Colorado Babies and Brides is a new magazine in the Boulder area. A subsidiary of Yellow Scene Magazine, this dual publication is made for life’s next adventures. I was able to pass on some samples of our plantable seed paper wedding invitations to editor Shavonne Blades. We are so happy to have made it on their blog, and we are hoping to make their latest publication as a bridal trend for this season. Fingers crossed!

Bloomin Invites on Colorado Brides

Bloomin Invites was lucky enough to be featured on Landlocked Bride’s Vendor Spotlight this January. The Landlocked Bride is a great site for Midwest and Mountain brides to find wedding inspiration, whether it be eco-friendly vendors or the trendiest wedding colors for the season. The blog’s founder, Brit Tucker Stewart, is such a doll and will hopefully come check out Bloomin’s headquarters soon since she recently moved to Denver.

Thanks again for the love Brit! We’re so pleased to be featured on such a wonderful blog.

Landlocked Bride's featured vendor? Bloomin!

We started off the year with a BANG at the 2012 PPAI Las Vegas Expo. With over 1,000 exhibitors and 20,000 attendees, it’s an understatement to say I was a little overwhelmed at my first trade show. Luckily I had the veterans, Katie and Don,  there to help me out. Katie thought it was, “great to meet everyone and finally get the chance to put some names to faces.”

The Bloomin sales team got to stay in the luxurious Luxor hotel, and I’ll tell you we had quite the time navigating that labyrinth of a pyramid. I guess that’s what they try to do in Vegas, get you so lost in the hotel so you’ll never leave!

Our new 2012 products were well received, and our new and improved booth looked great. People were most excited about our plantable seed paper confetti packs and mini-planting kits. We are in the process of whipping up some samples of those so we can send them out to the hungry masses. The rest of the month holds two more trade shows, ASI Orlando and Toronto. We better rest up and get ready to do it all over again!

Katie and Lauren looking good at the booth!

We have all heard about the declining bee populations, and the dramatic impact it will  have the on world’s food supply. But although everyone is aware of the problem, most are not aware of the positive impact their individual actions can make toward helping this cause. Here at Bloomin’, we are looking for a way to help make this empowerment process easier for the American people. And it comes in the form of plantable seed paper.

The transformation of wilderness into farmland has greatly impacted pollinators, such as bees. And the trend of monoculture (growing a single crop over a large space of land) means that only a small portion of bees and insects are getting the nutrition they need. The result? The bees don’t come and pollinate the land, resulting in lower crop yields, and bees having to fly farther to get the pollen they desire. An estimated $18 billion worth of fruits and vegetables grown in the Unites States depend on bees for pollination. Without bees, this profit won’t even come close to what it is now. Imagine the devastation on the American agriculture industry, and the people who will go hungry because of it.

Other reasons for the bee population decline include pesticide use, introduced diseases and pests. Yes, there needs to be new government regulation on the pesticides used and subsidies for farmers using methods and growing crops that bees find favorable, but the solution to this problem will take more than sitting back and waiting for these bills to pass. It takes the initiative of a population on an individual level: people need to take this matter into their own hands to solve the declining bee problem. And Bloomin’s plantable seed paper is the perfect tool to help you get started on this path.

By combining a diverse mix of annual and perennial wildflowers that bees are highly attracted to and are native to numerous parts of the country, we have made planting your own wildflower garden easy and affective. Simply take the seed paper, plant it under a thin layer of soil, and water it. Bees prefer gardens that are diverse, with many colors and different species. Fortunately, many of the plants that bees like are attractive to humans too. So you will not only be helping save the bees, but enjoying a vibrant floral landscape as well.

Initiative can be taken beyond individual gardens and backyards. America has an abundance of suitable land for planting, right along the 4 million miles of roads that stretch across the country, resulting in 10 million acres of suitable land. Imagine the impact if all those stretches of highway also served to save the declining bee population.

Let us know if you have any other ideas regarding the “Save the Bees” movement. We are really looking forward to helping make a difference!