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11 Orange County Companies That Have Appeared On “Shark Tank”

Irvine-based gift service company Bouquet Bar on Shark Tank. Fans of the ABC reality show “Shark Tank” may have noticed that quite a few of the businesses vying for investments over the years have hailed from Orange County. Here are some of our favorites.Bouquet BarCity: IrvineEpisode: Season 9 Episode 19The Deal: Mark Cuban invested $150,000 for a 20% stakeThe Company: Bouquet Bar is a gift giving service that allows customers to create customized gifts. The tangerine colored boxes may include flowers and other gift items such as candy, candles, and lotions. bouquetbar.comSlyde HandboardsCity: San ClementeEpisode: Season 7 Episode 24The Deal: Ashton Kutcher and Mark Cuban invested $200,000 for a 22% stakeThe Company: An idea that started as founder Steve Watts bodysurfing while holding a fast food tray turned into a way to help everyone ride the waves. slydehandboards.comLocker BoardCity: San ClementeEpisode: Season 9 Episode 1The Deal: Sir Richard Branson inve... http://www.orangecoast.com/stuff-we-love/11-orange-county-companies-that-have-appeared-on-shark-tank/

Irvinestown children make flowers for Ulster in Bloom

Like everywhere else, a town in County Fermanagh felt the effects of the hot weather and the hosepipe ban. The theme for the Irvinestown 17th annual summer scheme is Flower Power.It coincides with the 40th Lady of the Lake Festival. But while the 200 children and over 60 volunteers and staff made the most of the good weather, the effects of the sun meant disappointment for a town desperate to win an Ulster in Bloom title. Jenny Irvine is the Chief Executive of the Arc Healthy Living Centre. She said the children of the town made a special effort for the Ulster in Bloom competition. All to little avail. But not easily deterred, the children turned to arts and crafts to try to save the day. "The call for flowers came and we decided they didn't necessarily have to be real flowers, so the children have been hard at work making Irvinestown blooming marvellous," said Ms Irvine.The children have spent hours piling, pleating, twisting and pulling thousands of pieces of crepe paper with pipe cleaners to make flowers to decorate the town. Hours of work have ... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-44934642

More top designers to return to 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show as children theme emerges

Greenfingers children's hospice garden charity.In the pavilion, Thompson & Morgan hope to exhibit new plants on Sparsholt College’s exhibit.Dutch growers such as Florist Holland hope to exhibit on a Birmingham Council exhibit, which has not been confirmed.Millais, APHA, Hillier and Medwyn Williams are also set to exhibit in the pavilion alongside dozens of the regular nurseries. ... https://www.hortweek.com/top-designers-return-2019-rhs-chelsea-flower-show-children-theme-emerges/landscape/article/1497566

The Art of Flowers: Carolyne Roehm will speak about her career in fashion, design and gardening

Growing up in Missouri, she remembers playing on her grandparents’ farm, in the garden and with the animals.“As a little girl I played dress- up and played florist,” she said. “My heart and soul is really in the outdoors and nature.”Roehm, 67, started her career as a fashion designer in New York City, working for Oscar de la Renta before opening her own fashion house. But the love of nature never left her, and after 22 years she took a hiatus from the world of fashion to learn a new craft, taking an unpaid stint working at a flower shop in Paris.There, she learned the intricacies of designing perfect bouquets and floral arrangements.“I kind of took a sabbatical and decided I wanted to do things I’d never had time to do before,” she said.It was a whole new kind of design, but in many ways, she said, it was familiar.“To me, there is no difference. Flowers and nature teach us about color, about proportion, about line texture, about composition,” she said.She went on to write 13 books, combining her love of gardens, fashion and interior design. Her latest book, “Design & Style: A Constant Thread,” published Sept. 25 by Rizzoli, is part memoir, part photo-laden coffee table book, mixing stories from her life and career with images of her gardens and design work.“I wanted to show this relationship between gardening and fashion and flowers. Flowers have connected so much of what I’ve designed and created,” she said. “This is my relationship with nature and flowers.”That’s an apt topic for her visit to the Cedar Rapids Garden Club, which has supported public beautifica... https://www.thegazette.com/subject/life/books/the-art-of-flowers-carolyne-roehm-will-speak-about-her-career-in-fashion-design-and-gardening-20181027

How to get, give free flowers today to "Petal It Forward"

A stranger may hand you a bouquet today in an effort to make you smile. A florist may offer you two free flower bunches, one to keep and one to gift. What's this all about? The annual Petal It Forward giveaway, which takes place this year on Wednesday, Oct. 24.The event, sponsored by the Society of American Florists, calls attention to the variety of floral products grown in the U.S. and the positive, instant impact of giving and receiving flowers.-- Janet Eastman jeastman@oregonian.com503-294-4072@janeteastman Dandelions Flowers & Gifts Local growers, wholesalers and retailers are among those participating in 400 cities. Each florist chooses how to pass out the bundles. They can spread joy to residents in assisted living facilities, passersby and people stuck in traffic. Sunflower Flats ... https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/life-and-culture/erry-2018/10/4bc4e605d83579/give-get-free-flowers-today-to.html

Former White House Chief Florist takes the…

Brussels sprouts (Photos courtesy of Laura Dowling) Swan Lake: Marshmallows, white feathers and silvered branchesThe gallery will resume insecondsFor Dowling, former Chief Florist for the White House, the challenge was to create a new twist on a circular form as old as, well, the Earth.Wait, “You were the florist for the White House?”Twenty years ago, Dowling had a career in public policy and communications strategy. In 2000, she went to Paris for the first time and fell in love with the flower shops.She began doing floral design on the side, and her little business blossomed. When the White House job opened in 2009, she applied along with hundreds of others. Eventually, the search narrowed to three finalists.The last step was a four-hour timed competition. “They put the three finalists in separate rooms,” she said, “and asked us to create arrangements for a state dinner, the blue room, and the Oval Office.” Next, Michelle Obama came to see the arrangements and interview the designers.Dowling’s fresh-from-the-garden, French flower style won the day. “It’s what Jackie Kennedy would have done,” said Dowling of the first lady who created the role of White House Chief Florist in 1961. And so began a dream job, which she held from 2009 to 2015. Since then, she’s written, “Floral Diplomacy”, “A White House Christmas”, about one of the nation’s biggest and most visible floral design jobs; and now “Wreaths.”Dowling’s 128-page book lays out everything you need to know to make 78 inventive, unexpected wreaths. Each recipe includes the tools you’ll need, materials, skill level,  approximate duration and eye-candy photos.Dowling and I could have talked all day:Q: What do you wish more people knew about wreath making?A: Anyone can go out and buy a wreath. But so many are flat and typical. I would love for people to know they ca... https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/24/former-white-house-chief-florist-takes-the-wreath-to-new-heights/

Narcotics professor, florist found faith

A few years ago, she took a class on floraldesign. By happenstance, her teacher was a social worker who donated flowers towomen’s shelters. Sale fell in love with floristry and spent three years offand on at a floral design school in Manhattan. She also volunteered arrangingflowers at women’s shelters. “It was the first time (the women) ever hadflowers. Can you imagine?” she said. “They would come up to me and cry. I wouldteach them and I would say, ‘Put them next to your bedside because you deserveflowers — always remember that.’ ” Now she has her own small business — Sandi’sFloral Creations. A few years ago, Sale took her flowersand retired to the beach. But after six months, she found she was miserable. Soher brother invited her to stay with his family for a while. One Sunday, shejoined them for Mass at St. Leo the Great Church in Fairfax. “Everybody seemed so peaceful, and thewelcoming was amazing,” she said. “I said, ‘What planet is this?’ And mybrother goes, ‘That’s our faith.’ I said, ‘How do I get that?’ ” So Sale wasback in the classroom again, this time attending RCIA. In 2017, she wasreceived into the church. Sale’s Catholic faith is “the best giftI’ve ever had,” and so she uses her talents to give back to the church. Sale arrangesthe flowers for the altar at St. Leo Church and occasionally at diocesanevents. She likes to volunteer with the youth group and is a member of the Legionof Mary. “It is finally a place where I feel Ibelong. I was meant to be here, and the joy I have every day from belonging andfinding my path is more than I can ever say,” said Sale. Her hope is to bringpeople the light of Christ through all she does. “I waited 60-some years to getthis gift — I want to shout it from the treetops.” ... https://www.catholicherald.com/News/Catholic_Living/Narcotics_professor,_florist_found_faith/

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