Pamlico florist keeps tradition alive and From the Heart

The week leading to Mother’s Day is a frenzy for florists, including Pamlico’s lone flower shop, From the Heart Florist.

In addition to orders from family and friends wanting to celebrate the mothers in their life, shop owner Carissa Sanders also kept up her regular offerings for funerals, birthdays, appreciations and other acts of love.

This year for Mother’s Day, the florist sold and delivered over 100 orders. Carnations, lilies, roses, tulips and more floated across the shop’s counters and into the delivery van, which made its way all over the county and to Craven and Beaufort.

Karen Gardner, one of two main delivery drivers for the shop, said flowers are “just a way of bringing the beauty of nature to individuals.”

“I've seen how flowers bring happiness, joy … and also comfort in times of sorrow,” she said.

When Sanders began her business over 20 years ago, there were three florists in the county and nine in New Bern. Sanders, who was always interested in crafts and decorating loved ones’ weddings for fun during her teens and early 20s, didn’t consider becoming a florist until her mother-in-law suggested it. Her mother-in-law sought to open a flower shop and wanted Sanders to run it. Now, Sanders is the only florist in the county and one of the few remaining in the area.

In an interview with Down in the County on the Monday after the long and busy Mother’s Day week, Sanders seemed tired as she sat in the building she bought from a previous flower shop, which had closed after 40 years. There’s a display cooler to the side of the store’s counter with just a couple of arrangements, a sharp contrast from the week before, when it was packed to the brim.

The walls are all off-white, except for the colorful workshop area in the back used to package arrangements with an array of flowers, ribbons, vases and other forms of personalization. In the furthest back area is a refrigerator the size and shape of a vault, used to preserve flowers that come from farms in America and abroad.

In 2003, after running the original From the Heart Florist for years, Sanders bought the business from her mother-in-law. Thirteen years later, she moved into the building on Main Street in Bayboro where the shop is now located.

“It wasn't work to me,” Sanders said. “It's not like I get up to go to a job every day. I always like to make people feel good. It makes me feel good.”

However, even as Sanders' love for her business continued to grow over the years, the trade at large hasn’t been flourishing.

According to Syracuse University, there were about 27,000 retail flower shops in 1992. Today, there are just over 11,700 shops, according to the Society of American Florists. Even though Sanders said this makes for less competition, she would like to see flower shops thrive.

In addition to the rise in conglomerated online florists, Sanders also said that, “This generation is not into sending flowers like the older generation.”

She gave the example of funerals. “When we started, years ago, there would be lots of flowers going to funerals. It's not even half that now,” she said.

Gardner, who took up the delivery role after retiring from the Sun Journal in New Bern after 28 years as an Inside Sales Representative, said her friendliness and the people skills she acquired from her previous job made this a good fit for her.

Starting her rounds in the morning, Gardner makes most of her deliveries with a smile on her face. She doesn’t typically leave without having a conversation or giving the customer a hug. “Whatever I gotta deliver, I'd do it with heart,” she said.

Alice Buck of Reelsboro said the delivery person makes receiving flowers special. “The person that gives them to you makes you feel good,” Buck said.

For some Pamlico residents, the flower business is a community affair.

Jennifer Roe, owner of Magnolia House bed and breakfast in Oriental, said she couldn't imagine her husband calling anybody else for flowers. “I like doing business locally,” she said. “We like sharing stuff within our county.”

Marsha Paplham, owner of Marsha’s Cottage, a women's clothing and accessory shop in Oriental, said, “We all come together as small businesses, and together we make a wonderful community. That's our job.”

“If (From the Heart) weren't here, we wouldn't have occasions like this,” she said of the flowers she had just received.

When it comes to occasions, Gardner’s favorite is birthdays. “When it's someone's birthday, I love going and making a big deal about it for them because everybody deserves to be celebrated,” she said.

For Sanders, funerals feel the most important. “It's the last thing you're going to do for somebody,” she said.

Sanders said From the Heart Florist has, on occasion, sent flowers for the birth as well as the wedding of the same person. Her most cherished memory is of a request she received last year from the husband of a woman with cancer. It was their last anniversary, and a week after the delivery, the woman came and presented a gift to Sanders. It was a painting of flowers.

Although her shop is profitable, Sanders is keenly aware of the business climate. Most recently, the store has had to deal with trade tariffs, she said. Most of the shop’s flowers come from countries such as Ecuador and Colombia.

Sanders said the tariffs could increase prices for customers. But she said flowers are still worthwhile.

Gardener echoed that sentiment, adding that you never know what people are going through. “When you bring flowers to someone, it lights up their day, their eyes and smile,” she said. “When you can make someone smile or ease someone's sadness with flowers, it's a good feeling.”

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