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Colorado Springs entrepreneur brings flowers and charm to Old Colorado City with Sweetwater: A Flower Market - Colorado Springs Gazette

She’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

Orlando florist hurt by COVID-19 hopes business blooms for Mother’s Day - WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – Mother’s Day weekend is a time when many people purchase flowers for their moms, but an Orlando florist said increased holiday sales may not be enough to help an industry that saw a lot of business disappear during the coronavirus pandemic.The sounds of customers coming and going are welcomed by Bay Hill Florist owner Carol Newton.Newton said she opened the doors to her business on Monday for the first time in more than a month. Her store was closed for a week after the statewide stay-at-home order was enforced, but she later reopened her business to offer deliveries only.Still she said the COVID-19 pandemic is wilting her business. Newton said she lost 95% of her sales.“We lost an awful lot of business with Disney, Universal, the hotels and restaurants in the area. It was very tough,” Newton said.She is hoping her business will bloom now that the state is slowly reopening.Newton said this time of the year is usually busy for her store. With Mother’s Day this weekend, she said she is seeing more customers come into the shop to buy flowers or place orders online and by the phone. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/05/06/orlando-florist-hurt-by-covid-19-hopes-business-blooms-for-mothers-day/

Belvedere Square's Dutch Floral Garden to close permanently - - Baltimore Fishbowl

Dobbe-Maher, who is from the Netherlands, moved to Baltimore in the 1990s when she married. Long before she opened her shop, she trained under European master florists in the Netherlands, Germany and England, and brought to her designs a distinctive European aesthetic.She told one customer today that she plans to move to Holland, but not before saying goodbye.“I would like to invite all of my customers to come and give me the opportunity to thank you for all you did for me and my business,” she wrote in her Facebook letter.“We may not be able to hug, but we can smile at each other above our masks. My eyes will tell you that I will miss my flowers a lot, but I will miss you the most.”All merchandise at the store, including display fixtures, is on sale at 40 percent off until the closing on Thursday. Susan Gerardo Dunn is the founding editor and publisher of Baltimore Fishbowl.Latest posts by Susan Dunn (see all)Share the News... https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/belvedere-squares-dutch-floral-garden-to-close-permanently/

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/

Valley Florist in E. Templeton receives $10K in startup money - Worcester Business Journal

Valley Florist and Greenhouse in East Templeton has received a $10,000 small business loan from the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp., the Fitchburg organization announced Friday.Brendan Loughman, owner of the company, received the loan, with funds earmarked for startup costs and inventory.Loughman has an advanced certification in floral design, as well as years of experience as a floral designer, according to a NCMDC press release. NCMDC, the economic development arm of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, is a microloan lender which can provide loans to small businesses up to $150,000.Loughman was referred to NCMDC by the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center at Clark University in Worcester. https://www.wbjournal.com/article/valley-florist-in-e-templeton-receives-10k-in-startup-money

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