventing and transforming itself.

Should the government have the power to say who may or may not become a florist?

A Louisiana law threatens to shut down bbrooks member Mitch’s Flowers in New Orleans, because their sole licensed florist passed away in February. The owners have 90 days to hire another licensed florist…or close up shop.  Visit them on facebook to show your support!!

Watch the CBS News story, click here.

To arrange and sell flowers in Louisiana, aspiring florists must first obtain a government-issued license.  The licensing exam, which is offered four times a year, consists of two parts: A one-hour written test and a four-hour practical test. The practical exams are graded by 3 to 6 judges – who are working licensed florists. Louisiana thus empowers a small group of licensed florists to decide who may compete with them and who may not.

If Louisiana can license florists, there is no limit to what it can license or to the burdens it can impose on honest, productive livelihoods.

States That License Florists

On March 4, 2010, the Institute for Justice filed a civil rights lawsuit, Chauvin v. Strain, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against the Commissioners of the Louisiana Horticulture Commission seeking to have Louisiana’s anti-entrepreneur, anti-competitive and anti-consumer florist licensing scheme declared unconstitutional.

This case is about more than just florists in Louisiana.  The U.S. Constitution protects every American’s right to earn an honest living in the occupation of their choice and prohibits the government from erecting barriers to entrepreneurship that are arbitrary or do nothing more than keep entrepreneurs from competing with existing businesses. Thus, this case is about setting a national precedent that will stop the government from licensing harmless occupations.

What began in New Orleans must end in New Orleans. It is time for the courts to declare Louisiana’s anti-competitive florist regulations unconstitutional. The Institute for Justice aims to restore the 14^th Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause to its proper role as the foremost constitutional protection for the right to earn an honest living.

Why not take home a lovely artisanal arrangement to accompany your wonderful organic dinner items!