When A Pandemic Hits . . What Does A Flower Shop Do?
When a Pandemic Hits . . What does a Flower Shop Do?
Let's be honest, this is uncharted waters for all us. We are all so busy in the day to day, that being told to stop, collaborate and listen to the CDC is very unknown. We believe that society knows this is for the best, but doesn't make this any less difficult.
So what does a Flower Shop do in this uncertain time?
We Plan . . . Plan for the Now, and the Future. Right now we continue to deliver for families to Funeral Homes and Services. This is a VERY tough time to have a loved one pass. Services are private and small. Families know that this person's life and legacy should be honored, but also understand the importance of social distancing. That doesn't make this any less hard for them. So we will continue to take those calls and create beautiful tributes. For the future, we will prepare to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so and welcome our staff and customers back with VERY open arms.
We Rest . . . Rest for Us, Our Staff and Families. When everything is out of your control, sometimes the best thing to do is truly embrace it and just take the time to rest, reset and go to a place of peace. Most "Floral Holidays" occur from November through May. Summer months are typically our "slow time" and even then our weddings can take us from slow to crazy in a matter of minutes. With most retail florists being open 6 or even 7 days a week, it can be difficult to truly have "down time." My children are really enjoying having Mom home right now. Here is a picture of my daughter, Noelle, with a gingerbread house that we FINALLY had time to complete!
We Create . . . We all have those projects we never get to. For me, it's silk corsages. I have a confession to make . . . I LOVE silk flowers. Yes, I know I'm a florist and therefore loving flowers is in my blood. I do LOVE fresh flowers, but I LOVE silk flowers too. Most customers think we don't like silk flowers because well they're not real. Well I need to put that myth to bed. I'm a Floral Designer and really LOVE, LOVE all flowers! I don't get to work with silk as much as I'd like to because filling our fresh orders and keeping our front grab and go cooler takes most of my time. So here is my chance to really create. Not for an order, not for a specific request, not to fill a hole on a display wall, just truly create and be the creative soul that I really am. So here are a few corsages that are currently in production.
We Clean . . . We're creative people we like to keep stuff. Let's be honest, hoarding is one of our super powers. You just never know when you will need a broken piece of pottery, a bird with a missing wing or a stick with just the right curve to it. We just can't help it. We just never know what we will be asked to create next and always want to be prepared. It's time to thin some of this "stuff" out though. So dust bunnies run for cover! We're coming for you!
We Hope . . . Hope for a better tomorrow. We fully believe we have the BEST customers! Our customers, our community, our friends, our families will all be there on the other side of this cheering us on. Small Business is the backbone of Edwardsville, IL and we've seen how our community lifts us up in our times of need. When we can freely move about and support our businesses fully again, we know our customers will be there for us. We can't wait to see you very, very soon!
So for now, we will just ride out these bumpy seas with everyone else. In the end, life is about the journey and not the destination. So into the unknown we go!