Business & Tech
Meet the Owner: Mary Schwartz
Mary Schwartz has served the community for eight years through her well-known shop, Shakopee Florist.
For Mary Schwartz, this is the calm before the storm. She is getting her flower shop ready for a busy holiday season.
“Valentine’s Day is our busiest holiday but that is just one day, Thanksgiving and Christmas are several weeks of solid business," she said.
The owner of Shakopee Florist knows a thing or two about the craze that comes with the jolly holidays; she’s been in the flower business since she was kid. She grew up on a farm in Le Sueur, where her family ran a greenhouse.
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“This is a business that I know inside and out,” she said. “I can remember working on wedding arrangements with my mom when I was 8 years old.”
Now, her daughter helps in the store located at 409 First Ave. E. “It really is a family run business,” she said. “Even my dad, who is getting older, will help when he can.”
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Her shop is currently filled with fall colored flowers and gifts to accompany any bouquet. As Schwartz takes orders up front, one of her designers is in back working on a traditional holiday arrangement, a cornucopia.
The holidays are just staring to take hold in Shakopee Florist with poinsettias starting to infiltrate the other offerings.
“I try not to get too much holiday stuff out too early,” Schwartz said.
In a few weeks her shop will be filled with traditional red and white poinsettias along with new glittery poinsettias in vibrant colors.
“We try to have something to fit all tastes, but lately people are going back to the basics,” she said. “I think the recession has made a lot of people go back to traditional themes and that includes flowers.”
Schwartz has been in business for about eight years and says her customers make each day worth working.
“When someone sends flowers they typically want to make a certain impression so often times people will tell me a lot about themselves and about the person they are sending flowers to,” she said. “Their stories help us create a unique arrangement for each customer.”
Like any small business owner, Schwartz spends a lot of time at her shop.
“I’m working even when the ‘open’ sign isn’t on,” she said. “That just comes with running a business and it’s OK because this has been a good location and a good life for me.”
Shakopee Florist accepts orders by phone, walk-in and online.
