Newtowner Transplants Floral Business

From Storefront To Studio

Newtown resident Lori Friedlander, owner of Flore Fine Flowers, recently announced the move of her flower shop from a retail location in Southbury to a commercial design studio space in Woodbury.

“Change isn’t always adding something. Sometimes it’s about taking something away,” Ms Friedlander said in a release. “My decision to move was due to my observation of how consumer comfort with online ordering grew and my customers increasingly turned to my website for the convenience of placing orders rather than coming into the store to place their orders.”

Ms Friedlander said she recognized her customers’ shifts in purchasing at the same she was evaluating her personal longings to expand her wedding flower specialty and eliminate a walk-in retail shop. “I felt I was doing a disservice to my event customers dividing my time between running a retail showroom and servicing events,” Ms Friedlander said. So she decided to close down her retail operations and move to a design studio located behind the New Morning health food store.

“In our new location, my staff and I are no longer distracted by the day-to-day operations of running a store, so we can focus our full attention on each event. We still accept orders for everyday occasions, but the difference is that we now fit the everyday work in around our event schedule, rather than the other way around.”

Moving from a retail florist to event design studio helped create a niche for her brand. “Specializing in weddings, events, and more couture designs for holidays and everyday occasions makes us stand out from our competition and gives us a distinct edge needed to survive as a florist today,” explained Ms Friedlander.

Boosting its event business has also helped Flore gain a steadier source of revenue.

Peak event season falls during the slower times for flower shops, and vice versa. “It has tended to smooth out the peaks and valleys, and we have a much more stable business year-round,” she said.

Ms Friedlander also sees an ever-changing business plan as the road map to success, taking on larger- sized events and adding services such as prop rentals, and full-scale event decorating to its repertoire.

Additional services such as table linen rentals, invitations, lighting, and other event decoration services continue to be added to the spectrum of services Flore can provide.

Flore is now located in Woodbury at 710 Main Street South. Appointments can be scheduled Monday to Saturday between 9 am and 6 pm, by calling 203-405-1760 or visit flowersasmedicine.com.