Minnesota Flower Shop News
CBS2 Investigates TerrysFlorist.com: ‘Of Course I Didn’t Get Any Refund’ - CBS New York
Sunday, February 28, 2021So I ordered flowers from the funeral home to be sent to his gravesite,” said Georgia resident Crystal Briggs.“They said that, ‘No, they tried to deliver it, and no one was there,'” said Minnesota resident Lauren Kriz. “Of course I didn’t get any refund.”The Better Business Bureau gives Terry’s an F rating.An attorney for Terry’s says “unsatisfied customers represent a small fraction of one percent of all its transactions.”One unsatisfied customer compares Terry’s to a florist we first told you about last year, TroysFlorist.com. It turned out not to be a flower shop at all, but an office space in East Brunswick.Troy’s business registration certificate included Kadri Erturk, also known as Atil Erturk, as a principal. Erturk created TerrysFlorist.com in 2019, according to his lawyer.Rozner tried to speak with him at his home in Colts Neck, New Jersey. His wife Yasemin Erturk, who’s listed as a registered agent on Terry’s business certificate, came to the door.“Hi, I’m looking for Atil,” Rozner said.READ MORE: Gov. Cuomo Asks AG Letitia James, Top Judge To Launch Probe Into Sexual Harassment Allegations“Uh, he’s not here. Who’s this?” Yasemin Erturk said.“I’m Lisa Rozner with CBS2 News and I was told he’s behind Terry’s Florist,” Rozner said.“No he’s not,” Yasemin Erturk said, and shut the door.Terry’s lawyer says the Erturks sold the Terry’s domain and website to Anthony Picco before it began operations in 2019. Picco’s LinkedIn page says he is CEO of ArcoMediaGroup in Asbury Park.Terry’s is a registered business with a mail drop address in Nevada. Still, when Rozner called customer service, Rozner was told it was located at 75 West Front Street in Red Bank.When Rozner asked what suite number it would be, she was put on hold, and then hung up on.The building owner said there was no Terry’s ever there, and so did the management office at 1 Harding Road in Red Bank, where Google maps pins the company.Rozner also contacted officials in Red Bank, and they did not have any records of the company.Now receiving dozens of complaints weekly is Terry McPherson who owns similar-sounding Terry’s Florals in Lake Butler, Florida.“It’s very time-consuming and it’s very hurtful to a small business,” McPherson said. “You’re like, ‘What did I do?’ And then it’s not even my shop.”Consumer credit expert Paul Oster points out Terry’s doesn’t list a physical address under its “Contact Us” link – a common red ... https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/02/12/cbs2-investigates-terrysflorist-com-of-course-i-didnt-get-any-refund/
Obituaries for October 8 - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Sunday, February 28, 2021Survived by daughters, Diana Ponsonby of Nevada and Bernadine Nentwig of Florida; sons, Albert (Shirley) Araujo of Michigan, Gordon Araujo and Robert Araujo of Hilo and Douglas (Faith) Araujo of Minnesota; brothers, Michael Souza and Lawrence Souza of Hilo; sister, Marie (James) Souza of Nevada; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews and cousins. Arrangements by Dodo Mortuary.Ralph Rogelio Cordoban, 72 of Honokaa died June 20 at Hale Ho‘ola Hamakua. Born in Honolulu, he was a retired truck driver. Private services at a later date. Online condolences: www.ballardfamilymortuaries.com. Survived by son, Ryan (Christina) Cordoban of Honokaa; daughter, Royalan Cordoban of Colorado Springs, Colo.; companion, Linda Anahu of Honolulu; sisters, Loretta (Doug) Whitaker of Charleston, S.C., and Alona (Alan) Kondo of Kohala; seven grandchildren. Arrangements by Ballard Family Mortuary.Eric Moani Hori, 55, of Kailua-Kona died July 26 at Kona Community Hospital. Born in Honolulu, he was a heavy equipment operator and cook for Meals on Wheels. Services at later date. Survived by wife, Tammy Awai-Hori of Hilo; daughter, Maluhia Awai of Kailua-Kona; son, Sam Awai of Kaneohe, Oahu; sisters, Kehau Hori of Washington, Gloria Santiago of Hilo, Rose (Gabriel) Edrado, Dayna Gaspar and Brenda Makaila of Oahu; brothers, Ron Hori of Kailua-Kona, Michael Gaspar, Kimokeo (Ramona) Gaspar,... https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2020/10/08/obituaries/obituaries-for-october-8-6/
Upended by COVID-19, a Wayzata florist landed a federal loan. And then the wait started. - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Sunday, January 17, 2021Mattingly started her business nine years ago, and it was coming off its best year — posting $500,000 in sales — when COVID-19 reached Minnesota. Though her shop was allowed to remain open, Mattingly said her event business plummeted as couples postponed weddings and restaurants closed across the state. She applied for a PPP loan in April. “We’ve lost about 50% of our income because of weddings,” said Mattingly, whose shop usually does $150,000 in wedding arrangements each summer. “People aren’t canceling on us, but they are rescheduling, and a lot of that work won’t happen until 2021.” Mattingly’s small shop has just two full-time employees, and she sent them home in late March, shortly after the governor issued his first stay-home order. Flower shops were allowed to remain open for delivery business because they were deemed “critical” to the economy. She expected her retail business to collapse, but the shop stayed surprisingly busy. Mattingly said her online sales tripled as customers called in large orders for birthdays and anniversaries as a substitute for taking a loved one to dinner. But with her employees at home, Mattingly, who is pregnant, and her husband, Julian, had to do all the work. “It’s been a really crazy two months,” said Mattingly, who is due to deliver her first baby in July. “We have been working 12- and 14-hour days every week.” Mattingly wanted to rehire her workers shortly after Mother’s Day, but her PPP application was put on hold when the program ran out of money in mid-April. On April 25, after Congress agreed to make another $310 billion available to small-business owners, Wells Fargo sent her an e-mail telling her the bank would soon submit her paperwork. “These are truly unprecedented times that we know are impacting both you and your business, and we will continue to partner and communicate with you throughout this crisis,” Wells Fargo said in the e-mail. ... https://www.startribune.com/upended-by-covid-19-a-wayzata-florist-landed-a-federal-loan-and-then-the-wait-started/571366132/
Getting married? Designers make case for 'unusual and beautiful' Minnesota-grown flowers - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Monday, August 24, 2020And that doesn’t have to mean settling for common garden-variety blooms picked in someone’s backyard. Minnesota flower farmers are growing increasingly varied and distinctive options for bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces. “I make the case for local with every bride, and I include local product in every wedding I do,” said Ashley Fox, Ashley Fox Designs, Woodbury. “As a designer and somebody who cares about the planet, it just feels good to do this.” There’s a misperception that local means rustic, she said. “We want brides to know that local flowers can look modern and innovative — not just a Mason jar full of daisies. We want to show people these flowers are cool.” It’s a message that Debra Prinzing, the Seattle-based author and founder of the “slow flowers” movement, has been spreading for more than a decade. Her books, “Slow Flowers” and “The 50-Mile Bouquet,” celebrate small flower farmers who are struggling to compete as big chain stores buy in bulk from growers all over the globe, driving prices down. ... https://www.startribune.com/getting-married-designers-make-case-for-unusual-and-beautiful-minnesota-grown-flowers/561464922/
Ham Lake couple trust God as they grow family flower farm business - The Catholic Spirit
Monday, August 24, 2020And I had so much energy with thinking of doing really hard stuff to make it happen.”She and Jonah took Benzakein’s online course on flower farming, and dove into researching what would grow well in Minnesota’s climate. “Before we knew it, we’re like, we’re really doing it,” she said.Jonah gives Kristen all the credit for the flower focus. “I never thought I would be a flower farmer — I don’t think many men do think of that,” Jonah said, sitting near the field. He agreed to the online course, “and I was just sort of open with the Lord; ‘Wherever you lead us.’”“Ever since leaving school, I wanted to do something in nature. I love working outside. I’ve been praying along the way” for God’s guidance, he said. “Basically, I want to come home and I want to work from home.”The Carlstroms don’t know any other young farmers, but they’re not alone among Catholic millennials. Jim Ennis, executive director of St. Paul-based Catholic Rural Life, said there are like-minded young Catholics across the United States who are exploring and adopting a rural lifestyle, including small-scale farming. Many are drawn to a slower, family-focused pace of life away from the demands of city living and corporate work.Like the Carlstroms, many don’t have farming backgrounds, Ennis said, and it’s hard work without the guarantee of financial sustainability. But it’s rewarding, he said. Farming is creative work, where people can work in nature, with their hands, alongside family members, for the benefit of their own tables and their community. And even young children can see, understand and participate in their parents’ work, he said.“There’s something very innate in many people’s DNA to connect with God’s creation in a closer way,” he said, “and I think that’s very Catholic and very Christian.”Kristen admits that sometimes she’s thought the idea of turning stay-at-home mom to cut-flower florist is “crazy.” But, “there was a lot of discouragement that came whenever I tried to let it (the idea) go, and a lot of joy that was there when we kept pursuing it,” she said, so they forged ahead.The field is easily accessible from the Carlstroms’ house through a path in the woods. Kristen spends patches of time throughout the day tending its 20, 100-foot rows as she learns to orchestrate timing their harvesting with flowers’ longevity onc... https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/ham-lake-couple-trust-god-as-they-grow-family-flower-farm-business/