Canoga Park, CA Florists

Canoga Park Flower Shop News

'Nonessential' businesses close due to coronavirus - Los Angeles Times

Mall closures were announced by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which operates 15 malls in California including Westfield Topanga & the Village in Canoga Park, Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia and Westfield Century City. Advertisement “We have not made this decision lightly, and believe this is in the best interest of protecting our various stakeholders,” said Jean-Marie Tritant, U.S. president of the Paris-based company. “We look forward to reopening these centers in the very near future. In the meantime, we are doing everything possible to make sure that ‘essential’ retail outlets remain accessible.”Also closed were Simon Property Group malls such as Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance and Ontario Mills in Ontario. Taubman Centers Inc. closed malls across the country including the Beverly Center in Los Angeles and the Gardens on El Paso in Palm Desert.Smaller, stand-alone businesses were busy Friday considering their options and wondering whether they would be able to survive in the coming weeks or months. In Eagle Rock, Leanna Lin was figuring out how to turn her predominantly brick-and-mortar retail business into an ecommerce-only operation. She has run Leanna Lin’s Wonderland, “a playful gift shop and art gallery for the young at heart,” since 2010.Less than a week ago she had decided to offer curbside pickups to her customers. Now, going entirely online eliminates the beading and art parties — birthday and otherwise — hosted in the store.“As long as this doesn’t go much further than April 19, I think we can make it,” Lin said.On her Instagram page, which has 13,800 followers, Lin is showcasing items, offering free shipping on purchases of $25 or more and asking customers to buy gift cards.“Please support us online,” one recent post implored. “I promise you it’s just as cute and we’re adding a bunch new things often.” Advertisement One prominent store operator forced to close his Los Angeles shops said he was incensed that big retailers deemed essential such as Costco, Walmart and Target now have the market to themselves to sell nonessential items such as toys, towels and holiday knickknacks that people might otherwise buy at small businesses.“This really bothers me,” said Fraser Ross, owner of two Kitson stores on Robertson Boulevard, who fears, for example, being stuck with surplus Easter stock after he resumes business. His competitors shouldn’t get to sell theirs right now either, he said.“Is that Easter section at Costco getting closed off?” Ross asked rhetorically. “They shouldn’t be able to ring anything unless it’s essential.”Matt Monroe sat inside Turn Zero Games on Friday with the lights off as he waited for a UPS truck to deliver off a shipment to the store he’s owned for seven years.The 38-year-old and his five-member staff had already taken precautions, such as limiting the number of people co... https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-03-20/coronavirus-nonessential-business-closures

LA Marathon runners mix perspiration with passion on Valentine's Day - Los Angeles Times

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2," 34 married couples, including the Horvaths, repeated "I dos" and two couples wed. Marisol Lopez and Brian Salguero, high school sweethearts from Canoga Park, married in sneakers and racing bibs in front of their toddler son and relatives."We were already running it, it's his birthday, it's Valentine's Day, so we figured, 'Why not,'" said Lopez, who was wearing a veil and pink tutu over her running shorts.Their first act as newlyweds, he said, would be to run side by side to the finish line in Santa Monica.More than 20,800 people hailing from every state and 62 countries participated in the race. Kenyan Weldon Kirui won the men's competition with a time of 2 hours and 13 minutes. Nataliya Lehonkova of Ukraine won the women's race with a time of 2 hours and 30 minutes.Race organizers had worried about unseasonably hot weather, warning racers this was not the year to push for personal bests. But temperatures were cooler than expected. When the race began about 7 a.m. at Dodger Stadium, it was 58 degrees. At the finish line near the Santa Monica pier, a thick layer of fog blanketed the coast and the temperature remained in the 60s into the early afternoon.Ten people were taken to the hospital during the race, a stark decline from last year when the race was run in 87-degree heat in March and 36 were hospitalized.Just past the finish line on Ocean Avenue, tables piled high with bananas greeted the runners, vivid yellow against pearly morning mist. Matt Banfield, a 37-year-old aerospace engineer from Torrance, clutched both sides of a garbage can as he retched repeatedly for several minutes."I'm not all that smart," he said. He had started the race too fast and as a result had hit a wall around Mile 18, he said. Within a few minutes, he was eating a banana and savoring his finish."It's kind of beginning to set in now, the relief," he said, adding, "I'm doing Tokyo in two weeks."Along the route, racers were urged on by an only-in-L.A. crowd: Drag queens in cheerleader uniforms. Tiny coiffed dogs in cheerleader uniforms. Confused surfers. And a man dressed as Christ. In sunglasses. Many handmade signs referred to another exhausting contest: the presidential election."If Jeb can run, so can you," on... http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0215-marathon-20160215-story.html

Small but mighty, a Washington florist battles back in the pandemic - Reuters

I really think they did a good job by not reopening too soon, because look at all the places that are having to close back down, like California, Texas,” Banks said. As the White House and Congress debate the next coronavirus relief bill, Banks said she would like more business funding and clarity on Paycheck Protection Program loans. The shop received a $75,000 loan under the program, allowing it to rehire furloughed staff. “They say it’s forgivable, but they haven’t come out with any clear-cut rules on how to make it forgivable,” Banks said. “I am on pins and needles.” Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Dan Burns and Richard ChangOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-smallbusiness/small-but-mighty-a-washington-florist-battles-back-in-the-pandemic-idUSKCN2511D6

Flower power: Business continues to bloom at Skyway Creations in Colorado Springs - Colorado Springs Gazette

The business has seen many changes, Don says, though there’s also a lot that hasn’t changed. “You’re still dealing with the trucks and the delivery and the product.”That product comes largely from California, with flowers bred in that state, and from Florida, a conduit for flowers from South America.“We’ve always bought from California and Florida,” Don says. But he’s also had to look to producers closer to home to fulfill a growing desire for more unusual flowers.“We need so many varieties of flowers now. We used to be able to order a big case of this and that. Now we need this special flower.”A desire for more variety isn’t the only change he has seen in consumer tastes. “They say the rose will never die, it will always be a contender,” he says, But, “the rose has finally faded a little bit in the public eye.” One increasingly popular flower, particularly with “the younger crowd,” is the Gerbera daisy.Those younger buyers have also spurred plant sales.“The millennials,” he says, “have caught on to plants again. In some ways, green plant sales died for a while, but millennials really like what we do here. The succulents are quite popular.”At the same time, though, the corporate world is embracing artificial greenery as a way to cut down on maintenance costs, Don says.“We’re doing more artificial than we’ve ever done, and that’s definitely the wave of the future.” He admires how far the artificial greenery has come — “some of the artificial these days will totally fool you” — but cautions that even artificial plants need care, specifically dusting. Colorado Springs workshop teaches ancient craft of blacksmithingWeddings continue to provide steady business. “We do as many as 100 weddings a year, so two a weekend.”Corporate customers, such as local hotels, also remain key to the business.“The hotels are still strong,” Don says. “We’re not doing the centerpiece work, the party work, that we used to get with the hotels.”He calls the 2008 economic crisis “the 25% recession.”“We lost about 25% of our customers, and the rest were asking for a 25% discount. If you can’t do it, somebody else will, so what do you do? You sharpen your pencil and go for it.”That was just one of many economic downturns the business has survived over a half-century.“We’ve always been lucky, we’ve never laid anybody off,” Don says. There have been times where he has gone to his staff and warned them that either someone would have to go or everyone would need to trim their hours, “and everyone has always been willing to do that. That says a lot for my crew.”Other flower shops have not fared as well; Don has seen several vanish over the years. He looks at Skyway and Platte Floral, which has been around for nearly 100 years, as “the two big guns on the block as far as full service.”“We’re so lucky to both still be here in the town,” Lori says.Big-box stores and grocery stores emerged as competition 20 or 30 years ago, and Don thinks that is finally taking its toll a bit. “You see an awful lot of people lined up at the supermarkets at holiday time.”But, he said, “we still get them with the quality,” and the customer service.“We spend the time with people,” he says. He u... https://gazette.com/business/flower-power-business-continues-to-bloom-at-skyway-creations-in-colorado-springs/article_d5c342b4-5821-11ea-b62d-7be600878467.html

Flower Power: Farm-to-Vase Movement Takes Root on Chicago's South and West Sides - WTTW News

U.S., is more often than not Colombia or possibly Ecuador. The small slice of the market not dominated by imports is, in turn, almost entirely monopolized by California growers. Before they reach Chicago, the blooms, most of which are cultivated in greenhouses, will have traveled thousands of miles via energy-guzzling refrigerated planes, cargo ships and trucks, passing from farmer to exporter to wholesaler to retailer. Plenty won’t survive. What you wind up holding in your hand is less a natural wonder than a marvel of logistics and the modern global supply chain. All of which serves as a prologue to the story of Eco House. Eco House founder Quilen Blackwell. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Rain barrels are the sole source of water for the farm's irrigation system. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Beehives at the farm. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Lilies, biding their time before blooming. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Southside Blooms' floral studio, in the basement of the Blackwells' home. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) What a Midwestern flower farm looks like, when spring bloomers are spent, and summer's are freshly planted. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) Southside Blooms seasonal spring bouquet. (Southside Blooms) Eco House upends pretty much everything we just told you about the flower industry. Here’s a farm with land located not in South America but the South and West sides of Chicago. Flowers are grown outdoors in the dirt on formerly vacant lots in E... https://news.wttw.com/2020/07/08/slow-flower-movement-chicago-eco-house

Around East County: Don’t forget area small businesses still open - East Bay Times

The business had even closed up shop for a few days before receiving a notice from the California Association of Flower Growers and Shippers, which sent out news that as agriculture-based businesses, florists could indeed keep operating hours with a few safety restrictions.“This was good news, as we wanted to find a way to help bring brightness to everyone’s day,” said Denise Grace, an employee for the small business. “Everyone has been supportive of us remaining open.”Part of the process of staying open means keeping up social distancing practices. While not allowing customers into the shop to see their assortment of flowers is a little difficult, much of Good Scents’ business can be done online or over the phone. They have an extensive website with pictures of available flower arrangements.“People usually order flowers through our website or phone in orders for deliveries to relatives and friends during regular circumstances,” Grace said. “When making deliveries we can call people in advance and see how they want the flowers delivered. Most of the time we can just leave them on the porch without seeing anyone.”Grace explained that they are even waiving local delivery fees to help. Good Scents Florist has reduced their current hours to Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon; call 925-625-5550 for details. Similar florists in Brentwood, Antioch and Pittsburg have also remained open. Information can be found on their websites for hours and services offered.Roni Gehlke can be reached at oakleynow@comcast.net. ... https://www.eastbaytimes.com/around-east-county-dont-forget-area-small-businesses-still-open