This week on our podcast Brick & Order, we talked to Kelly Marie Thompson, the owner and creative director of Fleur Inc. in Chicago Florist. Fleur Inc. is a lifestyle boutique and full-service floral design studio.
Kelly Marie’s business has grown from a neighborhood bucket shop to a 1,800-square-foot brick-and-mortar store with a large selection of gifts, a studio for wedding production, and a room for floral classes in almost 20 years.
Kelly Marie talks about how important community is during quarantine and how she is handling the change to curbside pickup.
Here is a short version of what we talked about with Kelly Marie. Go to the fifth episode of our podcast Brick & Order to hear the whole interview.
Faire: Back up to the year 2002. At that point in your life and career, where were you?
Kelly Marie Thompson: I had just finished college and was 22 years old. I worked in the floral department of a grocery store for about four years and went to school for art, history, painting, and design. When you’re that young, you don’t have much fear, so I decided I really wanted to open a flower shop in Chicago’s Logan Square, a neighborhood I loved. It was full of creative people, so it seemed like the best place to add more flowers to the neighborhood.
What made you decide to go in the direction of flowers in Chicago Florist
I grew up in a typical Chicago bungalow style home, which was full of flowers. My mom planted garden roses and peonies in every part of our yard, and we had an apple tree that bloomed every year. So flowers have always been a part of my life, ever since I can remember. It’s just something I do.
What were some of the worst things you did when you were young?
I didn’t really get what a real business plan was all about. It took us a while to find a routine and think about things like how important branding and marketing are. I started a business course with the goal of making sure that no one else ever makes the same mistakes I did, if at all possible. Many lessons had to be learned the hard way.
From where do you get your ideas?
Often, it depends on how I feel. I think that if I’m just making something for myself, I base it on the shape of the flowers and how they look. Yesterday, I went for a long walk in our neighborhood. As I walked, I looked at all the branches in bloom and liked their curves and empty spaces.
For our clients, I think about what I know about art history and look at Dutch impressionist paintings. Really rich colors and beautiful still life styles. For our weddings and other special events, that seems to be a style that has stuck.
Tell me more about how you find the materials you use.
We work with a lot of farms in the Chicago area. Over the years, a lot of urban farms have sprung up, which is very exciting because they are businesses that are run by the community. People from low-income areas are often brought in and taught new skills for work in the food industry and the floral industry. So, we get a lot from them in the summer and spring. Then, I have a great wholesaler in Chicago who gets things from all over the world. Then there are a few more who drop ship to us.
How did you start to look for gift lines for your store?
Last year, our gift business took over from our flower business. 45 percent of our business comes from weddings, and the rest comes from retail, which is really cool because I think gift shops have a hard time in this day and age. So, I’m really happy about that.
At first, I reached out to a lot of local artists to get as many products made or designed in Chicago as possible. Later, we’d go to the gift shows in New York. When we found out about Faire, I was really excited because a lot of the artists I had been trying to get in touch with were already there. This made it easy to meet people and talk to them directly.
How have you kept learning and growing in Chicago Florist
At times, I really can’t get enough of the creative side of it. Because of my background, I paint, so my watercolors mean a lot to me. But sometimes I find the business side of things just as interesting and creative. Other than my accountant, I’m probably one of the few people who really likes QuickBooks. I’m glad I have the right amount of both.
What were the first signs that COVID-19 was causing you to slow down?
As soon as the word “shutdown” got out, sales in Chicago dropped by half. Then I was shocked by something. When we told our neighborhood that we were going out of business, everyone came to help us. We sent out more packages in those three days than we did in all of March. That was both tiring and the most exciting thing I’ve done as a business owner in the last 18 years.
After that, we slowed down. Now that we’re back up and running, albeit on a small scale, we can offer curbside pickups. Still, people are getting out. Our sales aren’t what they used to be, but right now we’re just focusing on giving our customers more unique ways to get our products.
What lessons or tips can you give to other stores that may be reopening their curbside services?
I took the day off yesterday to give my mind a break and went to one of my favorite nurseries to see how they were making the change. I ran into the owner, and we had a great talk about the building and the systems that are being set up.
We have a small table outside our front door. So, when a customer wants to pick up their order at the curb, they call us, give us their order number or name, and we give them everything. I kind of like that the rollout is happening slowly because now we’re starting to figure out how to rearrange the furniture in our store for when customers can come back. more
