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Glenn Ashby

New Member
Aug 27, 2007
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Owensboro
www.tapfloral.com
State / Prov
KY
Dear Flower Chat Members,
My name is Glenn Ashby, I work in Owensboro, Kentucky and I live 12 miles south of town in a small, cross-roads community, named Pleasant Ridge.

When I was young my parents owned a flower shop in Southern Illinois and I was raised in the back design room, sweeping up after school. I atteneded Southern Illinois Universtiy for communications and fine arts.

After college I moved to Kentucky to work for Tapscott's Artififical Flower Import company and have now been here for 23 years. I travel to Asia twice a year on buying trips sourcing product throughout South East Asia, mostly in the Hong Kong, Dong Guan, and Guang Zhou areas.

I continually try to keep up with the fast moving floral business and am here to get feedback on currect trends in our industry. I am a member of CMG (Color Management Group) and it is my job to get as much proffessional advice as I can find.

I hope you will allow me to participate in this group.

Glenn Ashby
 
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Welcome Glenn.......I love Tapscott's. Have bought from them for over 25 years. Keep us up on what's new !
 
Hi Cathy,
Thank you for the quick, warm welcome. We have finished merchandising the Spring 2008 line and the "big" trend is toward "botanically correct" feux flowers. With such detailed features that they have also pushed up the price points of high end stem flowers. Silk flowers for the foreseeable future are going to have to be "works of art"/"home furnishings" with a much longer life span. We are still carrying "home decor" colors, but further in the future you will only have access to flowers that grow naturally in their own color pallette. (ie roses in rose colors ONLY, delphiniums in delhpinium colors ONLY, etc.)

Mixed bush prices are also moving up in price and quality. Raw materials, shortage of labor, and the re-evaluation of the Chinese (RMB) dollar are fueling these price increases. However it is the Chinese artisans that are reacting, making better "stem" quality bushes to maintian their volume with less workers and tighter profit margins.

I am preparing to leave for Asia the first of October shopping for Fall/Christmas 2008. Any wish lists or advise would be greatly welcomed and appreciated. My biggest concern will be the price impact on staple Christmat items: PVC Pine, Promotional Poinsttias, and "deluxe" holiday stems. (When does the price become too high?) Autumn leaves, berries, accessories are selling themselves right now and the mild price increases seen for this (2007) fall seaon have not hampered sell through. We will have to see what 2008 brings. Your comments. . . Please?

Thank you again for the warm welcome,

Glenn Ashby
 
Thank you Rhonda,
We love long time customers too! It's hard work staying in this business as long as you have, you must be very good at what you do. Do you have any requests for me to find on our next buying trip? I accept all critiques so let me know how I am doing. Colors you need, price points, flower styles I have over looked, etc.

We are going to have a booth at the Atlanta show in January. If you will be attending, come see us!

Best Regards,

Glenn Ashby
 
OH MY one of My Favorites!!

yes I have been bying from them for very many years as well, but not as much as before, but all is well, though..
 
Welcome to Flower Chat! A Tapscotts catalog is on my desk, waiting for me to look through it. I look through it with the same delight with which I once viewed my favorite seed catalog.
 
QoW and Connie,
<I am blushing> Thank you! I know how I feel when I get my spring seed catalogs. I already have spring fever and summer is not over yet.

I just wrote up a fall sale sheet. It went in the mail last Friday and you should get one soon. (fall leaves, wreaths, stems, bushes) If you think of it, let me know when it arrives. I am always curious how much time it spends in the USPS's hands.
 
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