Moments at Market: We Had Fun BUT Worked Hard

Middle photo: Me (Trisha/Main Buyer/Partner) La Von (My Sister/Head Visual Display/Partner) & Kim (Our Floor Manager & Annie Sloan Instructor) in a Seahawks moment at market. They were playing only a few blocks away. We got razzed when they lost :(

Hello Everyone!

Just wanted to pop in here to show you what we've been up to at

Atlanta Market.

Let me fill you in on what Atlanta Market is:

 

1. HUGE! 3 buildings roughly 50-60 floors combined.

2. OVERWHELMING! Each floor has either multiple large showrooms or numerous booths.

3. OVERSTIMULATING! Each showroom decks itself out with a huge amount of product.

4. EXHAUSTING! You are on your feet for 12 hours at least 3 of the 7 days without sitting down,

& on them for 9 hours the other 4....no sitting!

5. CONFUSING! Are you in building 1 floor 3 or building 2 floor 3 or building 3 floor 1???

6. CALENDAR INAPPROPRIATE! Isn't Christmas over? Yes... 2012's Christmas is....

but everywhere you are ordering for Christmas 2013!!

7. POCKET BOOK SHOCKING! Always make sure you have wandered into the

moderately priced showrooms...Bill Gates does not shop at Grandiflora.

(At least we don't think so anyway ;)

&

Last but not least....

8. AWE INSPIRING!!

We enjoyed all the lovely displays we saw at market

(SOOOOO many more than what you see here,

as we were not allowed to take photos of certain showrooms....and didn't want to spoil

our buying surprises for you anyway!)

It is hard to walk away from market uninspired.

We came away from this market with SOOOOO many ideas

it is making my head spin to think about making them all happen!

The best part is....we are on fire for Grandiflora this year....

we are going to light a fire under ourselves and our customers this year.

It's time to celebrate this awesome shop we've all come to love and appreciate.

May Grandiflora see it's best year yet!

Not really talking financially....although that would be nice....

wink, wink.

LOL!

NO...no....no.....

I'm talking about finding the niche that we were all meant to find in

Grandiflora.

Now....

wouldn't that be nice!

We were flitting from booth to booth, showroom to showroom finding all sorts of great things with the power of caffeine! We were also really excited to meet Jo Packham of Where Women Create & Where Women Cook where she was signing books and magazines. What a great lady....and what an honor!

 

Well, it was a trip to remember & a trip to inspire.
As I said before we are on fire for what comes next....
THE BOXES OF PRODUCT!
Be visiting often for all the lovely items that will start arriving in a few weeks all the way through the end of the year.
It takes 7 days (72 hours of straight ordering) just to hit the tip of the iceberg in ordering.
I can honestly say this:
WE DID OUR BEST BUYING THIS YEAR!
You know what that equals?
YOU WILL HAVE THE BEST SHOPPING AT GRANDIFLORA THIS YEAR.
Happy US + Happy YOU!
Here's to Grandiflora & the fun she brings us all!
Cheers!
La Von, Kim & I



Another Market = More to Choose From at Grandiflora....

(Kim-Floor Manager, Trisha ((me)) Main Buyer & Partner, La Von Visual Manager & Partner)

 Helloooooo!!!

We are so excited to get back to you with some very exciting news

from the latest show we attended;

Las Vegas World Market!

We worked very hard every day to find all the best new lines and items to bring

home for you!

I am excited to announce the fact that we picked up

SEVEN NEW LINES

&

reordered from over 10 existing fabulous suppliers.

The items we have coming are truly

Grandiflora "worthy"

MEANING:

they are super cute items for you and your home....

but not just that....

they are also affordable!

Would you like to know how hard we work to find the best prices for you???

I think the photo of La Von (above) pretty much sums it up.

We spend hours and hours walking through 3 rather large buildings with numerous floors,

& we negotiate as low a prices as we can possibly find for you.

It takes LOADS of COFFEE!!!

This all makes for a stressful 5 days at market.

HONESTLY?

Anyone could walk through this high design market and find

beautiful home decor and gifts....

HOWEVER

...I'm not sure if they could do it with the sort of budget that we work with for you,

our loyal customers.

Whenever you shop through Grandiflora and wonder why something is

REALLY INEXPENSIVE

you can rest assured we did our job well!

ON THE FLIP SIDE...

whenever you find something that you consider to be

EXPENSIVE

you can also rest assured that we did our job well....

meaning....

we found the most quality/cutting edge items for you at the lowest prices available to us.

Sure....

it may have been cheaper somewhere else...

but,

we are pretty picky about product quality.

Although we've had items come in from time to time with some issues....

we pride ourselves on selling quality, affordable & lovely items.

We hope you would agree.

SO...

after all that hard work we spent a few well deserved hours at the pool....

....it was 106 degrees....

but that's ok

it matched our attitude....

because,

we are always

"on fire"

for our great shop

Grandiflora!

:)

T.



Farm Chicks Spokane Washington 2012 Trip-a-Palooza!

 It's official.

We had a

BLAST!

The Farm Chicks Show in Spokane, Washington

was simply put: wonderful.

We started out early to get a jump on all the shoppers heading that way.

It was pretty doggone smart of us to book a U-haul trailer ahead of time since we have a tendancy to junk along the way to the show.....

We enjoy finding new places and things all along the way. It's also great fun to hit those spots where you know you'll find all the best food and finds.

Our fave food stop whilst in Spokane is

Chaps Coffee Company

which has the deadliest drinks, delicious dinners....and most decadant desserts.

Another new find is

Pink

a great destination shopping experience in Spokane.

( Some crazy Instagram photos of our stops to and from the show.)

 After toodling around for a few days on the way to the show, we headed out from the hotel bright and early to wait in the early buy ticket line.

(Our lovely Mother was kind enough to buy our tickets online way back in September of 2011 for our birthday gifts! Yay Mom!!! It was an awesome gift! )

Sadly,

it was raining buckets when the line was forming, but again...mom saved the day with umbrellas!

 This is the tiny 300 person line....the 5,000+ line was elsewhere, and I was happy NOT to be in it!

(L-R. Carrie our sister, Jan our mom & partner, La Von sister partner, Kim manager.)

 Yes, we were hoping for sunshine...but instead tried not to drown in the deluge of rain &.....

 ....not to drown in the fun deluge of

J U N K!!!

I had to nab this hilarious striped flotation device for the shop soon after entering the show.

I might've been able to use it out in that line....oh well.

It's a good thing I grabbed it when I did, I was attacked

 (I won't name names...you know who you are ;)

by one woman in particular and many others who loved its charm and character.

It looks smashing in our beach display right now!

:D

 The booth displays were chock full and fabulous as always!

Our lovely friend Deb's Booth at Garden Party.

 Happy Customers were everywhere!

 There are just too many booths to list....this one was pretty fab however!

Straight From The Farm

Oh yes....& this one too....

 Funky Junk!!

Honestly....the coolest display in the whole show.

I mean who THINKS to turn an old truck bed into a shelf for ironstone???

Freakin' awesome!

;D

 After we had

WAY TOO MUCH FUN BUYING JUNK

we got the dirty job of not only hauling the stuff out to the parking lot....but unloading the stuff we had already purchased along the way, & then reloading the new stuff too!

It was quite a load! 

( La Von ponders the crazyness of our decisions.....)

 I had faith however and kept saying:

" I know it's all gonna fit....I just know it!"

BUT,
there came a moment when I was doubting......

Yes, it's true....

you'll never believe what happened.....

We cleared the parking lot....were left there alone while everyone went off and partied the night away.

We eventually got the sink into the Escalade....and headed off to Chaps for dinner and drinks.

It was an amazing day to say the least.

One we want to repeat again next year if possible!

We're gathering people to join our team of wild women junkers....

....maybe you'll wanna join in on the fun next year???

Hooo-rahhhhh!

;)

Trish

&

The Grandiflora Girls

xx

Behind the Scenes at Market with the Owners of Grandiflora!

 Oooouuuuuooooooo!!!

If you like bags, jewelry, scarves, & hats...then you're gonna LOVE this post!

We took off last weekend to:

 Seattle!

We love to attend market to hunt down all the latest and coolest new digs.

This time we spent most of one day searching out all the cutest new looks for fall and winter!

We are so lucky to get in and shop for you, our customer in the department which is called

"Cash & Carry"

 You see, most of "Market" consists of going into a showroom & looking through hoards and hoards of candles, home decor, and silks. You spend days and days marking up order forms, sitting in front of computer screens, with tired eyes....and even more tired feet.

THEN,

YOU,

WAIT..............

&

WAIT>>>>>>>SOME>>>>>>MORE!!!

It can take up to 9 months to get orders placed in January!

It makes it kinda hard for folks to understand how things work in the store when they

"....want just one more???"

We try our hardest to keep on top of things, but it's always a bit difficult when a reorder is involved.

HOWEVER...

:)

"Cash and Carry"

is just that:

Pay NOW & GET NOW!

Whoo Hoo!

:)

We LIKE it alot...it's SO refreshing from the norm of order now.....get in 6 months.

 So,

we take a few trusted employees along & start pickin'

We think long and hard about what we need to find.

This trip we had taken hours to look for the perfect new floral bags (see first photo), and a new purse line (come to store to see!).

Then we spent hours shopping for jewelry in all the best finishes & styles.

Scarves are always on the top of the list for us at this time of the year...you should see the cute ones in the store already!

After that we wandered around and decided we needed some

SUPER CUTE HATS!!!

 Here's Janice our Office Manager in a sweet hand knit warmer.

 Kim joined in with Janice....

 ....she was looking quite chic, so....

...we all listened to the owner of the company give us some tutorials to take back for all of you about hats! 

 She was quite the wiz bang with the way hats should compliment your features...and how there is a hat for everyone!

Small head, short hair, big head, long hair, even folks who fight with wearing glasses...

 We found the cutest hat that looked different on everone!

You can scruntch it and tweak it to look good on anyone!

Don't believe me?

See below!

Amazing how two sisters that are SO DIFFERENT....and yet very similar can look real cute in the same hat worn very differently.

( Yep, that's La Von my sister and partner & me Trish looking oh so dashing in our new found fave hat.)

SO,

we are working VERY hard to get all these goodies priced and out for your shopping pleasure.

Please be patient with us as it takes alot of work to do so.

We are still buried in boxes galore from all the new products we are deperately trying to get out everyday.

We hope to see you in soon for all the new discoveries!

Cheers!

:)

Where Have We Been??? VEGAS MARKET!!!!

Viva Las Vegas Baby!

:o)

Have you been wondering what we've been up to lately?

Well you're in luck!

We've been in Las Vegas at the World Market Center!

Mostly we went to buy for Christmas....YES CHRISTMAS!!!

If you want to get the good stuff

(which we do!)

You have to buy Christmas Decor in January!

Not the most fun thing to do in January...but it's absolutely neccessary!

Not to mention...

we got to go to Sunny Las Vegas from the wet and rainy Pacific Northwest!

Whooo Hooo!

If you'd like to see the details as I post them, head over to my personal blog to check it out!

I've taken a TON of photos along the Las Vegas Strip etc....

We had a blast...but it was hard work at market finding just the right somethings for all you lovelies!

Just a heads up, we found lots of great everyday items that are coming soon....and while we were away, the girls were getting in lots of cool new stuff!

Yay!!!

I'll have to show you that soon too!

Well,

here's the link you're looking for to experience Vegas... hope you enjoy....and check back soon for more to come from the

Grandiflora Girls!

:o)

http://www.trishabrinkdesign.blogspot.com

Specifically this post:

http://trishabrinkdesign.blogspot.com/2011/01/hellooooo-bellagiooooo-im-smitten.html

Hope to see you over there soon!

Last Saturday? Second Saturdayz!

HEY Everyone!

Just wanted to share a Road trip of the utmost kind with you!

You can find the WHOLE STORY

over at my personal blog:

http://trishabrinkdesign.blogspot.com/2011/01/last-saturday-second-saturdayz.html

I think you'd have alot of fun checking out what we do on weekends for Grandiflora!

Hope to see you over there!

:)

Jan, La Von, and Trish

You know....

The Grandiflora Girls!

Fun Displays at Market...

Hi again! When we talk about market...folks just wonder what it is all about. As I've said before...most of market is REALLY UGLY and a bit BORING!

BUT....every once in awhile, there is a booth or two that stand out in the crowd. This is one such booth!

Park Hill!

We always enjoy looking at what Park Hill is up to in the wholesale/retail world. We've bought from them before...and probably will again sometime soon....but we happened upon their booth late that day at market. I decided to take some snaps with my cell phone ( sorry, they are a tad sub par in photo quality) since the booth was empty of shoppers. Normally the booth is packed to the gills with people drooling on all the displays!

I wanted to post these pictures to show you how popular the "Rustic Farmhouse Chic" style is becomming. Just look at what Pottery Barn ( http://www.potterybarn.com/ ) and Ballard Designs Catalog ( http://www.ballarddesigns.com/ ) are up to! We think they are awesome retail outlets! We also know (via our polls to you) that you-our customers- enjoy shopping with them. We are happy to know that you put our little shop Grandiflora in the same catagory as these big National Retailers! We feel very honored! :) That being said, we want to offer complimentary items to those you're purchasing online and through catalogs with our great Grandiflora FINDS!

The beauty of Grandiflora doing this look, is that we are able to offer it to you at a much lower price point for fall and the holidays! We have been busy little bees collecting antique and vintage finds for our booth at the Fall Craft and Antique Show (see link at top of page) happening this October (more on that later). I think you will be pleasantly surprised at all that we have to show you. We pride ourselves on offering the latest looks at lower pricing. Remeber...not only do you pay more from the big catalogs...you also loose money on shipping costs! We are also a local business...so you are keeping your tax money local, as we also support your local community through our donations and business practices.

I would like to invite you to come and see what we've been up to at Grandiflora lately...I think you'll like what you see!

I hope you enjoyed today's tour de market via Grandiflora!

More great ideas soon!

Cheers!

The Grandiflora Girls

:o)

To Market, To Market to Buy Some Sweet Digs!

Hello again everyone! I think I mentioned earlier that we had been off to The Seattle Gift Show (to the trade) over this past weekend. This is the place and time where we do alot of our buying for the shop. Most of the show is pretty boring, and not worth taking pictures of. We spend a good majority of the time there with our heads buried in catalogs trying to imagine what each customer might like for their home, or to buy as a gift.

However, there is one area that we always look forward to:

The VINTAGE Collection!

This year we found a few lovelies to drool over....but the one we liked most was

Sweet Bee

by

Rachael
http://www.sweetbeebyrachael.com

Don't you just love this booth space? How sweet it is Rachael!!! Nicely done!


Lovin' the Pom Poms....such a hot look/craft right now.

Well, we just thought you might enjoy a little look-skie of what we were up to this weekend. Watch for more updates soon! We had a blast at market....and most of all....we found some of the loveliest lovelies for you to shop from!

We look forward to receiving the shipments soon, processing, and pricing the new items to WOW you with! Everything from vintage goods to ribbons; home decor to jewelry!

Check in soon! There already are alot of new items to choose from in the store. Also don't forget the Yellow tag sale is still going: 30% off Yellow tagged items at the register; you can't beat that!

Hope to see you soon!

Cheers!

:o)