A Presentation for Your Southern California Group
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UPCOMING
PRESENTATIONS
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For Libraries,
Historical Societies, Clubs and Groups - A SoCal History
and Flower Presentation
The "Sending Flowers to America" Presentation
Author and Book Project Manager Peggi Ridgway presents a fascinating show of colorful slides sharing the lives of
early flower growers from Santa Barbara to San Diego, florists and
people associated with the Los Angeles Flower Market. The
presentation brings to life the housewives, horticulturists and
nurserymen who laid the foundation for flowers in the most ideal
growing climate in our country, Southern California, and it
describes the hustle and bustle of a
wholesale flower market that became the Grand Central of the flower
industry and the region supplied fresh flowers to the entire country
(until imports arrived in the 1960s). Find out how a Civil War captain in Alhambra found his
long-lost sword because he was a flower grower; how local housewives
spurred the growth of the flower business; how
immigrants from around the world
built California's outstanding reputation as a source of elegant fresh
flowers; how a Los Angeles family's vision created America's Christmas
flower. It's all here in living color.
Contact us now for
more details. Please include information about your meeting or
event, location and audience.
More Info
See below for descriptions of our
presentation, descriptions of the
book Sending Flowers to America, and bios of our
presenters. Click here for a
fact
sheet of what's in the book.
Who Enjoys This Colorful Show?
All ages and all cultures find the pictures and stories
fascinating. We are delighted when flower industry folk show up in our
audiences because they contribute anecdotes and special insight that
makes the presentation really come alive.
We give the show in libraries, garden clubs, historical
societies, civic clubs and everywhere.
(See list)
Please Gift a Book ...
We only ask that you purchase (or ask a local civic
group or benefactor to purchase) at least one copy of our Sending
Flowers to America book. Libraries are budget-challenged these
days AND this important reference book (of a historic era missed by most
local histories) belongs in every Southern California library! So isn't this the perfect
gifting opportunity? Ask your group or
another civic group to make a gift of the Sending Flowers to America
book to the local library. Get recognition by letting local
newspapers know of your gift. A token honorarium for our speaker is
optional.
Promotional Documents & Tips to Help
You Attract a Crowd for Your Event:
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Description of the
Presentation:
"Sending Flowers to America" Presentation
Author and Book Project Manager Peggi Ridgway presents a fascinating show of colorful slides sharing the lives of
early flower growers from Santa Barbara to San Diego, florists and
people associated with the Los Angeles Flower Market. The
presentation brings to life the housewives, horticulturists and
nurserymen who laid the foundation for flowers in the best climate
of the country, Southern California, and the hustle and bustle of a
wholesale flower market that became the Grand Central of the flower
industry. Find out how a Civil War captain in Alhambra found his
long-lost sword because he was a flower grower; how local housewives
became instrumental in the growth of the flower business; how
immigrants from Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey and around the world
built California's outstanding reputation as a source of fresh
flowers; how a Los Angeles family's vision created America's Christmas
flower. It's all here in living color.
Meet the
Presenters:
Peggi Ridgway -
Peggi Ridgway, an award-winning author of business books and many
non-fiction articles, manages a small web and publications design
firm in Orange County, California, where she has served the small
business community for 20 years. Her interest in the Los Angeles
Flower Market began when she became the editor of its Bloomin’ News
newsletter in 1999, a position she holds today. She was delighted to
be involved in the research, writing, design and production of the
first recorded history of the American Florists’ Exchange. She is a
frequent visitor to the Flower Market who enjoys fresh flowers and
loves to share the stories behind the pictures in the Sending
Flowers book.
Photos available in the Images section at
https://www.flowermarkethistory.com/asp/media.asp
Jan Works (limited availability) -
Jan Works is a veteran business and marketing communications writer,
corporate journalist and publisher whose clients have included major
firms and publications. She and her husband self published four
books on sport skydiving and an internationally distributed
newsletter. She devoted countless hours, miles and phone and
Internet time in the research phase of this book, personally
interviewing dozens of individuals and the families of early day
leaders in the Los Angeles Flower Market.
About
the Book: Feel free to use one of these and the trivia
from our fact sheet:
100 word description:
In the new hardbound book Sending Flowers to
America, the labor and love of the flower business come to life
in stories and photos of Southern California’s early florists and
flower growers, wholesalers and suppliers. How they established and
grew their own businesses and the Los Angeles Flower Market,
the area’s grand central of flower trading, attests to the energy
and drive of the European immigrants who, along with the Japanese,
supplied flowers to the nation. Sending Flowers is a
celebration of their extraordinary achievement and vision and the
growing prominence of the Flower Market in the nation’s floral
industry.
175 word synopsis:
Sending Flowers to America is a two-part
hardbound book consisting first of a chronological history in eight
chapters, beginning around 1850, of Southern California,
specifically Los Angeles, with an emphasis on the earliest
appearances of flowers in the area, and on the florists, growers and
others who built the area’s floral industry which, incidentally,
supplied the flowers to florists across the United States. Included
are facts surrounding the creation and growth of the American
Florists' Exchange, Ltd (Los Angeles Flower Market), incorporated in
1921. Almost all of the individuals who contributed to the growth of
the area's flower industry traded through the Los Angeles Flower
Market. In its second part, the book’s Profiles section displays the
stories and photos of 66 families of flower growers, shippers,
wholesalers, florists and floral designers, based on personal
interviews over the last two years. Most of these stories are rooted
in the massive immigration movement of the early 1900s. The book
offers more than 350 photos documenting the history of Southern
California’s floral industry, including full color floral
photography.
Book Fact
Sheet:
Our Book Fact Sheet includes a number of facts and
trivia about the book.
Click here to view.
More Info
Please don't hesitate to
contact us for more information -
we are happy to help support your library program through Sending
Flowers to America!
Visit our Blog, where we talk about our speaking
engagements and general news about the our history project -
http://flowermarkethistory.com/blog
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