Calera, AL Florists

Calera Flower Shop News

Longtime owner of Continental Florist dies - Vestavia Voice

Continental Florist Barbara Orr died Wednesday, Sept. 2 at the age of 85. Orr purchased the popular Rocky Ridge floral business in 1986 and was named the 2004 Florist of the Year by the Alabama State Florists' Association, according to her obituary. Orr is preceded in death by her husband, Herbert L. Orr; son, John Michael Orr; brother, Gray Garner Jr.; sister, Faye Gardner; father, Edward Gray Garner Sr.; and mother, Tressa Allen Garner. She is survived by her sons, James Steven Orr and David Garner Orr; daughter, Nancy Orr Athnos; grandchildren, Chelsea Marie Orr and Emily Louise Orr; and sister, Carolyn Bullard. A visitation will be held on Saturday, September 5, 2020 from 10 a.m. to noon at Currie-Jefferson Funeral Home in Hoover. ... https://vestaviavoice.com/news/longtime-owner-of-continental-florist-dies93/

‘The power of flowers’: Alabama’s florists cope with pandemic, recovery - AL.com

Volume dropped to almost nothing except what I could do,” Morris said.Morris’ experience was much like other industries, but it illustrates the particular challenges felt by florists around Alabama. The life events where people expect flowers - hospitalizations, funerals - were suddenly in the news, but the demand for them was all but extinguished.Cameron Pappas at Norton’s Florist in Birmingham said the lockdown, and the reopening that followed, has reminded him of the “power of flowers.”“We’ve had a lot of reminders of how important flowers are to everyone,” he said. “They keep people sane.”The pandemic hit America right in a peak season for florists - the rush before Easter, proms and spring events. Pappas said business began to slowdown by about 40 percent one week before his shop closed for two weeks on March 23. The store laid off all of its employees for that period.Cameron Pappas delivered flowers to Birmingham-area restaurants during the coronavirus shutdown.Thousands of floral businesses around America were left with perishable goods that they couldn’t sell. Just three days before Norton’s closed, it had received a shipment of about $5,000 in flowers. Rather than throw them out, Pappas said, they made bouquets to give away at restaurants and nursing homes that would accept them. In some cases, he hand delivered them.“We wanted the flowers to still do their job, to bring joy to bad situations,” he said. “We wanted them to say that we’re not going to let this virus take away the heart of our city.”Morris, 86, said he was reduced to little better than a one-man operation for about five weeks, with his nephew keeping the books. Most of the business coming in ... https://www.al.com/business/2020/06/the-power-of-flowers-alabamas-florists-cope-with-pandemic-recovery.html

HER | Local decorator helps get homes ready for holidays - Texarkana Gazette

Marie said, "including four banks, a phone company, some cell phone businesses and lodges at Beaver's Bend."But Oklahoma isn't as far as she is willing to go. "Every July I go to Dauphin Island, Alabama, where I have several clients. They get decor 'refreshers' each summer," she said. "When I go down there I also go deep-sea fishing for Red Snapper, so it's an annual vacation for me."When she isn't decorating for others, she and her husband Jerry reside on the Louisiana side of Caddo Lake where they enjoy entertaining. They are also very active at Trees Baptist Church. They have four children: Tony Campbell of Queen City, Dee Dee Wells and Misty Lutton of Atlanta, and Damon Donnell of Athens, Texas.Marie says she has never gotten too busy to take on more clients."I never turn anyone down," she said. "I just hire more people to do the work. We will do what it takes to make people happy." n... https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/her/story/2019/dec/03/her-local-decorator-helps-get-homes-ready-holidays/806564/

Wild Honey Flower Truck is Birmingham's florist on wheels - Alabama NewsCenter

It’s an idea that bloomed when Kelsey Sizemore and her husband, Josh, saw similar flower operations outside of Alabama.“We had seen a couple of similar businesses in other cities and we thought it was something that Birmingham would really love,” Kelsey Sizemore said.If you’re going to have a flower truck, it has to start with the truck.“We started by looking at trucks on Craigslist and eBay,” Sizemore said. “We decided on the kind of truck that we liked.”[embedded content]Wild Honey Flower Truck is blooming in Birmingham from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.When they found a potential truck in Ohio, Sizemore sent her father-in-law to check it out. When it earned a thumbs-up, they had the truck towed to Birmingham.“We started the process of really transforming the truck into something that could house the flowers,” she said.That meant a paint job, building out the back to carry flower vases and adding an awning.Next came procuring flowers by working with wholesalers, flower markets and other dealers.With the truck ready and outfitted with flowers, the only decision was where to go to sell them.“We just sought out the places that we really like to go,” Sizemore said.That could mean being outside of the Pizitz building one day and in Woodlawn the next.You can also find Wild Honey Food Truck at the West Homewood Farmer’... https://alabamanewscenter.com/2019/06/28/wild-honey-flower-truck-is-birminghams-florist-on-wheels/