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The Fat Guy Gang is back (minus Ryan & Mimi, who were on a much-needed post-Fresh Fest day off.). In episode 80 we Fern, Joel & Mike sit down with Paul Hoogenboom of Holex Flower.  Holex Flower BV was founded in 1982 and is located at the VBA south-complex of the FloraHolland flower auction in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. Holex is Holland's market leader when it comes to export of fresh-cut flowers to distant destinations serviced by air freight. The most important markets are the United States, Japan, Canada, and recently several countries in the Middle East. Additionally, Holex services selected clientele in several European countries via truck transportation.

In 2005 Holex became a member of the Dutch Flower Group ( DFG ) the world's largest consortium of fresh floral companies. Holex supplies a wide segment of floral importers, including wholesalers, supermarkets and their procurement divisions, retail chain stores, and internet companies.  Learn more about Paul and Holex at https://shop.holex.com/

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Our first-ever #FreshFest2023 took place on August 18 at the Rubell Museum in Miami, FL, and boy was it a huge success!! In this episode, we recap the entire event from the inaugural Blooms & Birdies Golf tournament, the day 1 Happy Hour, and of course the full-day event that is being referred to as "the best flower event of all time!"
We are joined this week, by Fresh Fest guest speakers, Ace Berry, AIFD of Fulshear Floral Design in Houston, TX, Andy Arthur aka "Sourced for you by Commerce Drew" from Nordlie, Detroit, as well as Jason Verbeke our sales rep for Rosa Flora in Ontario Canada.  Listen in as we dive deep into all the details you may or may not have caught, what we loved best, and what we could do better IF and WHEN we decide to do it again next year.  There will be a full event recap blog up soon on our blog page.
Special thanks again to all our partners, sponsors, vendors, florists and friends that helped make the event a huge success.  Especially Carlos Muina and his team at Petal Productions in Miami, FL.

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Another fresh week and another fresh episode come with it!  No guests this week, as we recorded this episode in the midst of all the tireless Fresh Fest 2023 prep work.  But that doesn't stop Mike, Fern, Mimi, Ryan, and Joel from bringing you a fun and interesting conversation surrounding all the Fresh Fest excitement. Ranging from Fern's trip to WFFSA's Dev X in Niagara Falls, Fresh Fest's plans and details, and more importantly Mike's hot takes on the recent alien activity and announcements.

Listen in and enjoy, and be sure to follow all the Fresh Fest fun on our social media where we'll be handing out free FOMO.  @JetFreshFlowers

Learn more about WFFSA's Dev Ex.

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This week the Fat Guys are 1 Fat Guy down, as Fern attends WFFSA's Dev-X in Niagara Falls.  Luckily we brought in industry legend, Lenny Walker to fill in for the week.  Walker, VP of Sales & Operations and longtime team member of Kennicott Brothers Company.   Mike, Ryan, Mimi, Joel, and Lenny cover a wide range of topics including the similarities of the Chicago and NY flower scene, profit calculator tools, the difference of sauce vs gravy, grinder sandwiches and more!

Kennicott is a leading importer and distributor of fresh flowers, plants, and floral design supplies. Our mission is to deliver top-quality floral products to neighborhood florists, event designers, and mass retailers across the country. With 15 local wholesale flower markets spanning the Midwest, Southeast, and East Coast, we have deep roots in the Chicago area and have been serving our customers since 1881.
Learn more at: https://www.kennicott.com/

As always, send us your questions, comments and guest requests to [email protected]

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We're back with another fresh episode of #2FatGuysTalkingFlowers!
In this episode, we sit down with Talicia McCall owner of Ambiance By Lovie in Montgomery, Alabama.  Talicia is a self-proclaimed "baby bloomer" and is relatively new to the industry, but is already making a splash as a celebration florist in her area of Alabama.  We first met Talicia when she presented "How I did it, overcoming obstacles and Achieving a dream" at the 2023 Next Gen LIVE! event in Miami, FL.  And in this episode, we got to know her a lot better.  From her journey in Education from Administrator to Principal, how she became a "celebration florist," being a part of #BlackGirlFlorists and so much more!  Lsiten in and enjoy!

Learn more about Talicia and her Ambiance By Lovie at https://www.ablxinteriors.com/

Submit your questions and comments or request to be a future guest email: [email protected]

Episode Chapters:
Public Speaking: 1:00
Talicia’s Story: 5:00
Becoming a Florist: 10:00
How Ambiance By Lovie was named: 18:30
Black Girl Florists: 26:50
Being a Speaker at Next Gen LIVE!: 35:05
Speaking to The Youth: 42:40
Working with Daughter: 1:03:50
Questions: 1:17:10

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This week we celebrate a milestone even we're surprised we hit, episode 75!!! 
And for episode 75, the Fat Guys Gang is joined by Scott Blumenthal.  Scott, who has more than 35 years of expertise in the cut floral industry,  has spent the last few weeks as the newest member of Chrysal Americas as their new General Manager and plans to contribute to the company’s continued success.  The conversation heads in all sorts of directions including Scott's past, Fern's trip up to the cabin, Fresh Fest updates and most importantly, Scott's favorite sandwich...a hot dog!

"Throughout his distinguished career, Scott has held key positions that have honed his skills and deepened his industry knowledge. He co-founded Equiflor Corporation, served as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at HOSA International for 13 years, and held the role of Vice President of Dole Fresh Flowers. Scott’s most recent accomplishment was his invaluable contribution to FTD, where he played a pivotal role in developing their Farm Direct Program and served as Vice President of Strategic Sourcing."   Read Chrysal's full press release announcement here.

Learn more about Chrysal and their products at: https://www.chrysal.com/en-us

RSVP for Fresh Fest here!  (PW: 420)

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The Fat Guys are back with another fresh episode, with another friend and industry legend of a guest.  This week we are joined by Bob Tucker, AIFD, CFD, CFEJ, FSMD (LMNOP) owner of Miss Daisy's Flowers & Gifts, a full-service wedding and event florist that serves Leesburg, FL, and the surrounding areas.  As well as, an accredited member of the American Institute of Floral Design, certified evaluator and floral design judge, executive director of the Florida State Florists Association, editor and publisher of Sunlighting Magazine, and Floral Design educator.

As we gear up to attend the annual FSFA convention (being held in Jacksonville, FL July 28) we wanted to sit down and talk about what to expect from the show, what's new and coming for FSFA, what it takes to be a certified judge and so much more.  Listen in and enjoy.  As always, submit your guest requests or questions and comments to [email protected]

Learn more about FSFA at: https://floridastatefloristsassociation.com/
Learn more about Bob and Miss Daisy's Flowers at: https://www.missdaisysflowers.com/

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The Fat Guys have a great guest this week!  Chris Drummond, AAF, PFCI Owner of Penny's by Plaza Flowers is a flower lover of all sorts, who has worked in various roles throughout his lifelong career in the industry.  Drummond is extremely involved and dedicated to both the industry and his family.   He attended his first Society of American Florists' CAD at 19 years old, served on the SAF board including president during the Covid years, and helped create Next Gen and Seed Your Future while helping coach his 4 children's baseball teams.  Listen in as we try and cover it all including the important topics like Chris' favorite cheesesteak spot, that time he was a narrator in a play, and so much more.  We hope you enjoy it!

Penny's Flowers opened in Glenside in 1937. Who joined forces with Plaza Flowers to allow a new family to continue as Glenside, Philadelphia’s premier florist, event decorator, and gift shop.  They have partnered with the Drummond family to create Penny's by Plaza Flowers, serving Philadelphia and its suburbs with high-quality flowers, plants, and gift baskets 7 days a week.  Three generations of experience, Penny's by Plaza Flowers has been voted as "Best Florist" by several regional publications, Pennsylvania's "Florist of the Year" and has been ranked as a "Top Florist" by three national wire services. 

Learn more about Chris and Penny's by Plaza Flowers at: pflorist.com
Learn more about Seed Your Future and SAF's initiatives at: safnow.org

Submit your questions and guest requests to [email protected]

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Fatty fans have been eagerly awaiting this week's episode!  A couple of months ago we sent our blossoming Cash & Carry sales rep, Kris aka "Pinky" Yllescas on a 3-week European flower boot-camp.  The goal  of the trip was to educate Kris on the quality, technology, strategies, scale and work-ethic of the European flower industry.  And to see how big of a difference it is from the US market.

Also featured on today's episode are Marc Janssen, (Co-owner & Head Purchasing) and Gerard Haazebroek aka "Uncle Gerry" from our social media of EZ Flowers in Holland.  EZ Flower is our partner, located in the heart of the flower industry: Flora Holland Aalsmeer; and the first stop of Pinky's trip.

Listen in as they go through his entire trip, including working with Heemskerk Flowers on a Flying Dutchman flower truck in Switzerland, to working at Vianen Flowers, a Dutch Wholesaler and distributor.  We also cover his daysin Amsterdam, what his favorite Dutch eats and much more!

Learn more about our partners EZ Flower at https://ezflower.nl/

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In this week's episode of #2FatGuysTalkingFlowers we were lucky enough to get a visit from our friend,  Alejandro Pérez!  Alex, the Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of  Komet Sales already graced our podcast with an amazing episode in our early days.  So we jumped at the opportunity to sit down with him and hear all about all the exciting changes coming to Komet Sales and Alex's life!

Alejandro has a lot of wisdom to share, and the conversation this week ranged from Ai topics,  his "abundance mindset" viewpoint on life and business, selling majority share in his company, navigating the VC shark tanks and so much more.  Listen in and enjoy!

Learn more about Alex, Komet Sales and their amazing team at https://www.kometsales.com/

Episode Chapters:
The Future of Ai: 2:20 
The Value of Change: 5:35
Getting on The Radar with Investors: 12:00
Having a Great Team: 19:30
Working on improving Komet: 26:10
Benefits of Ai: 37:35
Ideas for Helping the Industry: 50:35