Britt Flower Shop News
Sugar Flower owner creates intricate cake designs in backyard of her Cedar Rapids home - The Gazette
Wednesday, December 02, 2020Smith said. “There’s usually butter cream underneath, and it keeps it insulated and moist. “The edible flowers are made from another type of sugar dough. They just dry harder, so they’re a little bit brittle. “They need to dry a little bit harder because the petal will not have any stability, otherwise.” Finished cakes are often transported in tiers to the reception site where final assembly happens. Loughton lends a hand on some jobs.“If there’s some decorating, I will decorate there as well,” Smith said. “If there’s intricate decorating on the cake, it’s usually done here and transported and then finishing details (are added) at the location.”Smith also creates cakes for birthdays and other occasions. And many weddings call for more than one cake as groom’s cakes have become popular.“I’ve got one this month, and it’s going to have an edible violin and books and trees, just a whole bunch of stuff,” Smith said. “Those are a lot of fun because it usually is just what the groom really likes, and it’s normally meant as a gift from the bride to the groom.”Sugar Flower was gaining momentum when the coronavirus pandemic hit Iowa. Smith’s work-from-home model proved an unexpected advantage.“I was just getting started out to begin with, and having a low overhead I didn’t have any employees to furlough,” she said. “It was disappointing, but I tried to work with my customers. I don’t have to worry about rent and electric and things like that. So it has worked in my favor, which sounds kind of funny.”Smith’s home and studio escaped serious damage in the Aug. 10 derecho, which brought its own wave of cancellations. She hopes for a return to something like normal next year.“I really hope people start planning big weddings and they’re celebrating,” she said. “I hope that’s where the future lies.”Know a small business in the Corridor that might make for an interesting “My Biz” feature? Let us know via michaelchevy.castanova@thegazette.com.AT A GLANCE• Owner: Jennifer Smith • Business: Sugar Flower Cake Design• Address: 248 Drinkward St. NW, Cedar Rapids• Phone: (319) 491-1938• Website: sugarflowercakedesign.com... https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/sugar-flower-cakes-cedar-rapids-jennifer-smith-20201113
Long Beach florist busy with Mother’s Day, despite coronavirus keeping customers at home - Long Beach Press Telegram
Friday, May 29, 2020Flowers in Long Beach on Monday, May 4, 2020. The shop is open and very busy filling orders. Winfrey helps at the shop for free because she enjoys the task and the friendships in the shop. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)Rebecca Barnes makes a Mother’s Day arrangement at Melinda McCoy’s Flowers in Long Beach on Monday, May 4, 2020. The shop is open and very busy filling orders. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)Melinda Evans, owner of Melinda McCoy’s Flowers, holding stacks of orders for Mother’s Day arrangements in Long Beach on Monday, May 4, 2020. The shop is open and very busy filling orders. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG) SoundThe gallery will resume insecondsWith Mother’s Day this Sunday, Melinda McCoy’s Flowers is seeing an increase in orders over last year in Long Beach on Monday, May 4, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)The Barron sisters place an order of delivery for their grandmother at Melinda McCoy’s Flowers in Long Beach on Monday, May 4, 2020. The shop is seeing an increase in orders over last year. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)With Mother’s Day this Sunday, Melinda McCoy’s Flowers is seeing an increase in orders over last year in Long Beach on Monday, May 4, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)The team at Melinda McCoy’s Flowers is busy f... https://www.presstelegram.com/long-beach-florist-busy-with-mothers-day-despite-coronavirus-keeping-customers-at-home
10 Florists Delivering Vibrant Bouquets for Mother’s Day - The New York Times
Friday, May 29, 2020Carondelet” print will be donated to Covid-19 relief), while Brittany Asch, of the Manhattan studio Brrch, is sculpting “virtual bouquets” by adorning photographs of people’s homes with gifs of unfurling taffy-pink lotus flowers, spinning roses and Technicolor hibiscuses. For those designers who are still able to make deliveries, creating arrangements has become an exercise in using whatever blooms they can find — tulips from local growers, roses from their gardens, even weeds from nearby hillsides. The results are a reminder that more spontaneous arrangements can feel a bit closer to nature, and that even the humblest blooms have the power to move us. Here, 10 florists from around the country who, despite sourcing challenges, are delivering joyful, unexpected arrangements within their areas in time for May 10. (It’s best to order by Tuesday.)An arrangement of anthurium and painted plumosa by Calma, in one of the studio’s Blob vases.Credit...Emma FishmanA pairing of faux palm fronds and faux yellow oncidium.Credit...Elizabeth JaimeCalma, MiamiThe florist Elizabeth Jaime, of the Miami studio Calma, specializes in tropical, Art Deco-inspired arrangements made with statuesque flowers that often have an artificial look: shiny anthuriums, birds of paradise and dried fan palms. But recent changes in flower availability have prompted her to experiment with softer, more romantic compositions with a focus on striking palettes. For Mother’s Day, she will choose blooms in shades of bright pink and yellow, a scheme inspired “by the start of spring,” she says, “and also brighter times.” In order to support other small businesses affected by the coronavirus, she has partnered with the local spa Sana on a wellness gift bundle, in which one of her bouquets will be accompanied by rose-hip body oil and a dry... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/t-magazine/mothers-day-flowers-delivery.html
Palmer merges with Loveland florist - The Coloradoan
Thursday, March 12, 2020Patsy Deines, Sue Wambeke Charles, Susan Stockwell and Lisa Stadele. The merger with Front Range Flowers expands that ownership team to include the Jordans as principle owners along with Palmer. Brittany Barrett, general manager of Boulder Blooms, was also named an employee owner as part of the merger.The two teams “complement each other,” Tim Jordan said and will be stronger together.With the merger, Palmer Flower Cos. owns about 50 percent of the Larimer County flower market, Tim Jordan estimated.Like many other industries, the flower business has contracted over the last decade through attrition and consolidation, Palmer said.In 2005, there were about 24,000 flower shops in the United States and Canada. This year, there are 13,5600. Fort Collins had nearly a dozen flower shops in 1973 when its population was about 38,000. Today, there are a handful serving a population that’s four times larger.Nationally, competition from chain grocery stores and Internet sales have cut into sales at independently operated flower stores, according to industry analysts. https://www.coloradoan.com/story/money/2015/05/03/palmer-flowers-loveland-boulder/26663715/
Nothing Says ‘I Love You’ Like Secondhand Roses - The New York Times
Thursday, March 12, 2020There are more companies coming out of the woodwork all the time.”“Flower repurposing is one of the biggest things happening in the events industry right now.”Credit...Brittainy Newman/The New York TimesJennifer Grove, an event planner, started... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/nyregion/flowers-valentines-day-environment.html
Sugar Flower owner creates intricate cake designs in backyard of her Cedar Rapids home - The Gazette
Wednesday, December 02, 2020Sugar Flower was gaining momentum when the coronavirus pandemic hit Iowa. Smith’s work-from-home model proved an unexpected advantage.“I was just getting started out to begin with, and having a low overhead I didn’t have any employees to furlough,” she said. “It was disappointing, but I tried to work with my customers. I don’t have to worry about rent and electric and things like that. So it has worked in my favor, which sounds kind of funny.”Smith’s home and studio escaped serious damage in the Aug. 10 derecho, which brought its own wave of cancellations. She hopes for a return to something like normal next year.“I really hope people start planning big weddings and they’re celebrating,” she said. “I hope that’s where the future lies.”Know a small business in the Corridor that might make for an interesting “My Biz” feature? Let us know via michaelchevy.castanova@thegazette.com.AT A GLANCE• Owner: Jennifer Smith • Business: Sugar Flower Cake Design• Address: 248 Drinkward St. NW, Cedar Rapids• Phone: (319) 491-1938• Website: sugarflowercakedesign.com... https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/sugar-flower-cakes-cedar-rapids-jennifer-smith-20201113
Some people using gardening as therapy during the Coronavirus Pandemic - KCRG
Monday, April 27, 2020CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Some people across Eastern Iowa are getting a green thumb during the Coronavirus pandemic. Workers at Pierson’s Flower Shop in Cedar Rapids say they have been getting calls about people wanting to start their gardens. Experts say getting some fresh air is a good way to take care of your mental health during the pandemic. Workers at Pierson's say gardening is a good way to be outside while social distancing. They say working with soil can be a form of connecting with nature. While seeing something bloom is a sign of life during these tough times. Workers say people are still ordering flowers to send to loved ones or coworkers. They say it's a way to let people know that they are appreciated. "I think it's very important to stay in touch,” said Al Pierson, owner of Pierson’s Flower Shop. “You can't get out... https://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Some-people-using-gardening-as-therapy-during-the-Coronavirus-Pandemic-569918081.html
Benos Flowers and Gifts wants to bring fun, happiness - The Gazette
Tuesday, February 05, 2019By Deborah Neyens, correspondent Long Para:0 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- IOWA CITY — A new Iowa City business aims to spread happiness.Long Para:1 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- Benito Ocampo Campos opened Beno’s Flowers and Gifts on Nov. 15 in downtown Iowa City, realizing a longtime goal to own his own flower shop. Long Para:2 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- “Flowers bring happiness, with their smell and their colors, when people receive them,” Ocampo said. “Everyone loves flowers.”Long Para:2 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- Ocampo, who grew up in Mexico, opened his first business in that country at the age of 19.Long Para:3 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- “It was a small gift shop — only about 300 square feet,” he recalled. “I did decorations with balloons for parties and a few weddings with flowers but not much. I had no experience.”Long Para:4 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- A year or two later, Ocampo moved to... https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/iowa-city-benos-flowers-floral-shop-florist-flower-20190121
Benos Flowers and Gifts wants to bring fun, happiness - The Gazette
Tuesday, January 22, 2019By Deborah Neyens, correspondent Long Para:0 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- IOWA CITY — A new Iowa City business aims to spread happiness.Long Para:1 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- Benito Ocampo Campos opened Beno’s Flowers and Gifts on Nov. 15 in downtown Iowa City, realizing a longtime goal to own his own flower shop. Long Para:2 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- “Flowers bring happiness, with their smell and their colors, when people receive them,” Ocampo said. “Everyone loves flowers.”Long Para:2 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- Ocampo, who grew up in Mexico, opened his first business in that country at the age of 19.Long Para:3 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- “It was a small gift shop — only about 300 square feet,” he recalled. “I did decorations with balloons for parties and a few weddings with flowers but not much. I had no experience.”Long Para:4 Long Pra Total: 11 Total Para Total: 25-- A year or two later, Ocampo moved to... https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/iowa-city-benos-flowers-floral-shop-florist-flower-20190121