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Many
years ago now, in what seems like a prior lifetime, my wife and I were
florists in a city up north. We owned our own tiny shop and worked
hard all year, barely scraping by and not earning what most people
called a living. As the seasons changed, we changed the décor of the
shop in order to stock the floral designs and decorations that our
customers would be attracted to. On Valentine’s Day we sold
thousands of roses, on Mother’s Day hundreds of bouquets and
arrangements. The work gearing up for those holidays was nothing
compared to the great effort we put in getting ready for the Christmas
season.
Christmas
in our florist shop started sometime in July, when we began planning
for the season. When we first began, this was a totally foreign
concept to me. I am one of those last-minute Christmas guys (my wife
says that still hasn’t changed). It was a well-known fact that if
you got a Christmas card from me, it was addressed on Christmas Eve. I
always purchased and wrapped all the gifts on Dec. 24. But a florist
shop can’t be run like a guy’s Christmas. After Oct. 1, most of
the wholesalers were already sold out on the choice decorations,
Christmas plants, and seasonal flowers and greens. We found out our
first year that after Thanksgiving there is nothing left. So I learned
to think about Christmas during the heat of summer, when the florist
shop was quiet and most people were on vacation.
[Brenda Brown fixes a bow for decoration at the
Kickapoo Street Dollar Store. She and her husband, Mitch,
recently bought the business]
We
pored over catalogues, made phone calls and spent many hours on the
road away from the shop. Our favorite thing about being florists was
traveling to visit different supply houses, greenhouses and the
studios of gift companies. We hunted for the best deals on the finest
merchandise, made commitments well ahead of time and arranged many of
our purchases prior to the first frost.
As
florists are purchasing raw materials, they construct in their minds
the arrangements they will design. They dream of the placement of
flowers, bows and adorning materials for each decoration they will
produce. And they imagine with great satisfaction how their tiny
little shops will come alive with the beauty of the season. But
purchasing is only the first step to getting ready for the Christmas
season.
Florists
are like most other retailers. The next thing you do to get ready for
the Christmas season is to do a thorough cleaning. The only way to
make a good presentation is to make a clean presentation. All the old
merchandise is packed away or sold off at extraordinary sale prices to
clear the way for holiday merchandise. Once the shelves are made bare
and the floors are cleared, everything is cleaned up and made
spotless. Everyone chipped in and slaved until the place shined. With
all the shelves bare and devoid of merchandise, and the entire work of
the season ahead, we realized this would be the time when the
fainthearted would lose sight of their dreams and ambitions. Some
might lower their sights or even abandon the lofty goal of being ready
on time for the upcoming Christmas season. But florists and retailers
who are truly devoted to their craft and have the highest goal in mind
have a gleam in their eye as they set out to make everything right and
ready.
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We
spent what seemed to be thousands of hours making decorations,
arrangements and displaying gifts in our shop. The semi-truck pulled
up and we all unloaded poinsettias for hours. Pots had to be washed,
bows and foil needed to be applied, and everything needed to be
painstakingly placed according to plan.
[Jeff Woolsey orders some flowers from Flowers &
Things owner Virginia Hughes and helper Natalie Moehring]
Perhaps
it is the nostalgia that comes with the passing of time, but I have
really forgotten how hard those times were. Instead I can vividly
remember that magic moment when all the shelves were full, poinsettias
colorfully adorned every open spot, the spotlights gleamed off
shimmering surfaces, the arrangements and wreaths completed just as we
had imagined them, the cooler filled and ready, and the giftware was
perfectly displayed. I can remember looking over what we had created
with great pride and satisfaction, and with tears in our eyes, we knew
that at long last all was ready. It was Tuesday of Thanksgiving week.
[Larry Steffens prepares a floral display at Eckert's
Fine Furnishings while his son Jason looks on]
While
we tried hard to keep the bottom line in mind each year as we made our
holiday selections, and as we stood at the bench bringing together
Christmas creations, money was never our goal or our focus (maybe that’s
why we had so little of it). Every arrangement, every gift item, every
decoration and plant that we purchased was done so with our customers
and their individual tastes in mind. We wanted to select and create
things that would make their faces light up, that would make them gasp
or sigh with satisfaction. We so wanted to please and satisfy their
desires. Their happiness and satisfaction was our focus and our goal.
Each
Christmas season as our customers came to see us, it seemed like a
party or a reunion of friends and family. We shared our creations with
them and they shared their lives with us. I can’t remember a richer
time as I look back on my life.
As I
look around at the special shops and stores we have here in Lincoln
this Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I am reminded of the extraordinary
effort that is necessary for each of our retailers to prepare for the
holiday season. They have spent long hours preparing, planning and
they have labored hard and long. They have taken great risks with
money, material and time. They have hired extra staff, displayed
special decorations, and taken extra care to make sure that everything
is right and ready. Realize this Tuesday before Thanksgiving that they
have done it all with you and me, their friends and customers, in
their minds and in their hearts. Our happiness and satisfaction is
their hope and their goal.
[jim
youngquist]
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