Business of the Week: Barry's Flower Shop

Florists fulfill a specific role within a community; they are the ones that cater to the memorable moments in life, whether they are happy or sad.

A florist is someone who works with nature every day, arranging beauty to showcase the diversity of the natural world. It is more than just putting some stems in a vase or standing by a traffic light with some faded roses in a bucket.

Lynne Kurlansky has been a florist for many years, and although the majority of her work involves the attractive side of Mother Nature, she and her staff in her shop on Washington Street are always looking to bring as much creativity as possible to the art of floral design.

This week, Patch took the opportunity to spend some time surrounded by bright colors, fresh fragrances and a large collection of stuffed animals to talk to Lynn about her business. 

Where are you from?

I live in Sharon but I’ve owned the business in Braintree for over 20 years. I feel more like a Braintree resident than a Sharon one because I know a lot more people here. I’m on the Board of Trade and I do a lot of work in the Braintree community.

Why did you open your business in Braintree and who is Barry?

Barry was the previous owner of the flower shop and I had worked for him for many years. When we opened the business, we kept the name because everyone knew his name at that point in time. Everyone also knew me from working here so it was an easy transition to make when I took over.

Have you always been involved in floral creation?

Yes. I wasn’t a scholar and I didn’t want to do anything in school. I went to Floral Design School because I always enjoyed doing things with my hands. When I was younger, I took up knitting, crocheting and painting…always something that involved my hands.

All towns seem to have at least one florist. Are they a staple part of the community?

Yes. The business has remained very constant. We have expanded into a lot of wedding work, if you come into this store on a Saturday you will see six or seven brides-to-be coming in. We’ll sit down and book appointments for their wedding, go over what they need for their big day. We’re becoming the shop for doing weddings. 

Do weddings constitute the majority of your business?

Yes, at the moment. We like the everyday work that comes in at the beginning of the week but then as the weekend rolls around we become more focused on weddings.

How has the business changed since you opened the doors?

Competition. When we first opened we didn’t have Shaw’s, Home Depot or the little corner stores that decided to bring in flowers. That’s one of the reasons that we promote our wedding work and funerals… flowers for occasions that Shaw’s and Home Depot don’t really offer. We do different arrangements for Easter, we don’t just send out a single lily. We will put a couple in a basket, dress it up and make it something that you can’t just walk into a chain store and pick up.

Supermarket pricing (in general) started out lower than us but if people were paying attention… the prices have caught up to dedicated florists. Supermarket customers are not getting as good a deal as they used to get on flowers.

The chain stores and retail behemoths within the South Shore Plaza deal in mass production, in some ways producing flowers on a conveyor belt…

Absolutely. They’re mass-producing but you don’t know how long the product has sat on the shelf, you can’t walk in and talk to a designer and say ‘I’d like to have this, that and some of this in my arrangement.' You have to take what is already there.

Where do you get your flowers?

We have a lot shipped in, we have some dedicated growers and we also use the Boston Flower Market.

What makes Braintree special? 

It is a very tight-knit community. Everyone sticks together; Mayor Sullivan (who Lynn knows personally) walks through town. Being on the Board of Trade, I’m able to help with the small businesses in the area. For example, there were plans to have a large liquor chain store come into the Square but we stopped that so that small business wasn’t affected.

All the business owners in the town know each other. I know the owners of the other flower shops in town, we can talk to each other and we can lend each other something in a pinch. We are all in the same business; we’re not out to hurt each other. There’s enough business for everybody and we all do something a little different.

It must be nice to come into work every day and get to be creative with nature… 

Every day we are creating something. We even do themed products that you can’t find in a lot of florists. We are doing a christening this weekend and the theme is Noah’s Ark. The mother wanted something unique but not with flowers (pointing to a carefully arranged row of stuffed animals), it is all about being different.

Is that the Unique Selling Point of Barry’s Flower Shop, that you can create individual designs? 

Absolutely. We like the idea that you can create something without flowers, using balloons or something else to make a room look beautiful as opposed to just putting flowers everywhere.

What advice would you give to someone starting a business in Braintree?

That’s a hard question. You need to make sure that there isn’t a similar business in the area and you need to talk to the other business owners in town. You should join an organization (Board of Trade, Rotary) and make sure that you’re meeting people around town.

Is there anything new that you are doing that a Braintree resident should know? 

We are always bringing in new product. Lighting is very popular right now with submergible lights to illuminate an arrangement or using light plates for weddings and events.

Do you find that television shows such as My Fair Wedding with David Tutera inspire the choices of some brides?

Absolutely. A bride can bring me a picture anytime, we can make a sample and create it for her… although when you see it on TV, it’s usually a bit higher end than your pocket can allow (laughs). We will do the best we can within the budget!

What is the most memorable event in your floral design career?

Years ago, I used to do the flowers for Northeastern University when they had graduations at the Boston Garden. That was a huge event and we loved doing that. One year, President Clinton was the speaker at the event so it was pretty memorable to me! I’ll never forget it; the security, the bodyguards, we all had to have nametags. We did big, tropical arrangements… it was all on TV! 

What would be the marketing tagline for Barry’s Flower Shop? 

We’re creative and we are here to make your day memorable!