Michelle's Flower Cart

Local Flower Shop News

A Flower Display in Burlington Honored the COVID-19 Dead - Seven Days

Vermonters who have died from COVID-19 since the disease struck the state nearly a year ago. "It often feels like we're just talking about numbers and tallies," said creator Jayson Munn, a florist who mainly works weddings and other events. "I thought this was a great opportunity to do it in the public square." Burlington was one of about 80 cities nationwide that hosted an art installation as part of the Floral Heart Project. Created by New York City-based artist Kristina Libby, the idea was to designate March 1 as a national day of mourning to publicly grieve those "lost to and suffering from COVID-19." As of Tuesday, more than 515,000 Americans have died. Munn said one woman he talked to had lost her husband to the disease. She told him that visiting the flower memorial had been the first time she'd publicly grieved his death; both she and Munn "started bawling," he said. He gave her a rose. "It was a really touching, touching moment," Munn said. Daniel "D.J." Boyd of Wilmington was walking down Church Street when he saw a crowd by the display and thought, Gee, only in Burlington do you see a bunch of roses in the street and everyone just walking around taking pictures. Boyd walked over himself and read the sign that Munn had erected explaining the display, "and it just struck me," he said. His uncles, twins Leon and Cleon Boyd, had died of COVID-19 early last April, just six days apart.  "It's amazing," Boyd said of the display. "It's a good gesture. It puts it into perspective, you know?" Boyd walked over to Munn and told him he'd lost his uncles. Munn picked up two long-stemmed roses from the bricks, and then handed them to Boyd. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/a-flower-display-in-burlington-honored-the-covid-19-dead/Content?oid=32450871

Okanagan florists busy during pandemic, some busier than ever | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source - iNFOnews

COVID-19 pandemic has brought hard times onto some local businesses, Okanagan flower shops are busy — some say even busier than ever. The period around Easter and Mother’s Day is typically busy for florists, and despite current circumstances, this year is no exception. At Burnett’s Florist in Kelowna, business has been steady. “Our Easter was more busy than it usually is, and we’re hoping Mother’s Day is the same," florist Galena Clancy said. Kelowna’s Funky Petals, Harris Flower Shop in Vernon and Newell Flower Shop in Kamloops are all busy during the pandemic as well. "I think it's mostly because people are kind of communicating from a distance with flowers," Clancy said. Harris Flower Shop's Brenda Gedaschke says that many of her customers want to send flowers for birthdays, or just to cheer people up.  Florists have shifted to accommodate current public health orders, offering online ordering and contactless delivery. Harris Flower Shop has even installed an honour bar outside their store, where customers can pick up arrangements and leave money in a locked collection box. “(The honour bar) has been spectacularly well received,” said Gedaschke, adding that there has only been one customer who didn’t leave enough money for their bouquet. The real challenge during the pandemic has been getting flowers from suppliers, Gedaschke said. "At this point everything is limited,” she said. “A lot of the import stuff, up until recently,... https://infotel.ca/newsitem/okanagan-florists-busy-during-pandemic-some-busier-than-ever/it72772

Have You Spotted the Giant Floral Displays Popping Up Around the City? - Pittsburgh Magazine

A mother of three boys who previously worked for Tommy Hilfiger and Dolce & Gabbana, Dickson says she came up with the idea for the installations after seeing florist Lewis Miller Design’s “Flower Flash” project in New York City. In February, she installed her first display, wrapping garlands of flowers around the columns of Shadyside’s Family House — which provides a “home away from home” for patients and their families seeking medical treatment in Pittsburgh. “To all of the healthcare workers and all of the patients and their families, this one’s for you!” Dickson wrote on Instagram of the project. Later that month, she spruced up her hometown area, coating a light pole and corner on Brilliant Avenue in Aspinwall with flowers. In early March, she struck again, creating an enormous bouquet atop a recycling bin on Penn Avenue and 21st Street in the Strip District. Beside the display, she used sidewalk chalk to quote French artist Henri Matisse’s famous line, “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” Dickson told the Post-Gazette the recycling can project was particularly inspired because the already-cut flowers — from supplier BW Wholesale Florist in the Strip District — would have been thrown away had she not repurposed them. If you missed any of the installations, your chances of catching one have not wilted. The pop-up displays will continue to sprout up across the city, possibly through April, Dickson says — and suggestions as to where are welcome. To follow along, visit Fox and the Fleur’s instagram account here. ... https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/have-you-spotted-the-giant-floral-displays-popping-up-around-the-city/

Slaughterhouse Workers Can Now Get Free Job Training to Become Florists - VegNews

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), sent a letter to Kim Cordova, president of labor union United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, urging her to encourage workers to become florists in light of the ongoing pandemic and offering for PETA to pay for the necessary job training to make the transition. “Working on the kill floor is a dangerous, dirty, dead-end job,” Newkirk said. “PETA is happy to help budding flower arrangers flee the meat industry for the sake of animals and their own mental health.” Last week, a number of meat companies closed slaughterhouses as an increasing number of workers became infected with COVID-19—a disease thought to have originated from a wet animal market, not dissimilar from a slaughterhouse, in Wuhan, China late last year. Smithfield shuttered its Sioux Falls, SD pig slaughterhouse after 230 workers tested positive, Cargill closed its meat-packaging plant near Hazleton, PA, after reporting 130 positive cases, and JBS temporarily shut down its beef slaughterhouse in Souderton, PA after 17 workers tested positive.Love the plant-based lifestyle as much as we do?Get the BEST vegan recipes, travel, celebrity interviews, product picks, and so much more inside every issue of VegNews Magazine. Find out why VegNews is the world’s #1 plant-based magazine by subscribing today!Subscribe... https://vegnews.com/2020/4/slaughterhouse-workers-can-now-get-free-job-training-to-become-florists

After the shooting, a boy gave flowers to workers at King Soopers stores near the attack - The Washington Post

He 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/

Florist Nearby