updated older style sympathy design

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RWK

RWK

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Jun 3, 2007
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With the shop being next door to a funeral home, we always get some rather wild requests from people.

I have updated several old style sympathy set peices to expand the selection for people.

I thought it would be fun to post pictures as we do them of creative changes to older style peices. Like a Gates Ajar, or the Cross Anchor, or the Broken Wheel, or the Vacant chair. We have several new designer's and they have never heard of some of these older designs. It is so much fun to do an updated one and what their reactions.
 
Rick, I was showing one of my new (hired) designers some of our really old sympathy catalogs yesterday.

She is a great designer and she is fun to have in the shop, however, she was truly amazed at the detail of the old designs, circa 1910's-1920's.

I would love to scan some of these pics a post here at FC.

I think you would enjoy them.

joe
 
Like I said in another thread.....the new designer's we have at the shop flipped out over the updated Vacant Chair design I did for a daycare worker killed in an auto accident. I asked them before hand if they knew what the vacant chair design was.......and they said "WHAT the Heck is that ???"
 
I've been a floral designer for over 10 years and I haven't heard of some of these! I even worked for some people that had been owners for 30 years, I don't recall them mentioning any of them, maybe they wanted to forget. I did hear about how all of the brides bouquets were completely wired way back when.
 
Here's some pics I found. Seems like a lot of florists in the UK make these pieces today!

Vacant Chair:
http://www.orderabouquet.com/shop/images/products/59.jpg

Gates Of Heaven:
http://www.orderabouquet.com/shop/images/products/40.jpg

One of my favorite pieces was "The Phone Off The Hook" or how about "The Clock Standing Still". Haven't had requests for those items in eons. Majority of requests came from Italian families for these set pieces. I remember making "The Clock Standing Still" and freaking out every time I had to set the clock to the time of the death. Yikes! It creeped me out, and I would more often than not, ask someone else to set the time! Couldn't find pics of these and I never photographed much of my work. Memories...
 
NavyBrat said:
Here's some pics I found. Seems like a lot of florists in the UK make these pieces today!



One of my favorite pieces was "The Phone Off The Hook" or how about "The Clock Standing Still". Haven't had requests for those items in eons. Majority of requests came from Italian families for these set pieces. I remember making "The Clock Standing Still" and freaking out every time I had to set the clock to the time of the death. Yikes! It creeped me out, and I would more often than not, ask someone else to set the time! Couldn't find pics of these and I never photographed much of my work. Memories...
Click to expand...


I had a request for the telephone that reads, Jesus is calling....I thankfully didn't get it....Memories indeed. I haven't done a gates ajar in years, I would be interested in seeing your update photos, you'll have to post.....
 
What is the structure of these designs? Syrofoam???

We are currently updating our sympathy section as well and looking for some pieces to set us apart from the other florist in our town. I have never seen or heard of these. I really like the pics that were posted, would LOVE to see more......
 
thebloomcloset said:
I had a request for the telephone that reads, Jesus is calling....I thankfully didn't get it....Memories indeed. I haven't done a gates ajar in years, I would be interested in seeing your update photos, you'll have to post.....
Click to expand...

Years ago I was training a florist who received a complaint from a customer about forgetting to open the gates.. apparently he forgot to unwire the gates after delivery and she called up sobbing saying her husband could not get into heaven because the "gates to heaven" were locked.. so he had to go to the cemetary and unwire the gates..
makes you wonder about people alittle.. but she was probably still in shock..or at least I hope there was an excuse.
 
Yikes!!

Dear Rick,
Thanks for the memories, now I truly feel older today, not that I am that old, but been doing this way to long to remember doing all of this stuff, and back then way way back. Yeah loved that pic machine so much,
 
I have never had a request for any of these items, but am well aware that they exist. Some of these designs were very popular in the early to mid 1900's. I made it a priority to get some of the old time knowledge just in case. i am only 36 years old and can do so much that other florists my age don't know because I took all the old timers knowledge and made it mine. You never know when you will need to revert to the good old days to construct something. Or have a customer request something that has long been out of date..It gives me a leg up on the newer designers that willy nilly open shops with 10 minutes of experience....
 
Here's a couple of pics,
The red and white one (normal colours for that era) was 25 - 30 years ago and was just over 6' wide
the yellow one was different for the time also 25 years ago but wanted some tropicals.....seldom used in funeral work in our area back then.
the last one was 3 years ago......they also wanted different using moss rather than all flowers in the arch.

The pics are crappy you you get the idea
 

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Well In Alabama............

LOL, I live in a small community and a small town. These are still some designs we do today ( the ones listed in the first post and I am 35 so I have learned from some very knowledgeable people)!!! You can not get the older people to send anything else and they don't want the newer more up to date versions ( because that is what they sent to the last brother or sister or etc), they still want the packed football mums or cushions, with tons of ribbon and banners that have names or etc. It's pretty funny sometimes, when you have to figure out all the spokes on the broken wheel and etc since there were 15 to 20 kids and etc. Makes you realize how important math and etc really is, we do alot of the older traditional things still, but I do have younger people that like DIFFERENT(that is the ones I love), and they will not buy anything else. SO I get the best of both worlds here!!! The traditional and the newer unusual peices!!! Do I like the broken wheels, gates ajar, Jesus called and mom answered peices?? No not really but then again sometimes it breaks up the normal everyday routine!!! Alot of shops flat out refuse to do any of those things in my area ( and some are newer people to the biz and just don't know how):dunno:. But the way I see it is the family wanted that particular arrangement, and I want them to have what they want for there loved one, it is the last thing they feel they can do for that person. I make whatever the customer wants unless I just can't for some reason ( like not having everything to complete it and not being able to get it in, in time etc).
 
I have customers who bring in the broken wheel to this day. The wheel is a b@#*)
when they ask US to take the spoke off. Keep in mind this baby has been stored
who knows where in someone's closet, survived the tornadoes, and now its time to
take a spoke off. The wheel is still big here to the old timers. The country or family
cemeteries look like the General Dollar silk convention during Memorial Day!
 
We still get request for most of them. Gates A Jar, the most popular. You know exactly how old they are and which 2 back wood towns they are from when they ask about it. I've seen the phone, empty chair, Broken Clock. We also get the Pillows, Bibles, Broken Hearts, Broken Wheel, Anchor, and all the service club ones, Rebecca, Masons, etc.etc. Then there are the guitars, fiddles, trucks, cars, bingo cards, dart boards, tractors, etc. We keep explaining that flowers aren't paint!!!
 
Although I was not the designer.....at a previous shop I worked for, the owner had been in the industry since 1951 - and she was telling me about a design she did in either the late sixties or early seventies ..... it was a fully flowered three-dimensional replica of a go-kart.

SHe did not have any pictures of the design, I wish she had so I could borrow it and post it for you all.
 
I don't recall that one Rick. It was enough that TF tried to deafen me. I don't need the added bonus of losing my sense of smell too. ;)

V
 
What about pillow corsages for women in the hospitals? I remember my mom making them when I was a kid 40yrs ago. I always thought that they would get rolled on by the person receiving them and get stuck by the pin!!!
 
I find the further south you are, the more requests for gates, wheels, chairs, and "jesus calls".. the hardest part is not the flowers, its the construction of the form sometimes, and how do you calculate the cost...how many stems of chrysanthemums are needed, etc. that's always the biggest pain for me...but thank goodness for soaking up my "elders" knowledge....now I (29) am teaching my staff (40's, 50's) about some of these designs...LOL
 
gates ajar must be a bit like the gates of heaven we have in the uk. I dont do many of them mainly because they are expensive but they do get asked for occasionally. I havent seen a vacant chair for about 20 years though.
 
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