A Flower Shop in the Making

Kate is counting down. It is 3 days to go until her flower shop, Rustic Rose, opens in the Dorset market town of Sturminster Newton. Stock is starting to arrive and the carpenter has just finished fitting her shelves and counters.

I don't think I have ever seen anyone so excited.

Even in its bare state I can sense this is going to be a colourful, quirky, country flower shop. You only have to look at the lining of Kate's jacket and her bright pink jumper to know that this is a flower shop that will get noticed.

I first met Kate when she was working at Ted Martin Flowers. And I am not the only friend she made along the way, Jennifer is over helping Kate with much of the planning and preparation. As I am taking photos of the shop, Jennifer is busy making aprons. Kate says she did think about having plain aprons but once she got into Hansons (a fantastic Aladdin's cave of a fabric warehouse in town) she saw so many colourful materials she decided to mix them all together for her aprons. I can't wait to see them.

Where possible Kate is buying products locally (such as these twisted willow baskets, heart and flowers), and as her family have farmed in this area for many years there are not many people she does not know.

Kate tells me that she was a little worried about telling the local greengrocer, who also sells flowers, about her shop. But when they stopped her in the street and asked her, 'Is that going to be your shop?' they appeared delighted and said, 'we are so glad it is you Kate.'

Kate also tracked down another friend, Donald, the funeral director to ask him if she could have a chat about flowers he might need. As Kate was having coffee with him it became obvious that she is not the only friend Donald has gathered in his life. First the district nurse appeared and joined in the coffee and chat, then the local ambulance driver arrived. By the end Kate tells me her 'business chat' turned into several friends and family around the kitchen table!

But for now, behind the shrouded windows, it is back to work.