April 23, 2024 • 36 mins
A Texas Cowboy in Philly? You couldn’t miss this Oasis Ambassador.
On the last day of the 2024 Philadelphia Flower Show, a Texas Cowboy wandered along the flower-fragrant aisles without his horse. Dressed in his Texas cowboy hat, boots, and shirt - with a Texas flag and lone star on it, stood Abel Gonzalez Mencio, AIFD, PFCI, TMF of Casa Granada Floral in La Feria, Texas. He wore a banner that read ‘Texas Designer of the Year’ with his name on the back.
Abel won an Oasis Ambassador contest that sponsored his travel to Philly where he volunteered on the international Schaffer Design team.
“It was amazing!” responds Abel when asked about his first visit to the famous Flower Show. “There’s no other word for it.” When people asked to take photos with him, “I told them a little bit about Texas, Oasis, my Ambassadorship and getting to work with talented designers from around the world.”
Abel shares more of his “amazing” adventures in this podcast.
How we Bloom podcast is an oasis of flower ideas. Host Sharon McGukin of Smithers-Oasis North America interviews floral guests who dare to do things differently. We listen, learn, explore new opportunities and that's how we bloom!
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Episode Transcript
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Abel Gonzalez Mencio (00:06):
If I could sum up my journey to the
Philadelphia Flower Show andworking with these amazing
designers towards the commongoal, it is that word amazing.
Seeing a vision come to life, wehad so much fun
Sharon McGukin (00:29):
Welcome to How We Bloom, an Oasis of flower
ideas.
I'm your host, Sharon McGukin,AIFD, AAF, PFCI.
And I believe that every greatsuccess story starts with one
simple idea.
That's why we interview thosewho dare to do things
differently, inspiring peoplewho plant seeds, grow ideas, and
(00:53):
bloom to their full potential.
In this podcast, we listen,learn, explore new
opportunities.
And that's How we Bloom.
Joining us for today's podcastis Abel Gonzalez Mencio, AIFD,
(01:17):
PFCI, TMF of La Feria, Texas.
Like myself, Abel started hisfloral journey in a small town
flower shop.
He was the delivery driver.
Even then, Abel knew he wasgoing places.
Fast forward a few years, andAbel was Director of Marketing
and Design for Acolyte LED.
(01:38):
He was also chosen as Anambassador of Rio Roses.
Now he has his own designstudio, Casa Granada Floral in
South Texas.
Not only is Abel currently theTexas State Designer of the
Year, in 2019 he was theLouisiana State Designer of the
Year.
(01:58):
Several years ago I wrote a blogabout Abel's mastery of Texas
sized football mom corsages.
It was a lot of fun and I thinkyou will enjoy today's podcast
as well.
It will be released as a podcastfor our listeners and a blog for
readers.
You can find both atoasisfloralproducts.com.
(02:21):
Recently, Abel was chosen as oneof 25 newly named Oasis
Ambassadors in theSmithers-Oasis Ambassador
Program.
He's about it today.
Welcome, Abel.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (02:34):
Sharon, good afternoon.
I am honored to be here withyou.
Sharon McGukin (02:39):
Well, Thank you so much.
It's interesting to learn aboutthe new Smithers-Oasis North
America Program.
And I was happy to hear that youwere as a member of that.
How did you go about beingchosen for ambassadors?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (02:55):
I always considered myself an Ambassador
for Oasis.
It started off with one of theAIFD conventions when I first
started with Acolyte.
Lo and behold, they're like, youhave to design a tablescape at
the AIFD partners in Denver,Colorado.
I remember walking in and seeingall of the amazing designers
that I had always heard ofHitomi Gilliam and Jackie Lacey.
(03:18):
It was a room full ofsuperstars.
Phil Rulloda was there and I hadthe capability of going up and
shaking their hands.
I was just so thrilled.
But I realized, the floraljourney was calling me and I
needed to do something about it.
Oasis is one of the productsthat we always use along the
way.
We incorporated the Oasisproducts, fresh florals and our
(03:42):
LED lighting systems to accenteverything.
When this opportunity cameregarding the ambassador program
for Oasis, I jumped on board.
It was something that I'vedreamt about for a long time to
be able to promote the productcorrectly.
The usage, the questions thatmany people have regarding the
sustainability of the product.
Sharon McGukin (04:03):
you.
Now There was a contest and haveto explain to me what that
contest involved, but I knowthat the the contest, got to
represent Oasis at thePhiladelphia Flower Show.
And that was you, I believe,Abel.
Want to tell us about that?
Abel Gonzalez Menci (04:22):
Absolutely.
I submitted my name and about aweek later, they did a live
drawing Oasis' Kelly Mace cameon and drew the names of the the
runner up and first place.
The runner up was Barito VazquezFlorida.
We were all watching live andKelly draws my name.
Immediately afterwards I get aphone call that I had been
(04:43):
selected.
Bill Schaffer's successfuldesign team had a spot available
for one designer to go andassist.
His amazing design team from allover the world.
30.
gathered to bring his vision tolife.
I am just honored to have beenin the presence of these
(05:04):
designers to have had anopportunity to scrub the
buckets, fill with water,process the flowers.
I was just thrilled to be there.
We all got along amazingly well.
We all ended up leaving asfriends.
I had the opportunity to speakto many different people about
Oasis products Seeing the waythat the people incorporated the
(05:26):
Oasis products is mind blowingbecause I've always used cages
for funerals or for anarrangement.
There were several peopleactually tacking them up on
walls nailing them and screwingthem into the wall brackets on
furniture using them on thefloor.
It, was refreshing to see thedifferent ways that people
(05:47):
utilize the product.
I saw Oasis product.
I introduced myself as anambassador and I told him, thank
you for using our product.
If there's anything we can dofor you, please let us know.
Because that's what theambassadorship is about.
It's about promoting the productto the best of our capability.
Sharon McGukin (06:05):
And I about that.
You mentioned Bill Schaffer.
He is a visionary.
He's a very talented designer,but I think his superpower is
team building.
He can build a team faster, moresecurely, and with greater
purpose than pretty much anybodyI know.
Abel Gonzalez Menci (06:25):
Absolutely.
Just right off the bat, I canmention, we had a team member
Ahti Lira from Estonia.
We had Alex Seguda that came infrom Spain, Barrett Larson from
Denmark, several people from NewJersey, from New York three of
us from Texas, actually twoother designers went in.
We had someone from Scotland aBelgian, several people from
(06:47):
Holland.
The farthest one that traveledwas Mark Pampling.
He came in from Australia.
We had one young lady fromNicaragua.
Another young lady traveled fromColumbia.
The first thing that Bill didwas like,"you're going to
process all the flowers, you'regoing to put water, put all the
preservative, all the OasisFloral Life, make sure that our
flowers last the week for theshow." And it's amazing to see
(07:09):
these very talented designers,scrubbing buckets, processing
flowers and getting the teamtogether.
And it bonded us immediately.
By the end of the first day, wewere all having dinner.
We're having a good time, and wewere focused on the design at
hand that Bill had envisionedfor us.
He did give us a lot of leewayto do our own thing.
(07:33):
we gave them options.
My work was in the BambooGardens.
So we had a lot of tropicalflowers that came in from all
over the world.
And the designers were like,let's use the Heliconia this
way.
Let's hang the Amaranthus theother way.
The visions came to life.
So it was 30 people, but onecohesive unit, which was amazing
to consider.
Sharon McGukin (07:55):
And That really is amazing because.
Personalities are so different,but when you're all focused on
the same thought and purpose,it's easier since everybody was
doing everything.
I think that is a big key Thiswas your first visit to the
Philadelphia Flower Show,correct?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (08:16):
Yes, ma'am.
I had never been actually, I hadnever been to Philadelphia.
Leaving South Texas at 85degrees and arriving in
Philadelphia in a small coldfront was very shocking to me.
But I got acclimated veryquickly.
Obviously, I wanted to go seetheir beautiful city hall.
We have limited time because wewere always focused on getting
(08:36):
the designs ready and we wouldget out and it was already
getting dark.
I was able to visit and tourjust the surrounding areas
around the hotel and around theconvention center.
And I got to see a little bit ofthe city and it was stunningly
beautiful.
The hotel staff.
They catered to our every need.
Right across the street is ahuge market where you have all
(08:57):
different kinds of foods fromall over Pennsylvania,
Pennsylvania Dutch, the AmishKorean, Japanese.
I think they needed a Mexicanrestaurant.
That's the only thing that wasmissing, but the food was
delicious.
I don't know how many Phillycheesesteaks we ended up eating.
Sharon McGukin (09:15):
What was your first impression of the
Philadelphia Flower Show?
Take us through when you walkedin and you saw the enormity, the
number of people, and the volumeof flowers.
What did that feel like?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (09:30):
It's nothing short of overwhelming.
You walk in, there's this hugecanopy, there's water features,
waterfalls, I think all weneeded were some ducks in the
water and we would have beencomplete, but flowers
everywhere, just the variety offlowers that were being
utilized.
And then that's just a part ofit.
(09:50):
There's more.
There's vendors and there's foodstalls.
There's people selling clothing.
Selling plants.
There was a huge orchid societyselling an array of orchids that
I had never seen before.
One of the local flower vendorshad a market in there with all
different kinds of flowers beingsold at bunch prices.
I was surprised by peopleactually buying pretty much
(10:14):
everything they could seebecause they want to take a
little bit of the PhiladelphiaFlower Show home with them.
If I would have been allowed to,I would have filled the plane
with pretty much everything Icould get my hands on.
There was just so many differentthings there to view and enjoy,
people to talk to.
When I walked around, everybodywanted to know how I had gotten
there.
(10:34):
They wanted to know my journeyof how I had arrived at the
Philadelphia Flower Show.
I walked around a lot of thearea where the flower people
were doing their setups.
It's nothing short ofspectacular.
You walk in, you're justimmediately hit with a wall of
flowers, trees, plants, bloomingflowers.
You know, the narcissus wasblooming, so the whole area just
(10:56):
smelled beautifully.
The second day it smelled evenbetter because it had rested
overnight and the plants weregiving their best face forward
to everybody that was coming inthat day.
The amount of people that wereattending when we walked in,
Bill actually got us a VIP passto go in so we could sneak in
and get a little view of of ourdesign before everybody walked
(11:20):
in.
The lights were low, and themood was set with the flowers
and the lighting it was juststunningly beautiful and ten
minutes later It's like amadhouse.
People are running around takingpictures and selfies everybody's
like move out of the way andthey're pushing each other
because they all want to go seea certain section or maybe their
friends designs Luckily, ourSchaefer Design the canopy that
(11:44):
went over the bridgeway wherepeople had to walk through, it
led everybody into the mainflower setting.
So everybody got to see ourwork, which to me was the
highlight of everything becausepeople stopped, took pictures,
noticed every single detail,took pictures of flowers,
orchids, items that they hadnever seen before, and the way
(12:06):
that we had constructedeverything.
Sharon McGukin (12:10):
I spoke with you the other night when you were on
your way home from Philly, andyou just kept saying the word
"amazing.
Amazing! You were starting eachsentence and finishing it with
the word amazing.
And I just loved how amazed youwere.
That was just
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (12:26):
Several years ago, when I competed at
the Texas Cup competition inAustin, Texas, I think this is
where the word comes from.
I was approached by our localSenator's wife.
She was there because we hadCongressional Days and she
walked up to me and there wasonly five designers, one on each
area of the Lone Star State.
We were underneath the cupolathere at the at the State
(12:50):
Capitol building.
And she walked up to me and shesaid something which which rings
in my mind every time I go tothese events that are bigger
than life.
She says,"Little boy from SouthTexas does good." And I was
like,"you're right." I wouldnever have had these
opportunities had it not beenfor Acolyte, Oasis, winning the
(13:12):
Texas designer of the year,They're stepping stones in my
journey of what I've been ableto do.
Receiving my Texas MasterFlorist, my Certified Florist
Designer and people were like,"You're not done.
Keep going." They cheered me on.
And I have several people whowere just amazing in that path
of going towards AIFD.
(13:33):
And then finally, graduating,being inducted in Las Vegas a
couple of years ago where I wasalso able to get married right
before I got inducted.
So that day was a
Sharon McGukin (13:44):
I was, I
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (13:46):
there you were a guest.
Sharon McGukin (13:49):
wonderful.
Now, Did you get to visit theAIFD booth as
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (13:54):
Obviously I did make my way over to the A
IFD showcase.
The amount of talent in thatroom.
of AIFD and CFD designersworking to complete their setups
was just something to see.
Everybody, that was a team.
That was a team.
Sharon McGukin (14:14):
That was amazing.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (14:15):
It was
Sharon McGukin (14:15):
amazing.
That is an event that peoplelook forward to all year.
And you mentioned them carryingout materials.
I remember one year, the hotelthat has the walkway across that
you can look out, the glasswalkway.
I looked down from there andthat year, the big thing was
pussy willow branches.
(14:37):
And it seemed like every personin this river of people going
down the sidewalk alongside thebuilding because it was cold and
they all had branches of pussywillow over their shoulders.
And it was just the neatestriver of blossoms you've ever
seen.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (14:53):
I'll tell you a little bit more of that.
There's a reason why when I wasthere, I went out and purchased
yellow roses.
Sharon McGukin (15:01):
Go ahead and tell us about the yellow roses.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (15:03):
The final day that we were there, which
was a Friday, everybody startedheading out on Saturday in
different directions.
Friday, we got a VIP pass to beable to go in before the actual
show opened.
I wear my Texas cowboy hat, myboots, my Texas flag shirt that
looks like a Texas flag with aLone Star on it.
I also had a banner that says"Texas Designer of the Year" and
(15:27):
on the back it's got my name.
I went down to the local marketand I purchased three bunches of
long stem yellow roses.
People gravitated towards me.
They all wanted a yellow rose ofTexas.
I did this once before, manyyears ago when I started with
Acolyte.
When I went to New York I wentdown to Times Square.
(15:50):
I knew that people from allwalks of life, come and go from
everywhere, just like thePhiladelphia Flower Show.
I wanted to do somethingdifferent, so I called it the
Rose Experiment.
I bought two dozen pink roses, Itook a picture on one of the
tables in Times Square, with allthe lights and the signs in the
background.
(16:10):
Then I proceeded to hand out theroses.
to just anybody who would acceptthem.
And there's a lot of people whoare leary, they thought I was
selling them.
And, but then, people realize,"Hey, this guy's giving them
away." I gave out roses and thenonce they were all gone, I sat
in the bleachers in Times Squareand I was amazed to look out
into the crowd and see the roseswalking in all different
(16:33):
directions.
You could see people going leftand right and getting into taxis
and giving them to theirdaughters and, you know, the
street performers even had them.
And I thought, you know, that'san amazing gift to share our
passion and our love withflowers and spread the joy to
total strangers and have it be aproject.
(16:55):
Very similar to the Petal itForward that some of the floral
associations do.
I did the same thing inPhiladelphia.
I went across the street to themarket.
I purchased yellow roses.
I walked in and started handingout yellow roses to whoever
would accept them.
And.
I sat back and watched theyellow roses walk away in all
(17:15):
different directions, up anddown the escalators, in the
lobby area, walking out towardsthe restaurants.
To me it's a fulfilling projectto see the love and the passion
that I have in floristry, forthe state of Texas, for the
yellow rose of Texas.
Handing that out and passing mylove along to other people And
(17:36):
having them go enjoy it.
There was one person whoactually sent me a picture of
the rose in their hotel room ina glass of water on their
nightstand.
She said, thanks so much.
I love my yellow rose.
I'm going to cherish it till itfades.
But thank you so much for doingthis for me.
She found me on Facebook andsent me the picture.
(17:58):
This is what our careers areabout, making a difference in
someone's life.
Making them smile, enjoyflowers, learn about flowers,
and all of the differentprocesses incorporated in our
daily lives that make being aflorist special.
Sharon McGukin (18:14):
And Isn't it wonderful how easily we can send
beauty out into the world, intothe lives of others, if we just
take the time to do simple, kindgestures.
Abel Gonzalez Menci (18:29):
Absolutely.
Sharon McGukin (18:30):
everyone could do that every day, just think
how much more beauty there couldbe in the world.
And Of course we love flowers.
So we wanted that beautiful roseto go out there, but there's so
many other ways we could sharekindness too, if we just took
the time to do so.
very cool.
So When they came up to you toaccept the rose, did they ask to
(18:53):
have their picture made with thecowboy or how did they react to
your Texas look?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (19:00):
Let me tell you, it was unexpected to
say the least.
A Texan in Pennsylvania at theconvention center.
A lot of people asked,"Can Itake a picture?
Are you the Texas champion?" Igo,"Yes, ma'am, I am." And the
conversation was on.
And it was,"How did you gethere?" I won the contest.
I was allowed to design withBill Schaffer.
We did that canopy that's behindyou, Oasis product." They can
(19:23):
relate to the green foam.
Oh, congratulations.
Can we take a picture?" Severalpeople that took pictures found
me on Facebook and shared themwith me.
I know that the PhiladelphiaFlower Show also videotaped us.
As I was handing them outbecause I saw the camera off to
the side.
I haven't seen the video yet,but I'm sure it's coming, maybe
in their publicity again, Ithink I touched some lives.
(19:46):
I told them a little bit aboutTexas.
About Oasis.
I told them about myambassadorship and the contest.
Of how I was able to get thereand work with these amazing,
talented designers from all overthe world.
Sharon McGukin (19:59):
When they asked you how you got there there
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (20:01):
when I walked up to one of the booths,
the husband said,"Where's thehorse?" I said,"it's outside."
So The cold.
Sharon McGukin (20:12):
you also mentioned being really excited
about having the opportunity tomeet and work with a number of
been there, but Share some ofthe moments that you directly
engaged with them
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (20:29):
When I arrived into the hall that we
were going to start setup manyof the designers were already
hugging each other.
The hugs and the kisses wentaround and I just sort of sat
back because I was the new kidin town.
Not knowing that on the Schafferdesign team, most of the
designers have been there sixseven 10, 12 years.
They've been working with Billquite a bit.
(20:50):
They know.
of them.
So I'm guessing the longevity ofthem coming in and designing
with him speaks for itself.
because everyone pays at theirown expense.
Correct.
No payment whatsoever.
Even our food and hotel,everything we have to cover.
One of the designers asked Billwhat team everybody was going to
(21:11):
be on.
He's like,"well, I've alreadyworked that out." I heard him
speaking about how he was goingto divide the team members.
And I expected, I'm going to bethrowing out the trash sweeping
up the floor and doing themenial jobs.
I wasn't sure what Bill had instore for me.
And he says, you're going to beworking with Team Bamboo." Which
were the gentleman from Estonia,Mark Pampling from Australia, I
(21:34):
was amazed by being able to workwith them.
Mike Boerma, who owns the BoermaInstitute.
I had to work side by side withMike and I was like, a kid in a
candy store because you'reactually watching them, bring
the concept to life.
You're watching them manipulatethe flowers the way that they do
it..
(21:55):
It's stunning to see the visioncome to life.
I would grab a flower and cutit.
No, they actually slice it.
They manipulate it.
They say make it last.
The longevity is importantbecause it has to last as many
days as possible at the flowershow.
Orchids from Japan anthuriumsand heliconia, an array of
(22:15):
tropicals, many that I had nevereven seen before.
Pitcher plants, we turned intokokedamas and hung them from the
bamboo rafters.
None of our product was touchingthe floor, everything was
suspended.
We were up and down on laddersall day long, binding bamboo,
twisting and turning and,making, armatures so the Oasis
(22:36):
could go into the trays.
That was another one.
Making sure that the Oasis wassaturated enough that it would
hold water to last during thefirst few days of the show.
I don't know how many test tubeswe filled with water.
And we inserted orchid stems andanthurium in there.
We came back the next day, thetubes were empty.
Because the flowers were sothirsty from the travel.
(22:58):
One of the designers, I think itwas Mark, walked up to me, he
goes" how would you feel if youflew all the way over here
without water?" And I was like,exactly.
We have to take intoconsideration our flower
product.
So, you know, he gives me asqueeze bottle.
He goes,"Fill them all up." Sothere I am squeezing water
bottle, squeezing water into allthe test tubes.
Uh, Exactly, but I didn't mindit because.
(23:19):
It was part of the team and ithad to be done and and that's
what made everything click.
And it worked so well for theteams.
The design was a legacy designpresenting Bill Schaffer's
Design team.
He brought the team together tomake this design happen, but it
(23:40):
was a legacy design.
he is no longer competing.
We're being showcased.
to design the entryway, but itwas not in competition with like
AIFD or the other sites.
We're being showcased.
I'll tell you one funny story.
Our international designerswould go out to dinner and then
they would disappear.
(24:00):
I was in the lobby one eveningafter dinner and they all walk
in with big bags of Hobby Lobbystuff And I asked him,"you went
to Hobby Lobby?""Oh, yes, wewent to Hobby Lobby.
We don't have that back home."And the funny thing was I asked
them to see what they had andbelieve it or not, they bought
(24:21):
Easter eggs, little plasticEaster eggs and grass.
You know, the Easter grass, thedifferent colored ones.
They also bought fabric.
Just assorted fabric that Iguess they can't find back home.
So they had a Hobby Lobby party.
They all went to Hobby Lobbytogether.
We had a team meeting everymorning at eight o'clock when we
(24:41):
walked in so that everybody knewexactly what they had to do.
Bill's like,"guess where theyall went last night." We all
started laughing, we were like"Hobby Lobby." and we asked what
they had purchased.
And then we said, wait a minute,you don't know Michaels yet.
JoAnne's fabrics.
There's a lot more you haven'texperienced yet.
I think somebody took them to aMichaels before they left.
(25:03):
But I do know that every timethey ventured out to Hobby
Lobby, they came back with itemsnot available over there.
But it was funny when I saw theyopened up the bag and they
must've had 24 little plastictubes full of Easter.
They were taking home toincorporate into their spring
designs.
I was like,"well, that's smart."
Sharon McGukin (25:23):
You know, that's very cool because when we travel
internationally, we're amazed atthe things that we buy there
that we can't get here and bringour suitcases full of materials.
And we don't think it's thatfunny, but then when we watch
them do exactly the same thing,it seems funny to us because
Hobby Lobby, we just think it'snormal.
Actually, the first time I everheard the name Hobby Lobby, I
(25:46):
was doing a magazine shoot inOklahoma and they said, let's
run to Hobby Lobby.
And I laughed because I thoughtthey were, you know, making a
name up and they're like, whyare you laughing?
That's the store now it'severywhere.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (26:00):
It's everywhere.
Sharon McGukin (26:03):
So when it comes to having experiences in the
floral industry.
What would you say is yoursuperpower?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (26:14):
I've always had the gift of being
able to converse with people,being able to talk, to express
myself and it comes from theheart, but it comes off the top
of my mind.
And a lot of times I get introuble for speaking my mind, I
(26:35):
have that capability tointroduce myself like in the
Philadelphia Flower Show,introduce myself to total
strangers.
Walk up and feel comfortable inexplaining, talking about Oasis,
the Texas Cup, the journey ofhow I got there.
Walking over with them to ourshow piece and telling them,
"look, these are orchids, lookat the pitcher plants, look at
(26:56):
the kokedamas and how we createdthem.
Telling them about the OasisBind Wire that puts them
together.
you see them actually understandwhat we're explaining to them.
So I've always thought mysuperpower is Texas hospitality.
It's a gift, that I've beenblessed with to be able to speak
(27:16):
to people.
explain to them differentprocesses and procedures and
come away with a feeling ofsatisfaction, with friendships.
I don't know, Sharon, if youhave ever known, but I'm
actually a certified minister,so,
Sharon McGukin (27:31):
I did not know that.
How cool
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (27:33):
That's another little thing.
Marrying people is another funlittle aspect that I can do.
Sharon McGukin (27:37):
no, go ahead.
Let's face
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (27:39):
We do.
Sharon McGukin (27:41):
Southern way.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (27:41):
It's the Southern way.
Sharon McGukin (27:42):
were looking forward, We've been looking back
at your history and yourexperience in Philly.
Looking forward, what would besomething that you would just
love to accomplish next?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (27:56):
I'll be honest with you, Sharon.
It's very humbling to go tothese experiences and find
something that surpasses it inlife.
I always dreamt of being a TexasMaster Florist.
I in my wildest dreams neverthought I would ever pass my
(28:20):
PFDE and be inducted into AIFD.
I never thought I'd go to SylviaCup and compete and, meet those
designers and now Philadelphia,God puts these.
opportunities in my path, andit's something that I cherish.
(28:41):
I value.
I always remember.
I'm a diehard photographer.
My cell phone is saturated withpictures of Philadelphia, of the
show, of the setup, of the Oasisbricks being cut and wired and
taped.
I try to capture every littledetail of what I experienced so
(29:02):
that at some point in the futureI can relive it.
And to me, I don't know what thefuture holds, but I leave it in
God's hands.
Cause I know something biggerand better is on the horizon.
I just don't know what it is.
I guess I just have to sit backand be humble.
And expect them to come in andthey will because they always
(29:25):
have.
Sharon McGukin (29:26):
be, You have to be watchful people is that you
see them and you can I thinkthat's, A lot of times that's
the difference in people is thatthe opportunities are there, but
some people see theirs andothers overlook theirs looking
for something else.
So you've been very good atdiscovering what is for you.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (29:49):
Like I mentioned before, I've always
used Oasis products.
I love Oasis products.
It's the go to.
Almost everybody uses Oasis foamto design in unless they're not
using foam.
Oasis is a staple for our flowerI never in my wildest dreams
thought I would actually be areal ambassador for the program
(30:12):
and be able to go out and speakto people and inform them of the
products and promote theproducts.
Again, that comes back to thatsouthern talking.
I don't think if it wouldn'thave been for me being able to
express myself and express theinterest of wanting to be an
ambassador, I wouldn't be here.
Sharon McGukin (30:32):
And I know exactly what you're talking
about connecting with peopleover it because as a design
director for Oasis, we're outthere doing the same thing,
connecting with people.
And when you say the classicgreen foam, their eyes light up.
They know exactly what you'retalking about.
They may overlook everythingelse, but the foam, the green
(30:53):
foam.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (30:54):
And I think that's one of the new
areas that we're going is theKnow Foam where we want to have
people understand and know theprocesses of the foam, where it
comes from, how it's made.
There's so many questions ormisconceptions of the products.
Sharon McGukin (31:10):
And the The program, No Foam is K N O W,
Foam.
We'll be talking about that withLaura Walsh and Kelly Mace on an
Now, Is there one word ofadvice?
That you would give to someone.
You mentioned being a little boyin Texas and not knowing the
great things that were beforeyou.
If someone is looking to grow asa designer and to learn more
(31:36):
about design, what would be yourbest advice for them?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (31:43):
Education.
Educate yourself with what yourproducts are.
Educate yourself with yourfloral products, your hard
goods.
There's so many companies thatoffer vases, containers, foam,
obviously Oasis, our wire.
Educate yourself on how you canuse them.
(32:04):
YouTube, Pinterest, there's somany things, that people can
access nowadays that I wasn'tfortunate to have in my early
years.
I'm going on 45 plus years ofdesigning now.
When I started out, there wasnothing available like that.
Nowadays, at a click of abutton, you can have any kind of
educational opportunity at yourfingertips to learn how you can
(32:28):
best utilize the products andhow you can advance yourself,
advance your skills, yourknowledge of products, your
knowledge of design.
Some of these masters that werethere with us at Bill Schaffer's
Design.
They have institutes of higherlearning where you can go and
travel to Belgium or to Hollandor to Australia and study with
(32:49):
them.
they're on Facebook or YouTubeor different places that we can
access that knowledge.
And to me, that's the key to, tobeing successful and to
advancing ourselves in thisindustry.
We never stopped learning.
When I won the Louisiana Cup mytheme was"Bloom where you're
planted." I've started to bloomwhere I've been planted.
(33:13):
I'm planted in South Texas, butthat doesn't mean I'm always
going to be here.
I can travel anywhere.
I have dual citizenship.
I go to Mexico a lot and I takethem knives and scissors, floral
tape and things.
Anytime I go to the small flowershops in the little quaint
little villages where myfamily's from, I take them
little'goodies' so that theycan, they can play with.
And I show," Hey, look, this iswhat this does." Or, I take them
(33:35):
cold glue.
Oh my God.
They love cold glue.
like, look, it's
Sharon McGukin (33:38):
Everybody.
does Mm hmm.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (33:41):
seen that before.
And I go, let me show you whatit does.
I make up a little quick littlecorsage and I glue it on there
and Oh my God, that is so neat.
It's magic.
It's magic in a tube.
And wire.
They look forward to next time Icome and visit.
That's how we build thoserelationships, build
friendships.
And sometimes it takes us givingthem just a little bit of
something and a bit of ourknowledge.
(34:03):
We can learn from them as well.
We build those long lastingbonds, friendships and community
that is vital to our floralindustry.
Sharon McGukin (34:11):
tube, a floral adhesive and the yellow rose are
the same thing in differentforms.
It's just giving a gift ofacknowledgement to each person.
Abel Gonzalez Menci (34:22):
Absolutely.
Sharon McGukin (34:26):
To sum up your journey to the Philadelphia
flower show, what is onedescription you would give?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (34:33):
If I could sum up my journey to the
Philadelphia Flower Show andworking with these amazing
designers towards the commongoal, it is that word amazing.
Seeing a vision come to life, wehad so much fun We all work
together, went out to dinner andhad a good time and learned so
(34:56):
much about each other Then thenext morning, boom, we're back
at work to get the process doneby five o'clock in the evening
before we had to cleaneverything up.
The experience to me wasamazing.
There was no other word for it.
It opened my eyes.
To a whole new world ofdesigners coming together and
(35:18):
forming one team, one mindsettowards the common goal of doing
the best job that we could topresent ourselves at the
Philadelphia Flower Show.
That in itself is an amazingexperience that I would invite
anybody that has an opportunityto go and experience the
(35:39):
Philadelphia Flower Show atleast once in their lifetimes.
Sharon McGukin (35:43):
Thank you, Abel.
And to our audience,Smithers-Oasis North America,
Abel, and I want to thank youfor joining us today.
If you've enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
and be sure to hit subscribe.
You don't want to miss theinspired solutions our upcoming
guests will share with you foryour personal or business
(36:03):
growth.
If you have topics or guests youwant to hear, Please message me.
We'd love to hear from you.
Until next time, I'm SharonMcGukin, reminding you that like
the unfurling petals of aflower, we grow by changing
form.
Soaking inspiration in, likeraindrops.
Absorbing energy from others,like warmth from the sun.
(36:25):
This growth opens us up to newideas and that's How we Bloom.
If I could sum up my journey to the
Philadelphia Flower Show andworking with these amazing
designers towards the commongoal, it is that word amazing.
Seeing a vision come to life, wehad so much fun
Sharon McGukin (00:29):
Welcome to How We Bloom, an Oasis of flower
ideas.
I'm your host, Sharon McGukin,AIFD, AAF, PFCI.
And I believe that every greatsuccess story starts with one
simple idea.
That's why we interview thosewho dare to do things
differently, inspiring peoplewho plant seeds, grow ideas, and
(00:53):
bloom to their full potential.
In this podcast, we listen,learn, explore new
opportunities.
And that's How we Bloom.
Joining us for today's podcastis Abel Gonzalez Mencio, AIFD,
(01:17):
PFCI, TMF of La Feria, Texas.
Like myself, Abel started hisfloral journey in a small town
flower shop.
He was the delivery driver.
Even then, Abel knew he wasgoing places.
Fast forward a few years, andAbel was Director of Marketing
and Design for Acolyte LED.
(01:38):
He was also chosen as Anambassador of Rio Roses.
Now he has his own designstudio, Casa Granada Floral in
South Texas.
Not only is Abel currently theTexas State Designer of the
Year, in 2019 he was theLouisiana State Designer of the
Year.
(01:58):
Several years ago I wrote a blogabout Abel's mastery of Texas
sized football mom corsages.
It was a lot of fun and I thinkyou will enjoy today's podcast
as well.
It will be released as a podcastfor our listeners and a blog for
readers.
You can find both atoasisfloralproducts.com.
(02:21):
Recently, Abel was chosen as oneof 25 newly named Oasis
Ambassadors in theSmithers-Oasis Ambassador
Program.
He's about it today.
Welcome, Abel.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (02:34):
Sharon, good afternoon.
I am honored to be here withyou.
Sharon McGukin (02:39):
Well, Thank you so much.
It's interesting to learn aboutthe new Smithers-Oasis North
America Program.
And I was happy to hear that youwere as a member of that.
How did you go about beingchosen for ambassadors?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (02:55):
I always considered myself an Ambassador
for Oasis.
It started off with one of theAIFD conventions when I first
started with Acolyte.
Lo and behold, they're like, youhave to design a tablescape at
the AIFD partners in Denver,Colorado.
I remember walking in and seeingall of the amazing designers
that I had always heard ofHitomi Gilliam and Jackie Lacey.
(03:18):
It was a room full ofsuperstars.
Phil Rulloda was there and I hadthe capability of going up and
shaking their hands.
I was just so thrilled.
But I realized, the floraljourney was calling me and I
needed to do something about it.
Oasis is one of the productsthat we always use along the
way.
We incorporated the Oasisproducts, fresh florals and our
(03:42):
LED lighting systems to accenteverything.
When this opportunity cameregarding the ambassador program
for Oasis, I jumped on board.
It was something that I'vedreamt about for a long time to
be able to promote the productcorrectly.
The usage, the questions thatmany people have regarding the
sustainability of the product.
Sharon McGukin (04:03):
you.
Now There was a contest and haveto explain to me what that
contest involved, but I knowthat the the contest, got to
represent Oasis at thePhiladelphia Flower Show.
And that was you, I believe,Abel.
Want to tell us about that?
Abel Gonzalez Menci (04:22):
Absolutely.
I submitted my name and about aweek later, they did a live
drawing Oasis' Kelly Mace cameon and drew the names of the the
runner up and first place.
The runner up was Barito VazquezFlorida.
We were all watching live andKelly draws my name.
Immediately afterwards I get aphone call that I had been
(04:43):
selected.
Bill Schaffer's successfuldesign team had a spot available
for one designer to go andassist.
His amazing design team from allover the world.
30.
gathered to bring his vision tolife.
I am just honored to have beenin the presence of these
(05:04):
designers to have had anopportunity to scrub the
buckets, fill with water,process the flowers.
I was just thrilled to be there.
We all got along amazingly well.
We all ended up leaving asfriends.
I had the opportunity to speakto many different people about
Oasis products Seeing the waythat the people incorporated the
(05:26):
Oasis products is mind blowingbecause I've always used cages
for funerals or for anarrangement.
There were several peopleactually tacking them up on
walls nailing them and screwingthem into the wall brackets on
furniture using them on thefloor.
It, was refreshing to see thedifferent ways that people
(05:47):
utilize the product.
I saw Oasis product.
I introduced myself as anambassador and I told him, thank
you for using our product.
If there's anything we can dofor you, please let us know.
Because that's what theambassadorship is about.
It's about promoting the productto the best of our capability.
Sharon McGukin (06:05):
And I about that.
You mentioned Bill Schaffer.
He is a visionary.
He's a very talented designer,but I think his superpower is
team building.
He can build a team faster, moresecurely, and with greater
purpose than pretty much anybodyI know.
Abel Gonzalez Menci (06:25):
Absolutely.
Just right off the bat, I canmention, we had a team member
Ahti Lira from Estonia.
We had Alex Seguda that came infrom Spain, Barrett Larson from
Denmark, several people from NewJersey, from New York three of
us from Texas, actually twoother designers went in.
We had someone from Scotland aBelgian, several people from
(06:47):
Holland.
The farthest one that traveledwas Mark Pampling.
He came in from Australia.
We had one young lady fromNicaragua.
Another young lady traveled fromColumbia.
The first thing that Bill didwas like,"you're going to
process all the flowers, you'regoing to put water, put all the
preservative, all the OasisFloral Life, make sure that our
flowers last the week for theshow." And it's amazing to see
(07:09):
these very talented designers,scrubbing buckets, processing
flowers and getting the teamtogether.
And it bonded us immediately.
By the end of the first day, wewere all having dinner.
We're having a good time, and wewere focused on the design at
hand that Bill had envisionedfor us.
He did give us a lot of leewayto do our own thing.
(07:33):
we gave them options.
My work was in the BambooGardens.
So we had a lot of tropicalflowers that came in from all
over the world.
And the designers were like,let's use the Heliconia this
way.
Let's hang the Amaranthus theother way.
The visions came to life.
So it was 30 people, but onecohesive unit, which was amazing
to consider.
Sharon McGukin (07:55):
And That really is amazing because.
Personalities are so different,but when you're all focused on
the same thought and purpose,it's easier since everybody was
doing everything.
I think that is a big key Thiswas your first visit to the
Philadelphia Flower Show,correct?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (08:16):
Yes, ma'am.
I had never been actually, I hadnever been to Philadelphia.
Leaving South Texas at 85degrees and arriving in
Philadelphia in a small coldfront was very shocking to me.
But I got acclimated veryquickly.
Obviously, I wanted to go seetheir beautiful city hall.
We have limited time because wewere always focused on getting
(08:36):
the designs ready and we wouldget out and it was already
getting dark.
I was able to visit and tourjust the surrounding areas
around the hotel and around theconvention center.
And I got to see a little bit ofthe city and it was stunningly
beautiful.
The hotel staff.
They catered to our every need.
Right across the street is ahuge market where you have all
(08:57):
different kinds of foods fromall over Pennsylvania,
Pennsylvania Dutch, the AmishKorean, Japanese.
I think they needed a Mexicanrestaurant.
That's the only thing that wasmissing, but the food was
delicious.
I don't know how many Phillycheesesteaks we ended up eating.
Sharon McGukin (09:15):
What was your first impression of the
Philadelphia Flower Show?
Take us through when you walkedin and you saw the enormity, the
number of people, and the volumeof flowers.
What did that feel like?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (09:30):
It's nothing short of overwhelming.
You walk in, there's this hugecanopy, there's water features,
waterfalls, I think all weneeded were some ducks in the
water and we would have beencomplete, but flowers
everywhere, just the variety offlowers that were being
utilized.
And then that's just a part ofit.
(09:50):
There's more.
There's vendors and there's foodstalls.
There's people selling clothing.
Selling plants.
There was a huge orchid societyselling an array of orchids that
I had never seen before.
One of the local flower vendorshad a market in there with all
different kinds of flowers beingsold at bunch prices.
I was surprised by peopleactually buying pretty much
(10:14):
everything they could seebecause they want to take a
little bit of the PhiladelphiaFlower Show home with them.
If I would have been allowed to,I would have filled the plane
with pretty much everything Icould get my hands on.
There was just so many differentthings there to view and enjoy,
people to talk to.
When I walked around, everybodywanted to know how I had gotten
there.
(10:34):
They wanted to know my journeyof how I had arrived at the
Philadelphia Flower Show.
I walked around a lot of thearea where the flower people
were doing their setups.
It's nothing short ofspectacular.
You walk in, you're justimmediately hit with a wall of
flowers, trees, plants, bloomingflowers.
You know, the narcissus wasblooming, so the whole area just
(10:56):
smelled beautifully.
The second day it smelled evenbetter because it had rested
overnight and the plants weregiving their best face forward
to everybody that was coming inthat day.
The amount of people that wereattending when we walked in,
Bill actually got us a VIP passto go in so we could sneak in
and get a little view of of ourdesign before everybody walked
(11:20):
in.
The lights were low, and themood was set with the flowers
and the lighting it was juststunningly beautiful and ten
minutes later It's like amadhouse.
People are running around takingpictures and selfies everybody's
like move out of the way andthey're pushing each other
because they all want to go seea certain section or maybe their
friends designs Luckily, ourSchaefer Design the canopy that
(11:44):
went over the bridgeway wherepeople had to walk through, it
led everybody into the mainflower setting.
So everybody got to see ourwork, which to me was the
highlight of everything becausepeople stopped, took pictures,
noticed every single detail,took pictures of flowers,
orchids, items that they hadnever seen before, and the way
(12:06):
that we had constructedeverything.
Sharon McGukin (12:10):
I spoke with you the other night when you were on
your way home from Philly, andyou just kept saying the word
"amazing.
Amazing! You were starting eachsentence and finishing it with
the word amazing.
And I just loved how amazed youwere.
That was just
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (12:26):
Several years ago, when I competed at
the Texas Cup competition inAustin, Texas, I think this is
where the word comes from.
I was approached by our localSenator's wife.
She was there because we hadCongressional Days and she
walked up to me and there wasonly five designers, one on each
area of the Lone Star State.
We were underneath the cupolathere at the at the State
(12:50):
Capitol building.
And she walked up to me and shesaid something which which rings
in my mind every time I go tothese events that are bigger
than life.
She says,"Little boy from SouthTexas does good." And I was
like,"you're right." I wouldnever have had these
opportunities had it not beenfor Acolyte, Oasis, winning the
(13:12):
Texas designer of the year,They're stepping stones in my
journey of what I've been ableto do.
Receiving my Texas MasterFlorist, my Certified Florist
Designer and people were like,"You're not done.
Keep going." They cheered me on.
And I have several people whowere just amazing in that path
of going towards AIFD.
(13:33):
And then finally, graduating,being inducted in Las Vegas a
couple of years ago where I wasalso able to get married right
before I got inducted.
So that day was a
Sharon McGukin (13:44):
I was, I
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (13:46):
there you were a guest.
Sharon McGukin (13:49):
wonderful.
Now, Did you get to visit theAIFD booth as
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (13:54):
Obviously I did make my way over to the A
IFD showcase.
The amount of talent in thatroom.
of AIFD and CFD designersworking to complete their setups
was just something to see.
Everybody, that was a team.
That was a team.
Sharon McGukin (14:14):
That was amazing.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (14:15):
It was
Sharon McGukin (14:15):
amazing.
That is an event that peoplelook forward to all year.
And you mentioned them carryingout materials.
I remember one year, the hotelthat has the walkway across that
you can look out, the glasswalkway.
I looked down from there andthat year, the big thing was
pussy willow branches.
(14:37):
And it seemed like every personin this river of people going
down the sidewalk alongside thebuilding because it was cold and
they all had branches of pussywillow over their shoulders.
And it was just the neatestriver of blossoms you've ever
seen.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (14:53):
I'll tell you a little bit more of that.
There's a reason why when I wasthere, I went out and purchased
yellow roses.
Sharon McGukin (15:01):
Go ahead and tell us about the yellow roses.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (15:03):
The final day that we were there, which
was a Friday, everybody startedheading out on Saturday in
different directions.
Friday, we got a VIP pass to beable to go in before the actual
show opened.
I wear my Texas cowboy hat, myboots, my Texas flag shirt that
looks like a Texas flag with aLone Star on it.
I also had a banner that says"Texas Designer of the Year" and
(15:27):
on the back it's got my name.
I went down to the local marketand I purchased three bunches of
long stem yellow roses.
People gravitated towards me.
They all wanted a yellow rose ofTexas.
I did this once before, manyyears ago when I started with
Acolyte.
When I went to New York I wentdown to Times Square.
(15:50):
I knew that people from allwalks of life, come and go from
everywhere, just like thePhiladelphia Flower Show.
I wanted to do somethingdifferent, so I called it the
Rose Experiment.
I bought two dozen pink roses, Itook a picture on one of the
tables in Times Square, with allthe lights and the signs in the
background.
(16:10):
Then I proceeded to hand out theroses.
to just anybody who would acceptthem.
And there's a lot of people whoare leary, they thought I was
selling them.
And, but then, people realize,"Hey, this guy's giving them
away." I gave out roses and thenonce they were all gone, I sat
in the bleachers in Times Squareand I was amazed to look out
into the crowd and see the roseswalking in all different
(16:33):
directions.
You could see people going leftand right and getting into taxis
and giving them to theirdaughters and, you know, the
street performers even had them.
And I thought, you know, that'san amazing gift to share our
passion and our love withflowers and spread the joy to
total strangers and have it be aproject.
(16:55):
Very similar to the Petal itForward that some of the floral
associations do.
I did the same thing inPhiladelphia.
I went across the street to themarket.
I purchased yellow roses.
I walked in and started handingout yellow roses to whoever
would accept them.
And.
I sat back and watched theyellow roses walk away in all
(17:15):
different directions, up anddown the escalators, in the
lobby area, walking out towardsthe restaurants.
To me it's a fulfilling projectto see the love and the passion
that I have in floristry, forthe state of Texas, for the
yellow rose of Texas.
Handing that out and passing mylove along to other people And
(17:36):
having them go enjoy it.
There was one person whoactually sent me a picture of
the rose in their hotel room ina glass of water on their
nightstand.
She said, thanks so much.
I love my yellow rose.
I'm going to cherish it till itfades.
But thank you so much for doingthis for me.
She found me on Facebook andsent me the picture.
(17:58):
This is what our careers areabout, making a difference in
someone's life.
Making them smile, enjoyflowers, learn about flowers,
and all of the differentprocesses incorporated in our
daily lives that make being aflorist special.
Sharon McGukin (18:14):
And Isn't it wonderful how easily we can send
beauty out into the world, intothe lives of others, if we just
take the time to do simple, kindgestures.
Abel Gonzalez Menci (18:29):
Absolutely.
Sharon McGukin (18:30):
everyone could do that every day, just think
how much more beauty there couldbe in the world.
And Of course we love flowers.
So we wanted that beautiful roseto go out there, but there's so
many other ways we could sharekindness too, if we just took
the time to do so.
very cool.
So When they came up to you toaccept the rose, did they ask to
(18:53):
have their picture made with thecowboy or how did they react to
your Texas look?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (19:00):
Let me tell you, it was unexpected to
say the least.
A Texan in Pennsylvania at theconvention center.
A lot of people asked,"Can Itake a picture?
Are you the Texas champion?" Igo,"Yes, ma'am, I am." And the
conversation was on.
And it was,"How did you gethere?" I won the contest.
I was allowed to design withBill Schaffer.
We did that canopy that's behindyou, Oasis product." They can
(19:23):
relate to the green foam.
Oh, congratulations.
Can we take a picture?" Severalpeople that took pictures found
me on Facebook and shared themwith me.
I know that the PhiladelphiaFlower Show also videotaped us.
As I was handing them outbecause I saw the camera off to
the side.
I haven't seen the video yet,but I'm sure it's coming, maybe
in their publicity again, Ithink I touched some lives.
(19:46):
I told them a little bit aboutTexas.
About Oasis.
I told them about myambassadorship and the contest.
Of how I was able to get thereand work with these amazing,
talented designers from all overthe world.
Sharon McGukin (19:59):
When they asked you how you got there there
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (20:01):
when I walked up to one of the booths,
the husband said,"Where's thehorse?" I said,"it's outside."
So The cold.
Sharon McGukin (20:12):
you also mentioned being really excited
about having the opportunity tomeet and work with a number of
been there, but Share some ofthe moments that you directly
engaged with them
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (20:29):
When I arrived into the hall that we
were going to start setup manyof the designers were already
hugging each other.
The hugs and the kisses wentaround and I just sort of sat
back because I was the new kidin town.
Not knowing that on the Schafferdesign team, most of the
designers have been there sixseven 10, 12 years.
They've been working with Billquite a bit.
(20:50):
They know.
of them.
So I'm guessing the longevity ofthem coming in and designing
with him speaks for itself.
because everyone pays at theirown expense.
Correct.
No payment whatsoever.
Even our food and hotel,everything we have to cover.
One of the designers asked Billwhat team everybody was going to
(21:11):
be on.
He's like,"well, I've alreadyworked that out." I heard him
speaking about how he was goingto divide the team members.
And I expected, I'm going to bethrowing out the trash sweeping
up the floor and doing themenial jobs.
I wasn't sure what Bill had instore for me.
And he says, you're going to beworking with Team Bamboo." Which
were the gentleman from Estonia,Mark Pampling from Australia, I
(21:34):
was amazed by being able to workwith them.
Mike Boerma, who owns the BoermaInstitute.
I had to work side by side withMike and I was like, a kid in a
candy store because you'reactually watching them, bring
the concept to life.
You're watching them manipulatethe flowers the way that they do
it..
(21:55):
It's stunning to see the visioncome to life.
I would grab a flower and cutit.
No, they actually slice it.
They manipulate it.
They say make it last.
The longevity is importantbecause it has to last as many
days as possible at the flowershow.
Orchids from Japan anthuriumsand heliconia, an array of
(22:15):
tropicals, many that I had nevereven seen before.
Pitcher plants, we turned intokokedamas and hung them from the
bamboo rafters.
None of our product was touchingthe floor, everything was
suspended.
We were up and down on laddersall day long, binding bamboo,
twisting and turning and,making, armatures so the Oasis
(22:36):
could go into the trays.
That was another one.
Making sure that the Oasis wassaturated enough that it would
hold water to last during thefirst few days of the show.
I don't know how many test tubeswe filled with water.
And we inserted orchid stems andanthurium in there.
We came back the next day, thetubes were empty.
Because the flowers were sothirsty from the travel.
(22:58):
One of the designers, I think itwas Mark, walked up to me, he
goes" how would you feel if youflew all the way over here
without water?" And I was like,exactly.
We have to take intoconsideration our flower
product.
So, you know, he gives me asqueeze bottle.
He goes,"Fill them all up." Sothere I am squeezing water
bottle, squeezing water into allthe test tubes.
Uh, Exactly, but I didn't mindit because.
(23:19):
It was part of the team and ithad to be done and and that's
what made everything click.
And it worked so well for theteams.
The design was a legacy designpresenting Bill Schaffer's
Design team.
He brought the team together tomake this design happen, but it
(23:40):
was a legacy design.
he is no longer competing.
We're being showcased.
to design the entryway, but itwas not in competition with like
AIFD or the other sites.
We're being showcased.
I'll tell you one funny story.
Our international designerswould go out to dinner and then
they would disappear.
(24:00):
I was in the lobby one eveningafter dinner and they all walk
in with big bags of Hobby Lobbystuff And I asked him,"you went
to Hobby Lobby?""Oh, yes, wewent to Hobby Lobby.
We don't have that back home."And the funny thing was I asked
them to see what they had andbelieve it or not, they bought
(24:21):
Easter eggs, little plasticEaster eggs and grass.
You know, the Easter grass, thedifferent colored ones.
They also bought fabric.
Just assorted fabric that Iguess they can't find back home.
So they had a Hobby Lobby party.
They all went to Hobby Lobbytogether.
We had a team meeting everymorning at eight o'clock when we
(24:41):
walked in so that everybody knewexactly what they had to do.
Bill's like,"guess where theyall went last night." We all
started laughing, we were like"Hobby Lobby." and we asked what
they had purchased.
And then we said, wait a minute,you don't know Michaels yet.
JoAnne's fabrics.
There's a lot more you haven'texperienced yet.
I think somebody took them to aMichaels before they left.
(25:03):
But I do know that every timethey ventured out to Hobby
Lobby, they came back with itemsnot available over there.
But it was funny when I saw theyopened up the bag and they
must've had 24 little plastictubes full of Easter.
They were taking home toincorporate into their spring
designs.
I was like,"well, that's smart."
Sharon McGukin (25:23):
You know, that's very cool because when we travel
internationally, we're amazed atthe things that we buy there
that we can't get here and bringour suitcases full of materials.
And we don't think it's thatfunny, but then when we watch
them do exactly the same thing,it seems funny to us because
Hobby Lobby, we just think it'snormal.
Actually, the first time I everheard the name Hobby Lobby, I
(25:46):
was doing a magazine shoot inOklahoma and they said, let's
run to Hobby Lobby.
And I laughed because I thoughtthey were, you know, making a
name up and they're like, whyare you laughing?
That's the store now it'severywhere.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (26:00):
It's everywhere.
Sharon McGukin (26:03):
So when it comes to having experiences in the
floral industry.
What would you say is yoursuperpower?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (26:14):
I've always had the gift of being
able to converse with people,being able to talk, to express
myself and it comes from theheart, but it comes off the top
of my mind.
And a lot of times I get introuble for speaking my mind, I
(26:35):
have that capability tointroduce myself like in the
Philadelphia Flower Show,introduce myself to total
strangers.
Walk up and feel comfortable inexplaining, talking about Oasis,
the Texas Cup, the journey ofhow I got there.
Walking over with them to ourshow piece and telling them,
"look, these are orchids, lookat the pitcher plants, look at
(26:56):
the kokedamas and how we createdthem.
Telling them about the OasisBind Wire that puts them
together.
you see them actually understandwhat we're explaining to them.
So I've always thought mysuperpower is Texas hospitality.
It's a gift, that I've beenblessed with to be able to speak
(27:16):
to people.
explain to them differentprocesses and procedures and
come away with a feeling ofsatisfaction, with friendships.
I don't know, Sharon, if youhave ever known, but I'm
actually a certified minister,so,
Sharon McGukin (27:31):
I did not know that.
How cool
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (27:33):
That's another little thing.
Marrying people is another funlittle aspect that I can do.
Sharon McGukin (27:37):
no, go ahead.
Let's face
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (27:39):
We do.
Sharon McGukin (27:41):
Southern way.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (27:41):
It's the Southern way.
Sharon McGukin (27:42):
were looking forward, We've been looking back
at your history and yourexperience in Philly.
Looking forward, what would besomething that you would just
love to accomplish next?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (27:56):
I'll be honest with you, Sharon.
It's very humbling to go tothese experiences and find
something that surpasses it inlife.
I always dreamt of being a TexasMaster Florist.
I in my wildest dreams neverthought I would ever pass my
(28:20):
PFDE and be inducted into AIFD.
I never thought I'd go to SylviaCup and compete and, meet those
designers and now Philadelphia,God puts these.
opportunities in my path, andit's something that I cherish.
(28:41):
I value.
I always remember.
I'm a diehard photographer.
My cell phone is saturated withpictures of Philadelphia, of the
show, of the setup, of the Oasisbricks being cut and wired and
taped.
I try to capture every littledetail of what I experienced so
(29:02):
that at some point in the futureI can relive it.
And to me, I don't know what thefuture holds, but I leave it in
God's hands.
Cause I know something biggerand better is on the horizon.
I just don't know what it is.
I guess I just have to sit backand be humble.
And expect them to come in andthey will because they always
(29:25):
have.
Sharon McGukin (29:26):
be, You have to be watchful people is that you
see them and you can I thinkthat's, A lot of times that's
the difference in people is thatthe opportunities are there, but
some people see theirs andothers overlook theirs looking
for something else.
So you've been very good atdiscovering what is for you.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (29:49):
Like I mentioned before, I've always
used Oasis products.
I love Oasis products.
It's the go to.
Almost everybody uses Oasis foamto design in unless they're not
using foam.
Oasis is a staple for our flowerI never in my wildest dreams
thought I would actually be areal ambassador for the program
(30:12):
and be able to go out and speakto people and inform them of the
products and promote theproducts.
Again, that comes back to thatsouthern talking.
I don't think if it wouldn'thave been for me being able to
express myself and express theinterest of wanting to be an
ambassador, I wouldn't be here.
Sharon McGukin (30:32):
And I know exactly what you're talking
about connecting with peopleover it because as a design
director for Oasis, we're outthere doing the same thing,
connecting with people.
And when you say the classicgreen foam, their eyes light up.
They know exactly what you'retalking about.
They may overlook everythingelse, but the foam, the green
(30:53):
foam.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (30:54):
And I think that's one of the new
areas that we're going is theKnow Foam where we want to have
people understand and know theprocesses of the foam, where it
comes from, how it's made.
There's so many questions ormisconceptions of the products.
Sharon McGukin (31:10):
And the The program, No Foam is K N O W,
Foam.
We'll be talking about that withLaura Walsh and Kelly Mace on an
Now, Is there one word ofadvice?
That you would give to someone.
You mentioned being a little boyin Texas and not knowing the
great things that were beforeyou.
If someone is looking to grow asa designer and to learn more
(31:36):
about design, what would be yourbest advice for them?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (31:43):
Education.
Educate yourself with what yourproducts are.
Educate yourself with yourfloral products, your hard
goods.
There's so many companies thatoffer vases, containers, foam,
obviously Oasis, our wire.
Educate yourself on how you canuse them.
(32:04):
YouTube, Pinterest, there's somany things, that people can
access nowadays that I wasn'tfortunate to have in my early
years.
I'm going on 45 plus years ofdesigning now.
When I started out, there wasnothing available like that.
Nowadays, at a click of abutton, you can have any kind of
educational opportunity at yourfingertips to learn how you can
(32:28):
best utilize the products andhow you can advance yourself,
advance your skills, yourknowledge of products, your
knowledge of design.
Some of these masters that werethere with us at Bill Schaffer's
Design.
They have institutes of higherlearning where you can go and
travel to Belgium or to Hollandor to Australia and study with
(32:49):
them.
they're on Facebook or YouTubeor different places that we can
access that knowledge.
And to me, that's the key to, tobeing successful and to
advancing ourselves in thisindustry.
We never stopped learning.
When I won the Louisiana Cup mytheme was"Bloom where you're
planted." I've started to bloomwhere I've been planted.
(33:13):
I'm planted in South Texas, butthat doesn't mean I'm always
going to be here.
I can travel anywhere.
I have dual citizenship.
I go to Mexico a lot and I takethem knives and scissors, floral
tape and things.
Anytime I go to the small flowershops in the little quaint
little villages where myfamily's from, I take them
little'goodies' so that theycan, they can play with.
And I show," Hey, look, this iswhat this does." Or, I take them
(33:35):
cold glue.
Oh my God.
They love cold glue.
like, look, it's
Sharon McGukin (33:38):
Everybody.
does Mm hmm.
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (33:41):
seen that before.
And I go, let me show you whatit does.
I make up a little quick littlecorsage and I glue it on there
and Oh my God, that is so neat.
It's magic.
It's magic in a tube.
And wire.
They look forward to next time Icome and visit.
That's how we build thoserelationships, build
friendships.
And sometimes it takes us givingthem just a little bit of
something and a bit of ourknowledge.
(34:03):
We can learn from them as well.
We build those long lastingbonds, friendships and community
that is vital to our floralindustry.
Sharon McGukin (34:11):
tube, a floral adhesive and the yellow rose are
the same thing in differentforms.
It's just giving a gift ofacknowledgement to each person.
Abel Gonzalez Menci (34:22):
Absolutely.
Sharon McGukin (34:26):
To sum up your journey to the Philadelphia
flower show, what is onedescription you would give?
Abel Gonzalez Mencio (34:33):
If I could sum up my journey to the
Philadelphia Flower Show andworking with these amazing
designers towards the commongoal, it is that word amazing.
Seeing a vision come to life, wehad so much fun We all work
together, went out to dinner andhad a good time and learned so
(34:56):
much about each other Then thenext morning, boom, we're back
at work to get the process doneby five o'clock in the evening
before we had to cleaneverything up.
The experience to me wasamazing.
There was no other word for it.
It opened my eyes.
To a whole new world ofdesigners coming together and
(35:18):
forming one team, one mindsettowards the common goal of doing
the best job that we could topresent ourselves at the
Philadelphia Flower Show.
That in itself is an amazingexperience that I would invite
anybody that has an opportunityto go and experience the
(35:39):
Philadelphia Flower Show atleast once in their lifetimes.
Sharon McGukin (35:43):
Thank you, Abel.
And to our audience,Smithers-Oasis North America,
Abel, and I want to thank youfor joining us today.
If you've enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
and be sure to hit subscribe.
You don't want to miss theinspired solutions our upcoming
guests will share with you foryour personal or business
(36:03):
growth.
If you have topics or guests youwant to hear, Please message me.
We'd love to hear from you.
Until next time, I'm SharonMcGukin, reminding you that like
the unfurling petals of aflower, we grow by changing
form.
Soaking inspiration in, likeraindrops.
Absorbing energy from others,like warmth from the sun.
(36:25):
This growth opens us up to newideas and that's How we Bloom.
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