By BTL Staff
Congratulations are in order for LGBT-owned Blumz, which received several award at this year's Great Lakes Floral Expo in March. The longtime vendor at Between the Lines' Same-Sex Wedding Expo is a full-service florist and a wedding and event planning store with locations in Detroit, Ferndale and Ann Arbor.
Blumz co-owner Jerome Raska attended the 2015 Great Lakes Floral Expo March 6-8 in Grand Rapids alongside Blumz floral designers Paul Sawyers, Shelley Adair and Youngmi Hong, and Blumz team members Tim O'Rear, Sarah Bennett and Pamela Clemo. The team attended a variety of hands-on workshops including lessons on party planning, sympathy trends, improving everyday designs and wedding work. Blumz also competed in some of the contests that took place throughout the weekend and were very happy with the results.
Sawyers took home two awards. First, he won second place in the "Seek, Explore, and Discover" category. He designed a piece that used fresh floral products and dried materials to create something that would be appropriate for the entryway of a manufacturing company. He also won first place in the "Surprise Surprise" category, where contestants were given the same materials and told to create a unique design using only those materials on the spot.
Adair won the Chuck Bannow Award, a title given to the "Best Overall" design throughout the weekend. She also took home the Past Presidents Award, an award given to one outstanding designer during the annual awards banquet. The award is sponsored by Bloomnet and gives the winner the opportunity to attend a one week class of their choice in Jacksonville, Fla. with all their expenses paid. Adair will be choosing a class and heading to Jacksonville very soon to soak up some sun and some new floral skills.
Blumz announced via email: "We are very proud of all of our staff's accomplishments. We hope to bring our new skills to the table the next time we are designing something for all of you. We are not your ordinary flower, wedding- and event-planning shop – we are so much more. We work hard to stay on top of all the latest floral and wedding trends throughout the year. Our staff attends as many classes and seminars as we can to improve our skills and to keep our team on their stems. We understand the value of continued education. "
Blumz by JRDesigns Floral & Event Professionals is an award-winning full-service floral and wedding/event company. With over 60 years of combined experience, the owners of Blumz are dedicated to the fine art of floristry. As internationally respected educators and presenters in the floral industry, the owners of Blumz continue to raise the bar in the floral industry. Their commitment to bringing their customers high-quality floral products, award-winning design and unsurpassed service at competitive prices is their mission.
Blumz is well-respected as a wedding and event florist. Their professional wedding and event staff can assist LGBT and allied clients with everything: floral, specialty linen selection, rentals, invitations, tuxedos and more. Blumz has two retail locations featuring fresh florals, creative gift options and home accents as well as permanent arrangements and plants. Blumz also offers a shopper-friendly internet website and an appointment-only location catering to event and weddings further assists in meeting our clients needs.
Blumz is located at 503 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale and 1260 Library St., Detroit. The third location is by appointment only. For additional information about Blumz, visit their Facebook or http://www.blumz.com.
