Our New E-Commerce Web Site is Live.

http://ping.fm/Aw5Xd

New E-Commerce Web-Site Live Today.

New E-Commerce Web-Site Live Today.

www.LamberdeBie.ie

Our new e-commerce site is live.

Lamber de Bie Flowers is launching their new e-commerce website today to the World Wide Web.

From our website you are able to order flowers for delivery anywhere in Ireland, Northern Ireland and anywhere in the UK for next day delivery.

For delivery to anywhere else please contact us and we will be delighted to look after your needs.

After lots of preparations we are proud to introduce you to our new 24/7 online store. At www.lamberdebie.ie you will be able to shop from a large, and ever growing selection of flowers, bouquets and arrangements for every occasion.

We promise all our online customers the same attention to detail as well as the same approach of 100% satisfaction guaranteed for all our customers as well as for those lucky recipients of our flowers as we have been doing over the past 10 years in our 3 retail stores in Waterford as well as in Kilkenny.

Approx. one year ago I followed a number of courses in web design, not with the intention of creating our own but to make sure we would find the right partners in creating our new online flower web site.

12 Years ago we launched out first web-site and have learned trough trail and error, some times they were expensive lessons and other times, often with the help of friends we improved our than web presence.

This time, wanting to create e modern E-commerce site, we chose to work with a Waterford based company called Smartweb to whom I was introduced by Gavin Dixon. We have been using Gavin’s Company “BITS”(Business IT Solutions) for many years.

I met first with Eugene Silov, from Smartweb early this spring. The first number of meetings were about the layout and content required and that meant that I spent hours and days looking at websites from florists and other online product sellers. There was a lot of R&D (Rob & Duplicate) as well as finding solutions on how to implement our own ideas.

Our website is developed so that I control the input all products, descriptions and price as well as most other content. This was, and will be very time consuming but will be the only way I can guarantee that the site will be up to date always.

As our web site is now live our next step is to create a suitable google-adwords campaign in order to drive more traffic to our site as well as discussing further plans with Eugene for our site as I believe any store needs to be updated to keep it fresh.

We are 10 years in retail at the end of this month and I know that this is only possible trough constant improvement on the stores, services and products, this same approach we will use towards our online sales of flowers.

On our new site you will also find a selection of photos of wedding flowers we are creating. These will be continuously updated.

If anyone needs help with the development of an online store I would be more than happy to recommend Eugene from Smartweb. I look forward to working with both Bits & Smartweb in the future to constantly improve our service.

We sincerely look forward to any comments on how we can make the experience of shopping at our online store better.

Send us your comments to info@lamberdebie.com .

Web Design Smartweb Waterford Ireland

Premier IT Support Solutions – BITS South East Ireland

Lamber de Bie.

Dutch Master Florist

Ireland’s Top50 stores

Retail Excellence Ireland Awards 2010 –

announcement of

Ireland’s Top50 stores

Wednesday 6^th October 2010 –  Retail Excellence Ireland have today announced the Top50 stores in Ireland as part of the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards in association with the Sunday Independent to be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway in November. The awards will be attended by over 500 representatives of the Irish retail industry and hosted by Miriam O’Callaghan.

Established by industry group, Retail Excellence Ireland (REI), the awards recognise and reward the highest standards of excellence across the entire retail industry – not just one particular sector.

Chief Executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, David Fitzsimons, said: “This year the standard of stores did not fail to impress with a very high calibre turnout of applicants.  In spite of the challenging trading conditions this year, we still received more than 400 entries from across the country, which proves how important these awards are to store owners and their employees. To achieve a Top50 award these stores have proven that they are vigorously investing in their businesses and their people and remain true to what is best about Irish retail” he said.

The rigorous selection process involves a mystery customer visiting each entered store to complete a full visit report, which is initially narrowed down to a ‘Top 100’ list.  A fully trained retail assessor then conducts a thorough store assessment, which added to photographic evidence results in the selection of the Top50 stores in Ireland.

About Retail Excellence Ireland

Retail Excellence Ireland is the not-for-profit organisation representing more than 600 companies – 8,000 retail stores – more than one third of the total store numbers in the Republic of Ireland. REI’s members collectively employ approximately 100,000 people across all retail sectors ranging from pharmacy and fashion, to grocery and homeware.

For more information:

David Fitzsimons, Retail Excellence Ireland

Ph. 065 6846927

3 Store	Main Street	Wexford
Adrian Dunne Pharmacy	Main Street	Portarlington	Laois
Alchemist Earth	Sarsfield Street	Limerick
Appleby Dublin	Johnsons Court	Grafton Street	Dublin
Applegreen	Killeshin	Portlaoise	Laois
Arboretum Lifestyle & Garden Centre	Kilkenny Road	Leighlinbridge	Carlow
Ardkeen Quality Food Store	Dunmore Road	Waterford
Butler’s Chocolate Café	Liffey Street	Dublin
Carraig Donn	MacDonagh Junction	Kilkenny
Champion Sports	Dundrum Town Centre	Dublin
Cleary’s Pharmacy	Main Street	Skibbereen	Cork
Corry’s Foodhall & Café	Station Road	Loughrea	Galway
Daintree Paper	Camden Street	Dublin
Debenhams	Mahon Point Shopping Centre	Cork
DocMorris	Lower Rathmines Road	Dublin
Donnybrook Fair	Morehampton Road	Donnybrook	Dublin
Egans Opticians	Lavitts Quay	Cork
Elverys Sports	Dundrum Town Centre	Dublin
Esquire Coffee House	Tesco Retail Park	Carrick on Shannon	Leitrim
Fresh – The Good Food Market	Grand Canal Square	Dublin
Heffernan Fine Foods	Market Square	Ballina	Mayo
Howards Storage World	The Park	Carrickmines	Dublin
Hugh Maguire Craft Butchers	Ashbourne Shopping Centre	Meath
Il Valentino	Gallery Quay	Grand Canal Habour	Dublin
Instore	Spruce Avenue	Sandyford	Dublin
Lamber De Bie Flowers	Ormonde Street	Kilkenny
McArdle Meats	Charlestown Shopping Centre	Finglas	Dublin
McElhinneys of Ballybofey	Main Street	Ballybofey	Donegal
Medicare	Superquinn Shopping Centre	Castletroy	Limerick
Molloys Fine Foods	Abbeytown	Roscommon
Mulligans Pharmacy	Summerhill Centre	Tramore	Waterford
Nolan Butchers of Kilcullen	Main Street	Kilcullen	Kildare
O2	Grafton Street	Dublin
O’Briens Wines, Beer & Spirits	Sandymount Road	Dublin
Orchard Home and Garden	Dublin Road	Celbridge	Kildare
Pamela Scott	Bedford Row	Limerick
PC World	Jervis Street Shopping Centre	Jervis Street	Dublin
Phamacy First Plus	Carraig Laoi	Grenagh	Cork
Portwest	Suffolk Street	Dublin
Sam McCauley Chemist	Market Square	Bunclody	Wexford
Sienna Home Furnishings	Tramore Road Business Park	Waterford
Spar	Merrion Row	Dublin
Superquinn	Knocklyon Road	Knocklyon	Dublin
The Food Store	Silverbridge	Claremorris	Mayo
The Kilkenny Shop	Emmet Place	Cork
The Loop at Dublin Airport	Dublin Airport	Dublin
TileStyle	Ballymount Retail Park	Dublin
Tony Kealys	Northside Retail Park	Coolock Drive	Dublin
Topaz	Font Hill Road	Clondalkin	Dublin
Weir & Son Jewellers	Grafton Street	Dublin

LAMBER DE BIE FLOWERS – FINALIST IN RETAIL EXCELLENCE IRL. 2010

WE DID IT AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday September 17th, 2010.

We are very proud to announce that Lamber de Bie Flowers have once again made it into the final for the best store of the year award by Retail Excellence Ireland.

On two previous occasions we received the winning award for best small store of the country, once for our Waterford store and once for our Kilkenny store.

With celebrating our 10 years in retail next month this is “The Icing on the Cake” to be placed once again in the final by the experts in retail from Retail Excellence Ireland.

The wait is now starting for the official awards ceremony this November in the Raddisson Hotel in Galway. !!!!

We are very grateful, especially to the team of Lamber de Bie Flowers that understand as we do that there is always room for improvement as well as their understanding for customer service and top quality flowers and creations.

I would like to take this opertunity to congratulate and wish every succes to our fellow finalists. Especially to the other 5 stores in our category and also to our friends of Arboretum lifestyle & Garden Centre. May the best one win on the night !!!!

An enormous thank you goes out to all our wonderful customers that inspired us over the past 10 years to be our best for them.

Below you find the list of all finalists in the Retail Excellence Ireland awards for 2010.

Lamber de Bie

Dutch Master Florist

Retail Excellence Ireland Store of the Year Finalists 2010

Best Small Store

Alchemist Earth Sarsfield Street, Limerick

Butler’s Chocolate Café Liffey Street, Dublin

Daintree Paper Camden Street, Dublin

Il Valentino Grand Canal Habour, Dublin

Lamber De Bie Flowers Ormonde Street, Kilkenny

McArdle Meats Charlestown Shopping Centre, Dublin

Best Medium Store

Corry’s Foodhall & Café Loughrea, Galway

DocMorris Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin

Hugh Maguire Craft Butchers Ashbourne Shopping Centre, Meath

Molloys Fine Foods Abbeytown, Roscommon

O2  Grafton Street, Dublin

O’Briens Wines, Beer & Spirits  Sandymount Road, Dublin

Best Large Store

Carraig Donn MacDonagh Junction, Killkenny

Howards Storage World The Park, Carrickmines, Dublin

PC World Jervis Shopping Centre, Dublin

Portwest Suffolk Street, Dublin

The Kilkenny Shop Emmet Place, Cork

Mulligans Pharmacy Tramore, Waterford

Best Xtra-large Store

Champion Sports Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin

Donnybrook Fair Morehampton Road, Dublin

Instore Spruce Avenue, Stillorgan, Dublin

Orchard Home and Garden Celbridge, Co. Kildare

Pamela Scott Bedford Row, Limerick

Weir & Son Jewellers Grafton Street, Dublin

Best Super Store

Arboretum Lifestyle & Garden Centre Kilkenny Road, Carlow

Debenhams Mahon Point Shopping Centre, Cork

McElhinneys of Ballybofey Ballybofey, Donegal

Superquinn Knocklyon, Dublin

The Loop at Dublin Airport, Dublin Dublin Airport, Dublin

TileStyle  Ballymount Retail Park, Dublin

EVENING HERALD Thursday 9 September 2010

FEATURES

A DAY IN THE LIFE….

FLORAL DANCE:

Lamber de Bie dashes between his workshop in Thomastown and shops in Waterford and Kilkenny.

FLOWER
POWER

FLORIST LAMBER DE BIE TELLS CONOR DE LION ABOUT MINDING HIS OWN BLOOMING BUSINESS

MONDAY morning starts early with the arrival of a lorry-load of flowers from Holland. They arrive at about 6am at the workshop witch is near our house in Thomastown. We check the order, put the flowers in vases and store them in a cold room. By 9am we have the van loaded up for delivery to our two stores in Waterford and one in Kilkenny. We buy direct from Holland and pay the daily auction price, plus a commission to our agent. Once the van has left, I get to have breakfast, usually at around 10am.

After the rush of the early morning, I spend a few quiet hours in the office. I deal with email enquiries, mostly about weddings. Our wedding season has definitely got longer in recent years. It stretches trough the whole summer and even takes in some of the spring and autumn. On top of that Christmas and New Years weddings are becoming very popular.

Tuesday is our quietest day and if I get time off this will be it, which is nice because Wednesday morning is our busiest time of the week. This is when we get our main delivery for the week – these are all our wedding flowers and retail stock for the weekend. Because it’s such a big delivery,it’s all hands on deck. The Van delivers to our two shops in Waterford and I take care of Kilkenny.

When I get to the shop, I pitch in to condition, clean and present the blooms. Last Wednesday, there were around 35 orders waiting to be made. Many of them were wrist corsages for debs. Young guys have become a lot more romantic in recent years, asking for specific colours and flowers. They often buy a bouquet for their date’s mother, too.

CONFIDENT

We definitely see more men walk into our shops than we did when we opened 10 years ago. Irish men are a lot more confident about buying flowers and there’s no shame in walking down the street with a colourful bunch for your partner.

Thursday is usually the day to meet the weekend bride. This week I’m doing the church and Marquee for a Waterford wedding. The marquee is in the mother of the groom’s garden so she’ll be meeting us, too. Sometimes it’s tricky to keep everyone happy!

I spend most Fridays doing the arrangements for a wedding the following day, and Saturday morning is an early start to get the bouquets and buttonholes to the bridal party, not to mention decorating the church and venue.

I have to place my order for the following week before lunchtime on Sunday, but I allow myself to have a rest after the business of Saturday before I set my mind to that task.

I’ve noticed a few new occasions where flowers are in demand in recent years. March 8, International Woman’s Day, is a popular celebration among eastern Europeans. They also buy for name days, witch are almost as important as birthdays.

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http://www.lamberdebie.com

Wedding Master Class with Tara Fay

A Wedding Masterclass for brides – Lough Eske Castle Hotel,

Sunday 26th and Monday 27th September

Ireland’s top celebrity wedding planner Tara Fay to show brides how to plan

the perfect day.

Workshops and demonstrations by Lamber de Bie – Dutch Master Florist.

Lough Eske Castle, which was recently voted the Irish Wedding Venue of the Year by Irish brides, will

provide brides-to-be with the opportunity to learn from the wedding planner celebrities turn to.

The stunning hotel – Donegal‟s only five-star hotel and winner of the World‟s Best Luxury Country Hotel

2009 – has teamed up with Ireland‟s top wedding planner Tara Fay to deliver a two-day Wedding

Masterclass that will cover the A-Z of wedding planning.

A range of specialist talks and workshops will be given to brides-to-be by some of the top wedding service

providers in Ireland, including bridal fashion from Sharon Hoey, hair and beauty by Michael Leong and Zoe

Clark, photography by John Ryan, floristry by Lamber de Bie as well as food and wine, ceremonies,

stationery, cakes, jewellery, honeymoon advice and the all important first dance.

The masterclass will begin with a champagne reception and talk from Tara Fay on all the requirements for

planning the perfect wedding.  Award winning fashion designer Sharon Hoey will then follow with a bridal

fashion workshop before the Lough Eske Castle Executive Chef and Sommelier host a dinner presented in

the style of a wedding breakfast and share their food and wine expertise.

Day two comprises a series of workshops covering a range of topics as well as one-to-one consultations

with the top industry specialists.  The event concludes with a „first dance‟ workshop and afternoon tea and

wedding cake.

Andrew Turner, General Manager of Lough Eske Castle said that this event is the first of its kind to be held

in Ireland and has been designed to provide all brides-to-be with access to the very best of advice and

helpful hints and tips.  “Every bride wants and deserves the perfect wedding and as the top wedding venue

in Ireland, we wanted to do something to help brides-to-be create their dream day. The inspiration for the

Wedding Masterclass came from our own Lough Eske Castle brides, many of whom said they would have

really valued the opportunity to attend an event of this type.

“Organising a wedding is often a daunting task for brides-to-be. This two-day masterclass aims to help

brides take the pressure off the process by pointing them in the right direction helping them to plan their

perfect day while learning from the best in the business.  Each bride-to-be is free to select the workshops

which best meet her needs and she can make appointments to talk with the industry specialists privately on

the day.

“We‟re delighted to be partnering with Tara Fay.  As the leading wedding planner in Ireland, she has a

wealth of expertise and experience to share with brides-to-be, whether that is for planning small intimate or

larger weddings.  Tara will be hosting a number of talks throughout the two days and will also have time to

spend with brides on an individual basis.”

Celebrity wedding planner Tara Fay, who has planned more than 1,000 weddings, said that the wedding

masterclass will be invaluable to brides at every stage of the planning process.  “This event is about giving

brides-to-be the confidence and the ability to plan the day of their dreams no matter how big or small and

irrespective of budget.  Brides often find themselves bewildered by advice from family and friends and

sometimes need to take time out to think about what they truly want and then how to achieve it within

budget.  This masterclass aims to provide just that along with a chance to talk individually with each of the

speakers who will work with the brides-to-be to identify the things that will personalize their wedding and

make it a real day to remember.”

All brides-to-be and their guests are welcome to attend the event for one or both of the days.  Tickets for

both days, including one night‟s accommodation for two people sharing a deluxe guestroom including

breakfast, are priced at €175 per person sharing; or €250 per person sharing for both days and two night‟s

accommodation.  One-day only attendance (Sunday or Monday) is priced at €75 per person, per day.

To find out more or to book a place, please contact Lough Eske Castle Hotel on 074 97 251 00 or visit

http://www.solislougheskecastle.ie

95 Million Red Roses

Dutch Auctions selling over 95 Million Red Roses in a Week

Not all “Romantics” will get exited for Valentines. However the week before Valentines is a Top-Week for the Dutch flower auctions. Especially Red Roses will leave the auction as quick as they arrive in the thousands. In the week before Valentines is the turnover of the dutch flower auctions approximately 60% higher than a normal week. The popularity of Valentines day has grown faster than any other flower day. Since 2000, the 14th of February has grown into one of the key days of the year for the flower sector. Together with Christmas and Mothersday, Valentines now belongs in the top days for a florists calender. Easter closeley follows this.

Flora Holland, The organization covering all dutch flower auctions, expects this week in their 6 locations in Holland to sell over 95 Million Red Roses and way over 100 million Tulips . The Chrysanthemum, with an estimated sale of 24 Million is still at number three. In total the combined dutch flower auctions expect to sell 300 million flowers and over 20 million plants.

Growers, flower auctions, flower exporters, transporters, florists and their delivery people will some of the people not going to their favorite restaurant on Valentines night, They’ll all be happy to rest after a busy week.

Happy Valentines,

Lamber de Bie

Dutch Master Florist.

The Story of St. Valentine

By Lamber de Bie Dutch Master Florist

Every February the fourteenth, chocolate, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones across the world, all in the name of St. Valentine.

But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this day.

The history of Valentine’s Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl  “who may have been his jailor’s daughter” who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed ‘From your Valentine,’ an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It’s no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged.

According to the American Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year in the USA alone, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending day of the year after Christmas.

In addition to the Ireland and the U. K. Valentine’s Day is celebrated very big in the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, and Australia. Countries like Holland and Germany are only in the last few years getting into sending Valentines greetings. And still in very small numbers at that.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine’s cards didn’t begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum.

However the largest percentage of all valentine greetings are still sent by women, Irish men are getting more romantic. Valentines day is the one day that we will see at least as many men in our flower shops as we see woman buying flowers.

Lamber de Bie

Dutch Master Florist

A Taste of Christmas – A wonderful night.

The night started off with a performance of  the Newtown school music group.

First up: Kevin Dundon, Celebrity Chef.

Cooking up a storm.

Tanya, Mashy, Lamber, Margaret.

And then it was time that Lamber gave all his work away.

And here are some of the lucky winners.

Lamber de Bie – Dutch Master Florist at the Taste of Christmas in Ardkeen Quality Foodstore, 3rd December 2009.

A great Night.

A Taste of Christmas

Come and see two Masters at work!

Ardkeen Quality Foodstore and Lamber de Bie Flowers invites you to Ardkeen Quality Food Store on Thursday 3rd December from 7-10pm for ‘A Taste of Christmas’, showcasing some of the finest food & wine producers Ardkeen has to offer, and demonstrations by Kevin Dundon, Celebrity Chef, from Dunbrody Country House Hotel and Lamber de Bie, Dutch Master Florist from Lamber de Bie Flowers.

Kevin Dundon – Celebrity Chef

 

Lamber de Bie – Dutch Master Florist

Lamber will raffle all his creations on the night at this exiting event.

(Raffle Tickets Free for all attending !!!)

 

So come along this Thursday to Ardkeen Quality Foodstore in Waterford to seewhat’s instore this Christmas at Ardkeen Quality Foodstore.

A Taste of Christmas’, showcasing some of the finest food & wine producers the store has to offer.

Discover the best wine accompaniments for your Christmas dinner, stock up on the finest festive food and check out cookshops’ seasonal menu – all under one roof.

Chef Kevin Dundon will be here cooking up some festive food, Eamon from Knockanore will be showing us how to make Cheese, Lamber De Bie will add some glamour with fabulous flower arrangements & Kevin Sheridan of Sheridan’s Cheesemongers will be on hand to help you choose your Christmas cheese board. Adding a bit of sparkle, a Champagne Masterclass will be held in Cafe Lucia.

 

 

Lamber de Bie Flowers will be showcasing their range of new Christmas Decorations.             Now at 50% reduced prices.

 

 

 

Margaret will be there on the night to show you some of the nicest Christmas Table Centre Pieces available from Lamber de Bie Flowers at Ardkeen this Christmas.

We would love to see you here, for what we hope will be the kick off to a real festive foodie Christmas.

Please feel free to pass on the invite to your friends – the more the merrier!