Store Design/Redesign Finalist: Flore
Jane Kitchen -- Gifts and Dec, 8/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
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Sometimes all those layoffs we hear about on the news can turn into something positive. After Lori Friedlander and her mother, Mary Ellen Masilotti, were both laid off, the two pooled their skills — Masilotti had worked as a florist for most of her life, and Friedlander had done stints as an interior designer, merchandise manager and store designer. In April 2008, they opened Flore, a 972-sq.-ft. European-style flower market and apothecary in Southbury, CT. With a budget of just $10,000 and a 60-day timeframe, the two women strove to create a centuries-old feeling in a brand new commercial space.
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Creative Solutions in A Budget
"A new (flower) cooler alone would have been $10,000, so we had to be creative," said Friedlander. So they thought outside the box, scouring Craigslist and online classifieds to outfit their store, and recycling items like ladders, antique shoe racks, carts and various pieces of furniture. They were in luck — Craigslist netted them a wall unit from a gift shop that had gone out of business for just $250, a salvage yard turned up a set of eight-foot double French doors for $50, and a landlord was selling an abandoned cooler for $3,000. They bought ready-to-apply faux finishing paint from Home Depot, and combined it with damaged brick wall panels that they cut up and applied to the walls to create the antiqued brick and plaster look.
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Flore's tagline is Flowers as Medicine, and in keeping with the spirit, it stocks gifts made with natural products and flowers. Everything is displayed artistically, said Friedlander, and customers say they want to stay and linger, looking into every nook and cranny to see what surprises they'll find. Lavender imported from Provence infuses the store with amazing smells as well.
"People say the atmosphere just makes them want to buy something," said Friedlander.
And buy they have. One year later, the store's sales have increased more than 200 percent despite the economic downturn.
"I give a lot of credit to the store design for growing our business," said Friedlander. "It's word of mouth; people tell their friends to visit us, because they'll step in and feel like they're in France. That's how we've been able to grow so fast."
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