Business snapshot: Marysville Floral
Published 8:38 pm Friday, January 9, 2009
Who: Janna Mitchell and Nicole Walker, co-owners of the shop.
What: The flower shop makes arrangements, bouquets and gourmet food baskets as well as selling cut flowers, house plants and local wines. Mitchell and Walker work with two other part-time employees.
Where: The shop is on Third Street in downtown Marysville. It celebrated its 30-year anniversary in 2008. It also makes deliveries to Tulalip, Marysville, Granite Falls, Arlington, Stanwood, Lake Stevens and Everett. The small business with two vans covers a big area. “We’ve been doing this for so long. It’s so natural,” Walker said.
A fixture in Marysville: Before the shop got its existing name in 1978, it was called City Floral. It’s always been a flower shop, Walker said. “Marysville has grown a lot, but Marysville is a very tight business community. I think long-term residents do business with long-term businesses,” Walker said.
Teamwork: Mitchell is good at designing flowers. Walker excels in administrative tasks. “There’s no competition between us. We know what each other’s specialities are,” Walker said. In 1987, Mitchell started working as a driver at the shop. So did Walker in 1993. The two bought the shop from a former owner in 2002. “We thought we could do it together. We get along. We are like sisters,” Walker said.
The shop’s motto: “We create what’s in your heart,” Mitchell and Walker said. Sometimes, people call them without knowing what they want. Their job is to listen to them and meet their needs. “I try to remember I’m a customer wherever I go,” Mitchell said. “Tables could be turned.”
Surrounded by beauty: The business goes through ups and downs like any other, but flowers help them stay positive and upbeat in tough times, Mitchell and Walker said. That’s always an upside to running a flower shop.
The biggest challenge to running a flower shop: “Mother Nature,” Mitchell said.
The future: “I don’t think we will be expanding. We are comfortable at where we are. We are going to continue to provide good customer service,” Mitchell said.
More information: 360-659-7651 or www.MarysvilleFloral.com.
By Yoshiaki Nohara
Herald Writer
