Experience and enthusiasm are at the helm new floal shop
Eganville – There is both experience and enthusiasm at the helm of the newest business in the village with the opening of a new florist.
“I have just about 25 years in the business,” said Merrilyn Plotz. “But this is really Shawna’s vision.”
Her daughter-in-law, Shawna, and son, Zach, are the owners of Bloom Wildly – Floral Boutique, located downtown across from the Rio Tap & Grill in the building which formerly housed a barber shop. The vision for the new business began in the spring when O’Grady Flowers and Gifts announced it would be closing following the sale of the building. Merrilyn had worked for O’Grady’s for over 13 years, having first started out with Joan Verch in the flower business and then moving to Pembroke where she worked for many years. A widow, she has missed the business in the last few months, and noted she is not really ready to retire yet.
“I did not like being at home and not working,” she admitted.
However, it was Shawna and Zach who began talking about opening a flower shop, enlisting Merrilyn’s expertise.
“I have been in the banking industry for 15 years and I was ready for a change,” Shawna said.
The mom of two young children, she is excited about operating the new business which not only has flowers but other giftware, similar to what O’Grady’s carried in the past.
“Eganville really does need something like this,” she said.
Having a business close in the community is never a good thing, so having a new business open is just what the community needed, she feels.
“It is a needed service and this is a small community,” she said.
However, the business has a much bigger catchment area than just Eganville. In the past O’Grady’s was busy with deliveries, weddings and funerals in a wide area and the Plotz duo are hopeful this will also be the case for Bloom Wildly. They are off to a good start as a Teleflora provider which brings in a lot of clientele and in their first week they have already had some inquiries about weddings.
Although in discussion since May, the catch was finding a suitable commercial space in the village. When this property was available, they took possession and did extensive interior renovations in October to prepare for the November 4 opening. Shawna’s dad did most of the carpentry work inside and it has been transformed into a sleek attractive space. The needs of the florist industry have been accommodated with a large cooler in the back and there is a display cooler for customers in the main area. As well, there are various gift items like candles, decorations and jewelry, to name a few.
“And more Christmas items are arriving,” Shawna said.
Opening for the Christmas season is important because Merrilyn learned from experience in the industry that is one of the busiest seasons for a florist. They anticipate being quite busy with deliveries.
“It is a crazy business,” Merrilyn said. “You can just look at yourself one day and then you are busy doing two funerals.”
The two women are excited about working together, serving the public at Bloom Wildly and seeing the business grow.
The florist/gift store is open Tuesday to Thursday from 10 to 5, Friday 10 to 6 and Saturday 10 to 3. Upcoming events include a Christmas Open House on November 24 and November 25.
“And we will have Christmas workshops at the end of November, early December,” Shawna said.
Debbi Christinck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eganville Leader
