Local Flower Shop News
After the shooting, a boy gave flowers to workers at King Soopers stores near the attack - The Washington Post
Wednesday, March 31, 2021He purchased dozens of carnations in a variety of bright colors and paid for them with money he earned from dog-walking. When JJ told the florist his plan to give a flower to every store employee, she offered him a generous discount.That’s when he turned to his mother and excitedly said, “kindness is spreading!” Witmer recalled.They did several laps around the supermarket and handed out one flower to every employee. With each flower, JJ shared an earnest message.“We just wanted to let you know you’re appreciated. Thank you for being here today. It must be hard,” he said to each employee.“At first, I was a little bit timid because I wasn’t sure how they would react,” JJ said.But then he saw that employees instantly responded with overwhelming gratitude.“They were really thankful. Lots of them were crying and giving me first bumps and air hugs,” JJ said. “It made me feel so good. I was filled with joy and happiness.”While chatting with the store employees, “they said they were kind of scared to go do their job,” JJ added. “I think we made the right decision because it made a lot of people feel good.”Although Witmer followed closely behind her son, “I just stood in the background and let him do his thing,” she said. “This was his idea, and I was just there to support him.”After about 45 minutes in the store, they moved on to another King Soopers location in Reunion, a community in Commerce City, which is where the Witmer family usually gets their groceries.“We know most of the employees there,” JJ said.He purchased three dozen red roses that the store’s florist also offered at a heavily discounted price. Again, he circled the supermarket, handing out flowers to every employee in sight.“He even waited for a staff meeting to end so he wouldn’t miss anybody,” Witmer said.Marsha Esparza-Barnabe, 58, who works in the pharmacy at the Commerce City King Soopers, was surprised when JJ approached her with a rose.The atmosphere in the store was “very somber,” she said. “Everybody was talking about [the shooting], and it was just very sad. It could have been our store.”Then JJ appeared, rose in hand.The small gesture of kindness was so overwhelming, Esparza-Barnabe said, that “I actually turned and walked to the back and cried.”Not far away, in the baking aisle of the supermarket, Zerelda Todd — a King Soopers employee of 46 years — was on her knees, stocking the shelves with tubes of frosting.“All of a sudden, I heard this quiet voice go ‘Ma’am,' ” Todd, 64, said. ... https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/03/25/king-soopers-shooting-flowers-colorado/
N.J. communities mourn those lost to COVID-19 with flowers and memories - NJ.com
Wednesday, March 31, 2021Passaic EMT.At each location, including a Passaic fire station and Anthony E. Russo Park in Union, family and friends eulogized their loved ones and laid a flower for them, said Amanda Elisca, the florist who coordinated the events across the state.The effort is part of the Floral Hearts Project, a nationwide initiative pushing for an official national day of morning for those lost to COVID-19, said Elisca. As of Tuesday morning, there were more than 100 hearts laid out across the country, she said.But for Elisca, the push to bring the memorial to New Jersey was more personal. Her father, Cesar Perez, an EMS supervisor in Passaic, was a mentor and longtime friend of Israel “Izzy” Tolentino, the Passaic firefighter who died last March from the coronavirus, and a friend of Kevin Levia, an EMT in Passaic who also died from the virus.The day of mourning was for those who were left behind, missing their loved ones and in need of a way to express their grief a year later, she said.“These people don’t have anyone to reach out to,” said Elisca. “Usually if you lost someone you can get a hug from a friend. And we can’t do that now. Even a year into the pandemic, it’s even more important for us to reach out to people and to do these types of things.”In Passaic, mourners gathered at the West Side Fire Station, remembering Tolentino and Levia. Both Perez and Tolentino’s wife, Maria Vazquez, were at the event, with Vazquez laying flowers for her husband and Perez in full uniform remembering his friend he’d call, “Nudge.”“It was very, very emotional at the firehouse,” said Perez. “There had to be 100-something people.”In Union, mourners gathered at Anthony E. Russo Park,... https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2021/03/nj-communities-mourn-those-lost-to-covid-19-with-flowers-and-memories.html
Colorado Springs entrepreneur brings flowers and charm to Old Colorado City with Sweetwater: A Flower Market - Colorado Springs Gazette
Wednesday, March 31, 2021She’s very self-sufficient and ambitious, and she just embraces what comes.”Izzy Cline, Kristyn’s 20-year-old daughter, is also involved in growing the business. In addition to being a Sweetwater florist, she handles the market’s social media channels, including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.“We built this business from the ground up and seeing it come to life is mesmerizing,” Izzy Cline said. “As a young woman working for a woman-owned business it feels powerful ... I am my mom’s biggest fan and there is absolutely nothing she can’t do.”Christy Metz, Sweetwater’s head florist and creative director, echoed the same sentiments as Cline’s daughters.“She has really great relationships and cares about everybody, and that just comes across,” Metz said of Cline. “She’s also great at delegating and finding out peoples’ strengths and using those to build a strong team.”Metz, 57, was a florist in Chicago for over a decade before returning to her hometown a few years ago. She met Cline through a mutual friend in November, and Metz learned about Cline’s passion for opening the new business.“I could tell that she was a successful businesswoman just by the way she talked about her business and her staff, and we hit it off right away,” Metz said. “I envision Sweetwater being a really welcoming, wonderful place ... where they can feel really energized and inspired.”Cline and her team plan to open the store on Friday, March 5.“I am looking forward to genuinely just putting smiles on our customers’ faces,” Izzy Cline said. “We ware doing it for our community and we are doing it in the form of flowers and flower trucks.”To learn more, visit Sweetwater: A Flower Market on Facebook and Instagram at “SweetwaterFlowerMarket” and Twitter at “Sweetwaterxx.”... https://gazette.com/cheyenneedition/colorado-springs-entrepreneur-brings-flowers-and-charm-to-old-colorado-city-with-sweetwater-a-flower/article_7dbaedde-77a5-11eb-8fe3-1b45ec1a2d2e.html
Native blooms in South Carolina | COLAtoday - COLAtoday
Wednesday, March 31, 2021Not sure where to pick up a bouquet locally? Here are a few suggestions. American Floral, 7565 St. Andrews Rd. Blossom Shop Columbia, 2001 Devine St. De Loach Florist, 2927 Millwood Ave. Fern Studio, 2855 Devine St. Florist on Main, 1546 Main St., Suite CForest Acres Florals, 2305 Beltline Blvd., Suite B. Pineview Florist, 3030 Leaphart Rd., West Columbia The Flower Station, 5216 Two Notch Rd. Three Oaks Florist, 142 State St., West ColumbiaWoodley’s Garden Center, Two Notch + Irmo Polldiv style="width: 1... https://colatoday.6amcity.com/south-carolina-native-flowers/
Here’s your guide to preserving and crafting with flowers straight from your garden - OregonLive
Wednesday, March 31, 2021Working from her home studio in Hillsboro, Eliades said having this business during the pandemic has helped her to push her creative boundaries.Anyone can craft with plants, however, and florist Jeremi Carroll and farmer John Peterson said a good place to start is just by looking around your garden.“See what you have. What aesthetic do you want? What are you trying to build?” Peterson said. “See what textures you might want to incorporate into whatever you’re making.”Owners of Pollinate Flowers in Newberg, Carroll and Peterson started a dry flower program at their shop last year. They create arrangements and wreaths made from flowers they grow and dry on their farm, and even sell wreath kits at their retail shop.Carroll said that you can dry anything, but some flowers are just naturally easier to work with than others. Roses, yarrow, statice, Gomphrena, amaranth, marigold, hydrangea, grass seed heads, feverfew, celosia and strawflower are all varieties that are considered dry when they’re alive, he said, so they will dry easily and hold their shape well.“They already have a crispy texture to petals, so when they dry they don’t change structure or color,” he explained.24Dried flower craftsThere are multiple ways to dry flowers, but the three most common methods are hanging upside down, using silica gel and pressing. Carroll said the traditional way is to bunch flowers together and hang them upside down in a dry and dark space. He recommended drying them in the house away from a window, where humidity is low.That method works for many flowers and grasses, but for daisy-like flowers, such as black-eyed Susans, drying works better with the petals and center of flower drying face-up, Carroll said. When they hang, the gravity will close up the petals around the center, so Carroll recommended dr... https://www.oregonlive.com/hg/2021/03/heres-your-guide-to-preserving-and-crafting-with-flowers-straight-from-your-garden.html
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