6
May 2023
welcome
Kindest regards,
Jules Lewis Gibson
President & Creative Director
Florists' Review Media Group
T
homas Friedman, the
renowned American political
commentator and author,
once wrote about how
the world is becoming a "borderless"
economy and society : "In Globalization
1.0, which began around 1492, the world
went from size large to size medium. In
Globalization 2.0, the era of multinational
companies, it went from medium to small.
And then around 2000, with Globalization
3.0, the world went from being small to tiny." Every
industry, culture and society around the world has experienced what
Friedman describes—today, especially because of social media—and
we see it throughout the fl ower industry, as well, from breeding, fl ower
growing and importing to fl oral design styles and trends.
In this "international"-themed issue, we provide perspective on
how this phenomenon is infl uencing professional fl ower arranging
worldwide in our articles "International Floral Design Stars,"
"European Floral Art" and "Ikebana: Having Its Moment." As these
articles illustrate, while there are still—and always will be—
distinctions in fl oral design styles from country to country, region to
region and continent to continent, the overall art form is becoming
a blend of cultural infl uences and aesthetics—as are consumer tastes
and, therefore, appreciation of it. We hope you enjoy and learn from
these features as much as we did while producing them.
is fabulous issue also includes must-reads on not-to-be-missed
fl oral education opportunities, "fi ve-star" customer service, brand
marketing—and much more. My heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone
who contributed content and, especially, our loyal subscribers and
marketing partners, who make it all possible!
