Blossoming business

By M. Patricia Titus
Staff Reporter

	Coastal Point • M. PATRICIA TITUS Sandy deChurch and Theresa Pyle run the show at Blossoms.

The new flower shop in Bethany Beach has been open just a few days , but not even a looming snowstorm could keep people away as an industrious pair of relatives threw open their doors for the first time Monday.

Already there have been many visitors and quite a few customers, putting in orders for special holiday arrangements and floral gifts. Others are curious neighbors or well-wishers eager to get a peek at the new shop and offer promises of business to come and blessings for the new venture. One first-day visitor even admitted to making an illegal U-turn just to stop in and say hello.

Theresa Pyle and Sandy deChurch greet them all with enthusiasm.

“When they come through that door, they can expect a smile,” Pyle said. “When I answer the phone, I wear a smile, because you can hear it on the other end.”

The Wilmington natives are eager to put a good foot forward from the start, focusing on customer service that they hope will not only build a customer base but keep it growing.

“It’s hard to keep a customer, but it’s so easy to lose one,” Pyle said. That means a satisfaction guarantee for Blossoms customers, with a 24-hour guarantee on their fresh arrangements and Pyle’s personal pledge to “make it right.” She wants all their customers to walk away happy.

“We want them to be happy they walked in this door,” she said.

To back up that philosophy, Pyle brings to the new business a long history as a floral designer and training as a horticulturist — a 1979 graduate of Delcastle. Before moving permanently to Bethany Beach some seven years ago, she worked in some of the biggest-name floral shops in the Wilmington area.

And after managing a restaurant for six years, she said, “I just asked myself, ‘What do I want to be when I grow up?’”

The answer was almost as easy for Pyle’s Aunt Sandy. She and her husband had also retired to the beach from Wilmington, but deChurch wanted something to do.

“I love flowers. I’ve always wanted to be around flowers,” she said, recalling her fascination with floral arranging even as a child.

While deChurch’s training in the craft isn’t as formal as that of her niece, Pyle is quick to point out her aunt’s artistic skills — she’s a painter and has expanded upon that creative ability to not only help arrange flowers but to decorate colorful handmade glass-ball ornaments that are also for sale at Blossoms.

“I get my talent from her,” Pyle declared. “I happened to be trained at (floral design),” she added, “so now I’m training her.”

“We’ve been talking about this since… forever,” deChurch recalled. “We always said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a flower shop?’”

“And then we said, ‘Why not?’” Pyle added.

As Pyle perfects two elaborate Christmas wreaths that were custom-ordered by a client who liked a wreath on display but wanted a few tweaks, deChurch completes the final touches on a fruit-laden wreath that will soon grace the shop’s walls — for purchase or for more inspiration to a future client for another custom order. Already, customers have done both.

“They can keep buying them right off the walls,” Pyle said with a smile. “We’ll keep making them. If I have to sleep here, it’s not a problem.”

As the two assemble the new wreaths, one early holiday order awaits a pick-up, while dish gardens, plant baskets and hanging baskets sit temptingly alongside the shop’s sales counter.

In addition to the touches of bright Christmas red and rich gold, there’s a hint of blue and silver here and there. That’s not just for Jewish customers decorating for Hanukkah, Pyle explained. The color combination is increasingly popular for all types of holiday decorating.

Along with the evergreen wreaths, there are also fresh flowers, of course — colorful roses in a bright red vase, bright white carnations setting off the deep green of more evergreens and more red decorations. (Fresh flowers are delivered to them six days a week.)

There are vividly decorated “pencil trees” and those of a more traditional design. White lilies — just beginning to open in full bloom — are the feature of another holiday design. Red vases, berry sprays, gold accent pieces and snowmen pack their open work area, ready to be used in any of the limitless holiday creations they or their customers envision.

Right now, Pyle explained, the pair is heavily involved in the holiday décor — so busy with it, in fact, that they’ve been unable to find the time to decorate their own homes.

“We’re going to put signs on the doors that say, ‘If you want to see holiday decorations, come to Blossoms,’” deChurch put in with a laugh.

It’s not just a measure of their immediate popularity as a floral design team, but also an indicator of how well their reputation has preceded them. They had orders from friends and acquaintances before the shop ever opened. And already it’s been “old home week,” according to Pyle, with orders coming in from Wilmington for local delivery.

Pyle said the timing of opening the shop wasn’t exactly planned for the holidays. They’d originally hoped to open in October. But their original location fell through at the last minute.

“It turned out to be a blessing,” she noted with enthusiasm. “This place opened up the next day, and it’s a much better location. … It’s right smack-dab in the middle of everything — one-stop shopping.”

Indeed, the shop’s location sets them between a video rental shop and a liquor store, with neighboring restaurants that will draw holiday party crowds and the ever-present calling of fresh coffee from the WaWa across the street (though the Blossoms crew keeps their own coffee pot going and a selection of pastries beside it).

It also puts them squarely in the hands of landlord Brad Connor and his family, who run the neighboring liquor store. Connor stopped by — coffee cup in hand — to see how the two floral entrepreneurs had done on their first day. He’s clearly big on the pair.

“It’s nice to have happy people,” he said. Pyle’s quick to return the compliment, praising the support they’ve received from the Connor family.

Their landlord isn’t the only one who’s greeted in the shop like he’s one of the family, though. Pyle and deChurch have gotten off to a swift start with their plans to offer floral training to any and all comers. One lady who stopped in on their first day complained she’d always had difficulties with one particular aspect of arrangements. She immediately got a lesson from Pyle.

“A lot of people approach me and say they’ve always wanted to learn this,” said deChurch. Customers are not only welcome to walk up to their open work area and observe, but may be put right to work if they’re not careful. And that extends beyond being invited to step into the cooler to hand-pick their own fresh flowers for an arrangement, if they so wish.

Realizing how many of the area’s residents are retired or soon to do so, and how many of them are looking for a new hobby – or even a career — the pair plan to offer seminars and classes in floral arranging.

The first one is likely to follow a simple concept: “People buy a $5 or $6 bouquet from the store. Then they get it home and wonder, ‘Now, what am I going to do with this?” Pyle said. So, a tentative January seminar would offer ideas of just how to turn that store-bought bouquet into an eye-pleasing arrangement.

“Let me teach you. I’ll show you how,” Pyle offered. “It’s not scary. There’s nothing to fear. And it’s very gratifying to say, ‘I made that.’”

Pyle and deChurch certainly take pride in being able to do just that. And that pride extends beyond their in-shop arranging to how they deal with wire orders through Teleflora and FTD. When a customer likes a particular arrangement in the Bethany Beach shop, they’re happy to give a detailed description to the florist on the other end of a long-distance transaction.

“Often, they’re able to duplicate it nearly exactly, just from what we tell them,” Pyle said.

And if their own local customers have a special request, “Chances are we can get it in for them tomorrow,” she noted.

Pyle is focused on satisfying her customers and lives to step up to a challenge. “Give me something I can’t handle,” she offered.

That idea hooks neatly into Blossoms’ emphasis on being a “full service florist.” From wire orders to custom orders to holiday, bridal or funerary arrangements, they’re prepared to tackle it all. (They even offer a small line of greeting cards, though they did purposely decide to stick to being a florist shop and not a gift or souvenir shop.)

The latter two areas are ones in which the pair plan to go the extra mile. As they complete the shop’s display areas, they’re working on a private consultation area where nervous brides or bereaved family can plan the perfect floral tribute to love or to loved-ones lost.

And it’s the people who are the focus of that service. “We’ve both been brides and we’ve both experienced tragedies,” deChurch said. “We know how that feels.”

Pyle said they’ll be ready with a sympathetic shoulder to comfort a family dealing with loss and a cup of tea to soothe a frazzled bride-to-be and.

With a lighthearted tone, Pyle recalled “The Newlywed Game” and the perennial question contestants were asked about the worst part of their wedding day.

“I don’t want it to be the flowers,” Pyle said emphatically. That means not only ensuring things are made right but that the bride-to-be can select the flowers for her big day in an environment designed to reduce her stress and make her as relaxed as possible, with individual attention.

Beyond the holiday orders and the unique occasions where extensive consultation might be required, Pyle and deChurch are ready to cater to the special needs of the coastal community. Early visitors have already promised to stop back in the spring, when they’ll help design arrangements or fruit baskets that will greet those renting their beach homes.

Even though it is winter in the resort area, Blossoms is keeping a full schedule of work hours, ready to serve customers for both holiday and everyday needs. They’re open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.

And, when holidays fall on Sunday and procrastinators (or the forgetful) might be in a bind, Blossoms will likely also be open to help meet that last-minute demand for, say, a Valentine’s Day bouquet, deChurch said.

It’s all part of their drive to satisfy their customers. They’re determined to make a go of the business and plan to sell themselves just as well as they sell the flowers their customers take home.

“People ask me why I’d want to do this. It’s hard work,” deChurch said. “I tell them it’s a dream come true. We’re going for it. It’s never too late.”

“We’re very excited,” Pyle added. And it shows.

Blossoms is located at 761 Garfield Parkway in Bethany Beach. They can be reached by calling (302) 537-6001.