Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Florence.
Hi Melissa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Settle in – it’s a 22yr journey. I knew I would always do something creative for my life’s work- bakery owner, writer, photographer. Basically, all the things my father told me would never make any money. When I was in my twenties, living in Savannah, I heard of a flower shop for sale in Beaufort, SC. That was it! That would be my thing.
I bought it, moved to Beaufort, and taught myself to be a floral designer. In fairness, I always had an affinity for Botany. I was married with 2 small boys and a few years later a little girl came. Life was busy. I loved working with flowers and getting to be creative every day but something was missing. My original idea was to be more of a farm-to-vase market but soon learned Beaufort wasn’t quite ready for that yet. So I compromised my designs and business philosophy to give the public what I thought they wanted. The result was an inauthentic self-serving community that was gracious and definitely open to new ideas – I just wasn’t confident enough to bring that to them yet.
After a few life changes – one less husband and trying to wrangle 3 small children I decided I wasn’t really living what I love. I closed my shop and worked from home. Fortunately, I had an amazing customer base and events kept me going. Fast forward to my current husband (and keeper) and baby #4 – Olive. She was what we all needed. And the husband was great too. As she grew so did my desire to open another retail location but in the manner, I had always wanted. FarmCity Flowers. A sweet little flower shop that works with as many local and domestic flower farms as possible. We bring a very farm-to-vase concept to our customers. With small batch ordering, we only have enough product in to get us through 48 hours at a time. And our unfiltered, unhinged design seems to be something that resonates with people.
We often hear “just do your thing”. The confidence placed in our team is something we never take for granted.
I am so proud of our little shop and the creativity that pours from it. And I love the relationships I have with folks in our area (and beyond) that work the land.
My hope, one day, would be for me to have some land and farm. More of a retirement idea. Which I know makes it sound like I’m working in reverse. But I love how life offers so many opportunities for growth and change- subtle or sudden- it’s all worth the energy.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For the most part, growing a small business has been smooth. I love working with people- most people. I believe if you really love what you do it translates into the final product and to your customers and clients. They can feel it. They can see it and they can sense they are genuinely welcome when they walk across your threshold. During difficult times (like Covid) I just regrouped and came up with alternative ways to serve our community. Like creative growing kits for kids. I knew every other mom was going through what I was going through – having kids at home that needed something to do other than look at a screen. So we created herb garden kits, wildflower kits, and birdseed feeder kits that families could order and drop on their front doorstep.
We also paused our delivery fee and made self-care flowers more reasonable for people that worked at home.
It helped us stay busy and provided smiles for people confined at home.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about FarmCity Flowers?
We specialize in farm-to-vase design with attention to local and domestically grown products. Our design style is unique because I prefer to hire and work with designers that don’t have conventional training. It’s easy to see early on if someone has an “out of the box” creative flair. I like to work with that.
I love that our brand represents an organic or natural feel. Which seems weird to associate with flowers – they grow in dirt. But organic and natural are two words I hear most when people explain why they like us. I also love we have created a brand known for recycling. From containers and wine bottles (we have them cut and used for vases) that folks drop off to our ReBloom program that upcycles event flowers for hospitals and nursing homes.
What are your plans for the future?
My biggest and most ambitious plan would be to obtain land to grow some of my own products. I look at farmhouses and acreage with almost daily frequency. It’s just figuring out how to manage the time between farmer and retail owner. And since I’m not a millionaire- shocking revelation to anyone wanting to be a florist.- I’m a big part of my labor force.
For our shop, I’m excited about the continued growth in our area. And I’m always humbled by the people that pop in or call us. They have other choices – and they trust us.
Contact Info:
- Website: FarmCityFlowers.com
- Instagram: FarmCity_Flowers
- Facebook: FarmCity Flowers
Image Credits
Melissa Florence
