OASIS Floral Products, Floral IDEAS+ Valentine's Day 2017 by OASIS Floral Products

O A S I S® F L O R A L P R O D U C T S

DESIGN IDEAS

BUSINESS RESOURCES

ARE YOU A MATCH MAKER?

18+ MUST-HAVE NEW FLORAL RECIPES FOR 2017

EVERYONE IS FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE DESTINATIONS COLLECTION

VA L E N T I N E ’ S D AY 2 0 1 7 FLORAL IDEAS + 1

FLOWER CARE

Looking for FREE marketing resources for Valentine’s Day?

WITH SMITHERS-OASIS

Va l e n t i n e ’s D a y I n s p i r a t i o n I P r o v e n P r o d u c t s I M a r k e t i n g R e s o u r c e s

GET STARTED

FLORAL DESIGNS RECIPES, VIDEOS, PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS AND MUCH MORE!

VIDEOS

PHOTOS

SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGES

Let our Design Directors inspire you with tips & tricks

High-quality images of arrangements and products for your website or print

Download and use on social media to promote the holiday.

ACCESS TO CUSTOM PRINTED MARKETING MATERIALS MyOASIS The Smithers-Oasis online marketing portal

G E T R E A DY T O

express your love create one-of-a-kind marketing materials Valentines’s Day Inspiration, Proven Products and Marketing Resources Poster 12 x 18 Ready to print: Smithers-Oasis wants you have the most successful Valentine’s Day yet! To help you, we have designed a variety of Valentine’s Day marketing materials that you can customize with your info and select the floral arrangements images you prefer.

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Provides the ability to purchase custom printed marketing sales materials. Create your own:

WELCOME TO

mithers-Oasis has created Floral IDEAS+ in order to give you, and thousands of florists like you, more. We believe in inspiring others in order to bring beauty to the world while also helping you succeed.

IDEAS+ is a seasonal publication focusing on topics that are important to florists, such as how to increase sales and inspirational floral arrangements. We want this to be your go-to source for floral inspiration and retail success. Travel along the pages of IDEAS+ and be sure to visit the active links within each page that will take you beyond the magazine on a journey to additional resources, recipes & more.

Kindest regards,

Kelly Mace Marketing Programs/ Communications Manager Smithers-Oasis North America

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Join more than 13,000 Floral Pros.

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LEARN ABOUT THE LATEST FLORAL DESIGN INSPIRATIONS, MARKETING PROMOTIONS, PRODUCT NEWS, HOW-TO FLORAL TIPS, VIDEOS, AND ARTICLES FROM SHARON MCGUKIN AIFD, PFCI.

EDITOR’S NOTE Winter is a busy time of year for florists. With Valentine’s Day being such an important holiday, it can be a stressful time. For this reason, we wanted to provide a resource to help you through it. Within these pages you will find Valentine’s Day arrangements and sales tips to spark your creativity and make the season a success. We want to inspire you to express your love on Valentine’s Day. And in doing so, help others express theirs. If you have questions, ideas or concerns, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-321-8286 or support@oasisfloral.us.

CONNECT WITH US!

Like us on Facebook to keep up to date on our products and designs. facebook.com/oasisfloralproducts Stay informed about all things Smithers-Oasis by following us on Twitter. twitter.com/oasisfloral View our videos on the IDEA Channel for the latest product info and trends. youtube.com/oasisfloral Follow our boards on Pinterest for ideas and inspiration. pinterest.com/smithersoasis Join us as we share our vision through inspirational visuals. instagram.com/oasis_floral_ products

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER STORY

EVERYONE IS FALLING FOR THE DESTINATIONS COLLECTION Leading the way for floral inspiration. PAGE 6

CHANGING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS

Let flower care show you how. PAGE 14

ARE YOU A MATCH MAKER?

Create unique arrangements by matching up decorative floral accents.

LET LOVE GROW… & YOUR PROFITS, TOO

Blend traditional marketing with your digital efforts. PAGE 27

IT’S A WIN-WIN! Giveaways where everyone wins. PAGE 30

PAGE 16

IDEAS+ DESIGNER TIPS

YOUR ROUTE TO BETTER FLORAL PROFITS

PAGE 33

Let us help you do the math. PAGE 20

GIVE SOMETHING GREEN

Our eco-friendly products consumers demand. PAGE 22

GOOD. BETTER. BEST. Providing the right price points for each consumer. PAGE 24

Let our design director show you how to make a sequin tassel!

TIME TO GET YOUR ROSES IN A ROW Your Valentine’s Day Timeline. PAGE 34

OH, HOW PINTERESTING!

Get creative with emerging trends consumers want. PAGE 36

MARKETING TIPS TO INCREASE HOLIDAY SALES

How are you planning to increase sales? PAGE 26 FLORAL IDEAS + 5

EVERYONE IS FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE DESTINATIONS COLLECTION IT’S LEADING THE WAY FOR FLORAL INSPIRATION. Travel no further to get one-of-a-kind floral inspirations that your customers will love this Valentine’s Day. Our 2016 Destinations Collection of floral accents is sure to add romance and transform a simple arrangement into a look that’s beyond ordinary. With the Destinations Collection, and all of our other products, we are making it easy for your customers to express their love. Adding these products to your favorite floral arrangements will give you the opportunity to become more profitable with higher price points.

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expre

ess your love VA L E N T I N E â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S D AY 2 0 1 7

SEE THE NEW DESTINATION COLLECTION FEATURED IN THE FOLLOWING ARRANGEMENTS.

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embrace the mom

OASISâ&#x201E;˘ Raw Jute transforms an ordinary glass vase into a colorful arrangement your customers will love. For an additional accent, OASISâ&#x201E;˘ Button Wire has been wrapped around the vase as well. These elements together work perfectly with the brilliant pinks, purples, and whites of the flowers. The raw jute and button wire also hide the stems, elongating the floral arrangement itself.

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ment GET THE RECIPE NOW

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GET THE RECIPE NOW

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add

Our new OASISâ&#x201E;˘ Sequin Wrap is a dazzling accent that has become very popular. The gold sequins in this arrangement play well with the pink roses while the pink lilies add an explosion of color throughout. This floral arrangement uses a minimum amount of accents but the shine of the gold sequins is still able to stand out against the collection of flowers.

d some excitement Even with only a few floral products, you are still able to create beautiful arrangements. This allows you to create more floral arrangements by increasing the value of your materials and ultimately increasing your profits.

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While lacking many of the traditional characteristics that make up Valentine’s Day, this floral arrangement has its own creativity without ignoring the tradition altogether. The OASIS™ Etched Wire, in ruby, playfully wraps around the white hydrangea and ends with a heart and a twist. OASIS™ Natural Wrap, in Woodland Bark, a crowd favorite, brings this arrangement back to a natural state with accents placed along the etched wire and wrapped around the vase.

get playful with

This earth-friendly Valentine’s Day arrangement takes a different approach to the holiday that will be greatly appreciated by those who like to color outside the lines.

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h wire

GET THE RECIPE NOW

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CHANGING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS WITH

Wondering how flower care changes a consumer’s perception?

A flower’s perceived short lifespan can be the primary barrier to consumers purchasing them more often.

Floralife’s new Express Technology eliminates the need to recut stems and extends the life of an arrangement. With long-lasting flowers, customers will be more likely to return and purchase more often. Transformative technology that allows fresh cut flowers to keep fully hydrated and fed without having to recut the stems. • New technology that eliminates the need to re-cut your stems • Helps keep flowers fully hydrated and provides the correct amount of nutrients to keep them looking fresh FLORAL IDEAS + 1 4

• Encourages the flower to properly start opening, showing vibrant colors • Can be used on all flower varieties and foliage greens

See the full line of FloraLife® Express Universal products

SEEING IS BELIEVING. Get Your FREE Express Universal 300 Trial Kit Today!* See first hand why you can stop cutting stems! *While supplies last. The Express Universal 300 Kit includes: One pint of Express Universal 300, instructions to see Express Universal 300 in action and an evaluation form to share your results. FOR YOUR FREE KIT EMAIL US AT:

marketing@smithersoasis.com

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ARE YOU A

MATCH MAKER? FLORAL IDEAS + 1 6

Variety is the spice of life and when it comes to floral arrangements everyone likes options. Arrangements should be special and unique to each recipient. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time to create wholly original floral arrangements for every single customer that walks through the door. This is when it is important to take a look at the materials you have and get creative. By mixing and matching materials you can easily create ten great arrangements with only three

products. By mixing sequin with bark, sequin with lace, or lace with bark you can get more value from your products. Giving customers more options. And remember, there are many ways to use just one material. Bark wrap can be used on vases or as an accent within your flowers. Sequin wrap can be a tassel or just used to wrap a vase. Stretch your creativity and see how many arrangements you can make using just two products. See some of Cupidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s matches here. FLORAL IDEAS + 1 7

Mix and match to create the perfe

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MATCH OASIS™ 1” CLUNY COTTON LACE WITH OASIS™ MIDOLLINO STICKS

MATCH OASIS™ ETCHED WIRE, SILVER MATTE WITH OASIS™ BEADED WIRE, IRIDESCENT

MAKE THIS MATCH NOW!

ect Valentine’s Day arrangement.

MATCH OASIS™ SEQUIN WRAP, STEEL MATTE WITH OASIS™ ALUMINUM WIRE, STEEL

MATCH 1” OASIS™ RAW JUTE, EGGPLANT WITH 2” OASIS™ RAW JUTE, MOSS

MAKE THIS MATCH NOW!

SEE ALL OUR VALENTINE’S DAY ARRANGEMENTS. CHECK OUT ALL 68 RECIPES PLUS 18 NEW 2017 MUST HAVE ARRANGEMENT RECIPES

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Your route to better floral profits.

Let us show you how. You are always looking for new ways to increase your profits. Our solution allows your creativity to flow in the process. With as many different products as we have, it’s difficult to stop thinking of new ways to use them, which is exactly how you are going to get your profits to increase.

The OASIS™ Sequin Wrap adds a lot of character which translates into more value and a higher price. This beautiful arrangement retails at approximately 3x the price of the largest vase arrangements on its own. The price more than makes up for the cost of the materials used.

By adding accents to a simple vase, you can create a new arrangement that will easily sell for a higher price. We used OASIS™ Etched Wire in two ways in order to decrease the number of different materials we had to use.

The real challenge is how to increase the price (make it look spectacular) without increasing the cost (using too many materials) at the same rate. So figure out how to make the most out of the materials you have available.

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Approximate OASIS Floral Products Quantity/Length Item Code wholesale cost 6- 3/8” Decanter Vase

45-00782

$2 - $4

5” Decanter Vase

45-00719

$2 - $3

4” Decanter Vase

45-00718

$2 - $3

Sequin Wrap Gold

1.5 feet

41-12380

$1 - $2

Etched Wire, Gold

3 feet

40-12200

$.50 - $1

31-01591

$.10 - $.25

6 feet

40-02640

$.10 - $.20

UGLU Dashes Bind Wire, Natural Fresh Ingredients Scabiosa Pods Roses, Yellow

6 12 stems

$4 - $6 $10 - $12

Approximate retail selling price: $45-60

GET THE RECIPE NOW

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Give

Did you know? Enhanced biodegradability has been added to all OASIS® Floral Foam Maxlife products – all densities and shapes – with no compromise to the flower life that makes Maxlife the top choice of floral designers. FLORAL IDEAS + 2 2

LEARN MORE

With rising consumer preferences toward eco-friendly products, be ready to provide “green” arrangement options this Valentine’s Day.

something GREEN Look no further than our “green” products that are made from recycled plant fibers, organic dyes, and biodegradable materials.

See all our ECOssentials™ cylinders and cubes

To further our steps to increase our sustainable efforts, our OASIS® Floral Foam Maxlife packaging is now unbleached and SFI certified kraft paper. Certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), we ensure our paper packaging comes from sustainably harvested forests. FLORAL IDEAS + 2 3

Good. Better. Best. What’s not to love! Creating price points to meet consumer needs. By understanding who your customers are you can better plan for a holiday season like Valentine’s Day. With a large variety of customers, it becomes difficult to predict the exact arrangement that is within their budget or needs. Plan on providing price points — Good, Better, Best levels. This form of up selling is not just a sales tactic, but a way to create customer happiness by delivering more value. Be sure to prep your design team on a menu of upgrade options and price points that can be offered to your customers. Start with a traditional floral arrangement. Now determine what can be added to it to upgrade the arrangement and increase profit.

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Also, decide what can be simplified to make a lower price point. Remember, lower price points and simplicity do not mean the arrangement is any less creative or meaningful. Sometimes removing components from an arrangement is more difficult than adding onto one. With these different price points you are likely to sell more arrangements because you are offering products geared toward three types of customers budgets rather than just one — keeping every one happy this Valentine’s Day.

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The Society of American Florists asked what contributed to increased shop sales. This is what the respondents said in the 2016 Valentine’s Day SAF survey. FLORAL SHOP ADVERTISING

35%

HIGHER PRICE POINTS

27%

See the results of the 2016 Valentine’s Day Survey CLICK HERE

How are you planning to increase Valentine’s Day sales? Direct mail and social media are two popular methods that integrate traditional and online marketing. These tools reach vastly different audiences, but when combined, can get you the customers you want for Valentine’s Day. See the following pages for some tips to get you started.

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MARKETING • DI RECT MAIL

Your email box is full. Your Facebook feed is a mile long. You’re not alone. Digital marketing is a great tool for retail businesses to stay connected with customers. But while all these digital channels have a place in your marketing plan, how can more traditional methods – like direct mail – keep you top-of-mind and remind your customers to order early, or even help you connect with new local customers.

LET LOVE GROW…

AND YOUR PROFITS, TOO!

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Your floral shop is ready to help select the best floral arrangement for that someone special! Send your customers a postcard with a reminder that Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year - great for sending flowers to the office or bringing an arrangement home. Use the front of the card to feature beautiful floral arrangements. Be sure to name your arrangements so customers can easily order and know what to expect and ask for. On the back of the postcard, provide your information on how to place an order. Provide your address, phone number, website and any details about specials you’re running. Plan to have this postcard land in mailboxes around the end of January - that’s two weeks before Valentine’s Day.

Now is the time to remind your customers Valentine’s Day is around the corner. Let them know you are ready by using direct mail.

Need help creating a custom postcard? Visit My OASIS: The Smithers-Oasis Online Marketing Portal where you can create your own custom direct mail pieces. FLORAL IDEAS + 2 8

MARKETING • DI RECT MAIL

Reminding people that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching will increase the likelihood of their ordering before rather than on Valentine’s Day. With the right plan in place, Valentine’s Day can be successful without all the last-minute stress.

When were the average 2016 Valentine’s Day orders placed and delivered?

72%

placed orders before Valentine’s Day

34%

placed orders on Valentine’s Day

44%

of orders were delivered on Valentine’s Day Source: SAF Valentine’s Day 2016 Survey

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SO C I AL M E D IA GIV E AWAY S

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a win-win!

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MARKETING • SOCIAL MEDIA

Increase engagement as well as awareness on Facebook with a giveaway! Your followers will love to participate and will be willing to share with their friends. Keep in mind, the prize needs to be something people will want such as a small arrangement or gift certificate. Think about what you would want, don’t just go with the easiest or least expensive item. • Create a Facebook post with a great image featuring the prize to grab people’s attention to announce the giveaway. • Explain in detail what they will be winning. Let them know why they want to win. • Create terms for entering like sharing the post, liking the page, and tagging a friend in the comments. Each of these steps will build awareness by going out to the entrants’ friends and followers.

• Invite all the entrants to like your page if they do not already. • The amount of awareness and engagement from the giveaway will more than make up for the cost of the prize. Not to mention, it is always fun to make someone happy.

• Be sure to set an end date that gives your followers enough time to enter, but doesn’t leave them wondering what happened after too much time; a few days should suffice, depending on the size and popularity of the item. • Once the deadline has passed, list the names of the entrants in a spreadsheet and use a random number generator (you can find one easily online) to determine the winner. Match up the number in the spreadsheet and voila, you have your winner. • Announce the winner in a creative way such as a Facebook Live video. Make sure you also notify them in a comment on the post tagging them and asking that they send you contact information.

Your customers will love sharing your Facebook page when you run a giveaway!

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Looking for a way to GROW your business? My OASIS: The Smithers-Oasis Online Marketing Portal Grow your business with predesigned sales materials ready-to-print with your information. It’s fast, it’s easy — and it’s customized!

G E T RE A D Y T O

• Point-of-Sale Flyers

• Outdoor Feather Banners

• Posters

• Refrigerator Magnet

• Direct Mail Postcards

• Thank You Card • Year-at-a-Glance Calendar

Create your own:

POINT-OF-SALE FLYERS

POSTERS

Promote Valentine’s Day arrangements at your check-out counter.

Intrigue your customers by displaying eye-catching arrangements.

Customize your own:

FL O

ROM MOR

30 RA

Pre-Designed Poster:

Customize your own:

HA N ET

CHO O S

Ready to print:

Point Of Sale Flyer 8.5 x 11

L D E S IG

Pre-Designed Point of Sale Flyers:

Create your own:

Postcards 8.5 x 5.5 Create your own:

POSTCARDS

Send a reminder right to your customers with products your want to promote and sell for Valentine’s Day with pre-designed and custom options.

CUSTOMIZE ARRANGEMENTS FROM A LIBRARY OF OVER 30 OASIS FLORAL DESIGNS

YOUR COMPANY NAME HERE

YOUR CONTACT INFO HERE

Use the My OASIS portal, along with our Express Your Love Valentine’s Day microsite, to get additional marketing resources and inspiration. Watch quick tip videos, get floral arrangement recipes and download high-quality images of arrangements to use on your website or use on social media.

Order Products Now! FLORAL IDEAS + 3 2

www.proforma.com/MyOasis

Watch Frank show you how to create this sequin tassel featuring OASIS™ Sequin Wrap in Ruby Matte.

IDEAS+ Designer Tip Frank Feysa AIFD, CFD, PFCI OASIS Floral Products Design Director

Frank Feysa, AIFD CFD PFCI has been involved in many facets of the floral industry for more than 30 years, as a retail shop owner, event designer, educator and commercial print designer. Frank currently serves as a Design Director for the Smithers Oasis Company in Kent, Ohio and is also teaching Commercial and Contemporary Floral Design at Ohio State University. Frank’s work has been featured in many industry publications and design shows, both nationally and internationally. He was inducted into the American Institute of Floral Designers in 2002 and has been active on both the regional and national level.

In 2014 Frank chaired the American Institute of Floral Designers Symposium in Chicago, Transition Transformation and currently serves as AIFD Vice President. He received a Bachelor’s Degree from Hiram College and has a lifelong interest in orchid cultivation and breeding, achieving accredited judge status from the American Orchid Society in 1995.

“OASIS Sequin Wrap is such a unique product, it gives us understated classical elegance and is available in a variety of great colors.” Frank Feysa AIFD CFD PFCI

SEE HOW IT’S MADE

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Time to get your roses in a row YOUR VALENTINE’S DAY TIMELINE Partner with your wholesaler to plan properly and gain additional business. Sandy Schroeck of Len Busch Roses discusses great ways to increase sales: “Approximately two months before Valentine’s Day, plan your menu of arrangements. Typically, you can pre-book 80% of what you sold the previous year safely so that you’re only reacting to the last 20% at the time of the holiday, plus a possible increase if this year is busier.” To calculate, keep good records of how many arrangements you sold at each price point in previous years. Use that information to develop a plan of new offerings at a variety of price points with recipes and web-ready photos of designs. Create a buy plan from recipes and projected quantities, pre-book 80% of total needed. Purchase your products early for the best price negotiating power, and then pocket the extra margin by basing your retail price on the regular item pricing. Don’t forget that labor time should also be calculated to allow for accurate staffing. The key to success is keeping yearly records to reference. - Sandy Schroeck AIFD, PFCI, CFD FLORAL IDEAS + 3 4

January

1 MONTH BEFORE

❍❍ Use social media to start reminding your followers of the upcoming holiday ❍❍ Check inventory again and confirm delivery/pricing with suppliers ❍❍ Identify opportunities for cross-promotions with other local-area businesses ❍❍ Address any concerns with your staff and review the essentials: prices, dress code, and how to impress first-time and repeat customers ❍❍ Dress the store for the holiday!

February 1-6 THE WEEK BEFORE ❍❍ Call loyal customers to see what they would like to order this year ❍❍ CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!!! This will save time and energy later. Make sure to have plenty of Floralife® Floral Cleaner on hand! ❍❍ Provide treats and energizers for the staff ❍❍ Prep any containers with decorative accessories ❍❍ Remind your sales team about available upgrades, delivery prices and proper flower care

January 17-31

Valentine’s Day Week February 7-14

2-3 WEEKS BEFORE

VALENTINE’S DAY IS ON TUESDAY!

❍❍ Check inventory and place orders ❍❍ Run a pre-training session for temporary staff ❍❍ Start promoting special offerings to your customers (email, postcards, etc.) ❍❍ Share photos daily on social media of your arrangements and action shots of your staff working

❍❍ Inspect flowers upon arrival and place in buckets cleaned with Floralife’s DCD ❍❍ Prepare flowers with Floralife® Express Universal Technology and eliminate the need to recut the stems ❍❍ Check the cooler temperature daily (flowers last longest if stored between 34°F - 38°F) ❍❍ Remember to organize any special requests ❍❍ Say thank you to those working so hard with you

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Keep up with emerging trends, your DIYers are looking for unique options to show their love.

Oh, how pinteresting! Unique floral containers can make gifting a bit more personal for those really trying to impress. Based on insights from the team at Pinterest, the top emerging trends on Pinterest under hobbies and interests is Mixology. As your customers spend their time taking their cocktail game to the next level, you can take your creative game up a notch too. Suggest that your customers bring in their own containers such as a copper Moscow Mule mug to incorporate into the arrangement. Help them achieve a one-of-a-kind gift by arranging flowers in something trendy. Visit the Pinterest Blog to see all the Top 100 ideas to try in 2017

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Black Cherry Mule

Want more recipes?

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ oz. vodka 1 oz. Monin Black Cherry Fruit Purée ¾ oz. fresh lime juice 3 oz. ginger beer Glass: 12 oz. Garnish: Cherry, Lime, Mint Sprig INSTRUCTIONS Combine ingredients except sparkling beverage in serving glass. Stir well to combine. Top with sparkling beverage. Garnish. Source: https://www.monin.com/m/black-cherry-mule.html

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The real

glamour is in the back room.

Join these featured designers in our 2017 Inspire Design Showcase.

OASIS® Floral Products would like to thank the talented floral designers who shared their creativity with us in 2016. Let’s keep the momentum going! Follow us on Facebook to enter the 2017 Inspire Design Showcase. You could have your arrangement featured in a national ad, on our blog and more. Go to oasisfloralproducts.com/inspire to get inspired.

Be a featured designer! Visit us on Facebook to enter.