First Come Flowers

Why We Named Our Flower Shop Fly Me To The Moon

 

 

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." 

                                                            Les Brown

 

Why Fly Me To The Moon Florists?

People often ask how we came up with the name Fly Me To The Moon Florists. 

I woke up at 3:00 a.m. one morning, knowing that it was the right name and hoping that my business partner, Dave, would feel the same way. He did. That was nearly 7 years ago and we have no regrets.

Since our goal was to create a sophisticated yet affordable, Manhattan-style boutique flower shop in downtown Yonkers,  we knew only a clever name would do. 

Besides being the title of a popular song, we believed that Fly Me To The Moon would imply that our flowers would always be high quality, unusual and way beyond anything you'd ever expect. Our reviews on Google and Citysearch seem to indicate we're headed in the right direction.

Tips On Naming Your Business

I'm not convinced it's the best way to name your businesss though. If I were naming our business today, I'd keep these things in mind:

Note to Self #1: If you plan to give your business an unusual name don't expect your friends and family to get it. People we knew thought it was the dumbest name in the world.

But, when I began attending industry trade shows they loved the name and thought it was brilliant.

Once we actually opened Fly Me to The Moon, customers thought the name was great. They said it was creative and memorable. Exactly what you'd want a business name to be.

Note to Self # 2: Don't expect people to understand your logo either. As you may have noticed, there's not a single flower in it. Our friends and family thought that was stupid too. No one actually used that word, but the looks we got were, well, less than encouraging.

We used an onliine logo development company called Logoworks. We wanted to capture a metropolitan, cool vibe with a nod to the past. We were really quite pleased with the logo they designed until we started showing it to people. 

Everyone we asked had an opinion. They all  thought there needed to be a flower in the logo, but sticking one in there just so it would be there seemed wrong to us. We were just about ready to tell our Logoworks project manager we wanted to scrap it until he said, "Really? I think it's one of the coolest logos I've seen."

Though everything in me wanted to scream, "I bet you say that to all your clients!" Dave and I both thought, you know, he's right. Though nobody else liked it, we knew in our hearts it was right for the brand we were building. So we stuck with it and we're happy we did.

Note to Self # 3 Fly Me To The Moon, regardless of how creative and memorable it is, is way too long. Especially for online usage. So if you're naming your business, go short if you can, but not so short that you lose the essence of what you're trying to say.

What I love about the name, Fly Me To The Moon Florists is that it tells our story. Read it here. And while you're there, join us on Google +

So that's the story of how we got to be called, Fly Me To The Moon. 

What's the most unusual business name you've heard and does it fit the business?

Mimi

 

Flower Market To Vase: How I Make Flower Arrangements

Customers often ask how I come up with the floral designs at our boutique flower shop, Fly Me To The Moon.  So I thought I'd share me process with you.

 

Begin The Flower Arrangement With The End In Mind

My goal in working with flowers is to create lovely flower arrangements that will last as long as possible. How do I achieve this? By buying the freshest flowers. Purchasing from the best wholesalers in New York. Avid researching and conditioning of the flowers. And teaching our customers how to care for them. 

 

 Fly Me To The Moon 

 

The Flower Hunt Begins

It's 5:26 am, Monday morning. I'm at the Chelsea Flower Market in NYC ready to select flowers for the shop. They came into New York at 2:00 am, so all of them should be on display by now. 

As much as I love buying flowers, I always glance longingly at those taking leave of 28th street before 5:30, flower-filled boxes in hand. It's like they've won some race I've arrived too late to even lose. In the flower business, the early bird really does catch the worm, but luckily, I can call ahead and ask the wholesalers to hold flowers for me.

 

 Frank Lamendola

 

Finding The Right Flower

I generally come to the flower district with a list of "must buy" flowers for the shop. But for my corporate clients, I'm looking to be inspired by some new discovery. It may be a flower I've never seen before. Or an unusual plant material like brunia or celosia

Often a rose is my inspiration flower. Some floral designers won't use them in their weekly accounts, but I know just the right varieties that perform well and look great.

 

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Fly Me to The Moon

 

Select Flowers To Enhance The Flower Arrangement

Next, I search for flowers that will enhance the look of my inspiration flower. It can either match or complement it. If a flower has three colors, I may choose flowers in some of those shades. 

I generally use a minimum of 3 different types of flowers in an arrangement. But, I often use more. Adding interesting foliage and fillers can sometimes take the place of a flower.

 

Incorporating Flowers I Already Have

I also consider what I have back at the shop in our walk-in cooler. Do I have something that would add great texture or presence to the flower arrangement? These flowers or plant materials were either purchased late last week or have a long vase life.

 

Choose A Vase

A vase is often the first thing I choose, but since this corporate client prefers cube vases, I keep a bunch of them in different colors on hand and change from week to week. I sometimes use a cylinder vase to change it up once and a while. The arrangements for this particular client go on the concierge desks of luxury buildings down on the waterfront in Yonkers, New York.

 

 Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 

Listening To The Flowers

This is gonna sound a little crazy, but here goes.  I listen to the flowers.

I believe every flower in an arrangement has a perfect spot and that once placed there, it sings.  Now, I've never actually heard a flower sing a note, but when I find that sweet spot all is right with the world everything else just falls into place. The arrangement of all the other flowers seems easy. Believe it or not, this is actually easier for me to do on a busy day like Valentine's Day. 

Another floral designer could create a beautiful yet entirely different arrangement using the exact same flowers. I guess that's where "having an eye for floral design" comes in. With no formal training in floral design, I thank God for this gift.

 

Flower Arrangements Need a Little Something Wrong

I read a post the other day by Holly Becker over at Decor 8. She mentioned that a friend, Sania Pell, a London-based stylist once told her that "you need a little wrongness to make something right, especially when styling a room or vignette." 

I think the same principle holds true for floral design. A flower arrangement becomes more interesting when it has something unexpected. Something that doesn't belong there. You know, something wrong.

 

Fly Me To The Moon 

 

So sure, I can make a flower arrangement sticking to a strict color palette and use of foliage or I can add something to it that takes it a step out of the ordinary. That's what I did when I added both the "gray" globe thistle and bright purple flowering artichoke to the above arrangement. It would have been fine without those elements, but see how much more interesting it is with them?

So, that's my process for creating flower arrangements. You can see my floral design posts here. I hope you try at least one of them. If so, please let me know how it turns out in the comments below.

Mimi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real Tales From Fly Me To The Moon Florists 11

Tale # 11:  She Jumped From The Car

 

Her mom was pretty strict. She would be so mad at her for getting out of the car without permission. But she simply couldn't get the thought out of her mind. She figured if she was fast enough,she could leave and get back before her mom even found out. 

Heart thumping, she jumped out of the car and sped down the block as fast as her long legs could carry her. Glancing over her shoulder once, she carefully crossed the street. And kept running until she reached the door. 

She removed a few strands of hair from her face. Then confidently stepped into Fly Me To The Moon Florists.

She explained that she had exactly $9 and wanted to buy some flowers for her mom. I assembled a small yet special bouquet for her. As I wrapped the flowers, I glanced at the sweet little message she'd written from her and her brother. I smiled as she took her flowers and left to the sound of the tingling of little bells on the door.

A few minutes later, a woman burst into the store telling me how worrried she had been when she discovered her daughter was missing. I reminded her that her 9 year old daughter was safe, lovely and thoughtful. The kind of person we wished all our children would be. Though I doubt the girl would ever do something like that again. It was a memory neither of them would soon forget.

 

 

Real Tales From Fly Me To The Moon Florists #10

Tale #10: 4 Regrets & A Blessing

Fly Me To The Moon

 

"I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done."  

                                                    Lucille Ball

 

Have you ever done something incredibly stupid? Ignoring that little voice in your head telling you to stop?

My 4 Regrets

1. I regret picking up a box of flowers that must have weighed a ton. Not once, but twice the week before Mother's Day. I guess one just wasn't enough.

Fly Me To The Moon had several major events leading up to Mother's Day. But did that stop me from pushing myself? Of course not.

I just kept on working 12 hour days experiencing incredible pain. That all came to a screeching halt once my husband realized what was going on. 

2. I regret missing the entire Mother's Day weekend at the shop.

3. I regret having to spend a week lying flat on my back.

4. I regret not being able to post on my blog or even read others.

A Blessing

I found a chiropractor nicknamed Dr. Mike in Yonkers, NY, who's doing wonders for my back. I had met him years ago at a networking event.

Reluctant to pick another chiropractor sight unseen, a customer recommended Dr. Mike and the rest was history. His holistic approach was just what I wanted.

So I'm being much more careful these days. No lifting, pushing or pulling anything. I'm not one to wait around asking people to do things for me, but guess what? I'm learning. 

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Mimi

Real Tales From Fly Me To The Moon Florists #9

 Tale: #9:  A Breakfast to Remember

Fly Me To The Moon

It was the evening before Valentine's Day 2013. A man walked into our shop, hands blackened with automotive residue. A mechanic.

He asked the price of a dozen roses while he glanced around checking out the vases on display.

While I wrapped his bouquet of pink roses, he asked if I could give him two additional roses cut very, very short.

He also needed two little vases to hold them.

I was struck by how invested he was in the selection of each element. So I sort of asked him what he was doing.

He explained that the dozen roses were for his wife and the miniature bud vases for his young daughters.

Five days a week, he gently tiptoes out of his home at 6:00 am careful not to wake his sleeping family.

But, on Valentine's Day. The day we celebrate the ones we love. He planned to surprise them by setting a beautiful breakfast table with flowers for each one of them. 

"Each day of our lives we make deposits  in the memory banks of our children."

                                                                Charles R. Swindoll

 

Let's make every effort to make them sweet.

Mimi

 

                     

Real Tales From Fly Me To The Moon Florists 8

Tale #8: The Legacy of the Giant Aloe Plant

A woman called the shop one day asking if we would repot a giant aloe vera plant. It had belonged to her recently departed Nana, her grandmother.

She remembered seeing the plant at Nana's house since she was 5. Making the plant at least 30 years old. She recalled her Nana applying its healing elixir to many a cut and scrape. 

When her grandmother grew ill, it became more and more difficult for her to care for the beloved aloe plant. But still it grew.

 

When Nana died, she decided that her grandmother's aloe vera plant had to live on. So she contacted a few flower shops and asked if they would repot it for her.

But when she called Fly Me To The Moon Florists, she said she knew immediately in her heart that she wanted us to do it. She spoke with Susan, my sister and resident plant specialist. who suggested she bring in a picture of the plant beforehand so she could assess what the plant actually needed.

The woman mentioned that it was pretty big, but nothing prepared us for the colossal plant she brought into the shop that day. It took both her and her boyfriend to carry it in. They broke off one of the offshoots in the process.

It must have weighed a ton. Okay, maybe only 25-30 pounds. But it was huge. Or should I say, they were huge. There were actually seven plants in one gargantuan pot. 

It was probably the healthiest aloe vera plant I've ever seen though. Most aloe plants I see usually have a broken or discolored leaf or two. There was nary a one on this behemoth.

Susan and the woman decided to individually repot six of the smaller plants to give to relatives. And she would keep the mother plant for herself.

I thought the woman might burst into tears when she realized     that she'd have to leave the plant over the weekend. She said goodbye to Nana, the name she began calling it and left.  

Image: Fly Me To The Moon Florists 

 Well it took about 45 minutes for my sister and me to get it out of the pot. It was really wedged in there. Several hours later all 7 plants had been repotted. They looked great.

 

Image: Fly Me To The Moon Florists

Susan wrote up care cards for the aloe vera plant and called the woman to pick them up. She was so delighted.

 

About 30 minutes later, her boyfriend returned to the shop with one of the smaller plants. It seems she wanted Susan to be part of Nana's legacy too.

 

What's legacy have people in your family left you?

Mimi     

                                                                                

 

 

I'm Ready For The Doors Of Opportunity To Open: How About You?

There are many factors that determine whether or not you're ready for the doors of opportunity to open. But for me, it was all about confidence. Or shall I say lack of confidence.

 

Image:  via Eye Prefer Paris

Before our shop, Fly Me To The Moon Florists, opened I knew I had an eye for floral design. I soon developed my own style, but I wasn't confident about it.

Months before the shop even opened, 2 friends asked us to do the flowers for their weddings. Though they had never seen me do flowers, they trusted my design instincts from event decor work they had seen me do.

One had a tropical themed wedding with exotic flowers and the other had a Hollywood glam wedding with tall floral centerpieces at every table. I'm eternally grateful to those women for having faith in me when I didn't quite have it myself.

 

Image:  via Just Call Me Grace

Over the years, I've honed my skills and become more confident.

 

Here are the 5 lessons I've learned that I hope will help you: 

1) Be the expert - I stopped doing exactly what customers told me they wanted and began listening to what their hearts really desired.  If someone says they want an elegant look, but what they ask for is actually tacky, my job is to steer them toward what would look best.

 2) Trust your instincts. - There was a time when people were coming in insisting that we make these horrible flower arrangements for weddings. I mean ugly! And we did the best we could with what they told us. When I couldn't take it anymore, I began praying for customers who wanted our style. We put a gallery of our work on our website and began asking customers to write reviews. From that moment on, everything changed.

 

Image:  via Just Call Me Grace

3) Accept the applause. - People often call to thank us for the flower arrangements we design. Some even call us before they call the people who actually sent them the flowers. One call might be a fluke. But once the calls started coming in more regularly I knew we were onto something. 

4) Count your blessings. - One of our regular customers asked us to do all the flowers for her wedding. She came in for a consult with a huge binder and selected only her ceremony flowers. She told me she trusted me completely to select the color and style of her centerpieces. She laid her eyes on those flower arrangements for the first time when she walked into the reception.

5) Defend your work. - Our goal at Fly Me To The Moon Florist is to delight our customers with flowers. But if we blow it, we make every effort to make it right.

A customer came into our shop last week and told me he did not feel the floral design I made was worth what I charged. He and his wife loved the flower arrangement by the way. But, when he added up the price of each flower, he wondered if he had been ripped off. He said that online, he'd seen arrangements that had many more flowers for the same price. 

 

Image:  via pxleyes

I didn't feel offended. I thanked him for letting me know. I didn't say the price included my ability to make a bunch of flowers look like something other than just a bunch of flowers. I didn't even suggest that the arrangements he'd seen on other websites probably used cheaper flowers.

I merely said that the arrangement I made was worth what it cost. But if he really wanted more flowers, I would be glad to give him some. He said, "I guess what I'm actually paying for is your creative ability to make the flowers look great!." He happily declined any additional flowers and drove off in his $60,000 car. 

 

Image:  via Whisical Raindrop Cottage Tumblr

There comes a time when you have to take a sober estimate of who you are and what you can do. There's still a lot more for me to learn. But I can now confidently say, I am ready for the doors of opportunity to open.

How about you?

Mimi

Real Tales From Fly Me To The Moon Florists 7

Tale #7:  Happy Anniversary Times Two

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 

One bright Monday morning, a customer came by and said how much he liked seeing our flowers in the lobby of his building each day.  

He went on to say that he was celebrating his first anniversary and would like to buy his wife a flower arrangement. After we discussed the details, he arranged to pick up the flowers as soon as we opened the next day.

About 15 minutes later, a woman came by and announced that she loved our flowers and would like to place an order for delivery the next day.

She said she didn't want them to be too feminine-looking, because they were for her husband.  She said he loved our flowers so much that she wanted to get him an arrangement to celebrate their first anniversary.

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

I looked down intently at the order form willing myself not to smile. Trying hard not to indicate that her husband had just been there to order flowers for her.

As I asked for her name, I tried not to go ahead and fill in the address before she told me where she lived.

I created 2 different arrangements to celebrate the marriage of these incredibly lovely people. Wishing I was a fly on the wall when the second flower arrangement was delivered.

Fly Me to The Moon: A Unique Florist

Mimi

Real Tales From Fly Me To The Moon Florists 6

 

 

Tale #6:   Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary

I had the honor of making this flower arrangement for a couple celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. 

Before becoming a florist, I only knew of couples married 50 years.  And I thought that was a really big deal.  But 60 years? Wow!

This year alone, I've made about 3 flower arrangements for those celebrating their 60th wedding anniversaries.

Now don't ask me what color or type of gift you're supposed to give to people married for 60 years. Because I don't know.

You don't call Fly Me To The Moon Florists for the traditional stuff.  We leave that up to the florists who've been doing this for 60 years.

You call us because, you must want something stunning and unusual. Not the norm.

Exquisite Ecuadorian roses. Captivating calla lilies and cymbidium  orchids. That's our thing!

But we also make magic with the usual cast of characters.  Jewel-toned and variegated carnations, mind-blowing mums and the perkiest of pom-poms.

So whether someone is celebrating their 60th anniversary or their very first baby we're here.

Mimi

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

Real Tales From Fly Me to The Moon Florists 5

Tale #5: How Far Will You Go For Perfect Yellow Roses?

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence."

Calvin Coolidge

A young man called several weeks ago to ask the price of a dozen roses. He didn't have a credit card. So he'd have to come into our shop to place his order for delivery.

About 5 hours later, he called to ask directions. Breathlessly. he arrived at the shop. It was one of those unusually hot days we had in  April.He had traveled all the way from White Plains by bus.

Memo to self: Offer a glass of water to hot and sweating customers who travel long distances to buy flowers from your shop.

Anyway, he said he had checked out our website and decided that he just had to get his flowers here.

He placed his order and asked if we would include another gift with the delivery. We said we would then he left.

We don't sell balloons and stuffed animals at our shop. It's not our style. But through our Concierge Service, we will include these or any other items along with your flowers.

The young man returned with the cutest stuffed dog. I placed a fluffy yellow bow around his neck. The dog's neck, that is, not the young man's. And sent him along with a dozen of our finest yellow roses.

The flowers were sent anonymously. You may recall my recent post about how much women love this. If not, you can read it here.

But it seems the yellow roses were a big hit. There was a message on our voice mail the next morning. He was bubbling with gratitude about how all that hard work paid off. Our huge yellow roses did it again!

Tell me. What's the most unusual gift you've received with or without flowers?

Mimi