Monday, June 14, 2010

My Creative Family and My Sister The Florist



Whenever I see a car that looks like this, it reminds me of my sister Tara. Around 1975, my mom and dad bought a VW bug that looked a lot like this (except the color was the same as a fluorescent tennis ball - I kid you not). This car was driven by all six of us kids. I learned to drive a stick shift from my sister Tara on this very car. This is one reason I still think about her when I see a VW bug convertible.


The other reason I think of her is she bought this car from my parents and used it as her delivery vehicle for many years when she decided to go into business for herself as a florist. My parents were shocked she could even begin to fit so much in her car. It looked pretty funny driving to the places she went with no A/C and all those gorgeous flowers in the car. She did what she had to do. And she did not worry about what people thought.


A lot of businesses could learn a thing or two by how lean she kept things when she started. I often times think of this business example before I make investments into my own business. Normally, I can get by with just what I have already.




Twenty years later, she is still in business. She has a very unique business model. Her shop is not open to the public...meaning it is not a retail flower store. It is by appointment or you can call and order something. They do not accept credit cards...no, seriously...they still send an invoice. Here is her website and her telephone number is 713.520.8010.




I think you can tell she is very talented...and the word, creative, applies to her in other areas in her life. I am going to see if she will let me take some pictures of her house...because I think you would die. She can buy things at Marshalls or TJ Maxx and mix them into her house and they look like a million bucks. My other sisters and I have been encouraging her to maybe think about staging or decorating as her next career.



A lot of these pictures are taken at River Oaks Country Club because she does their flowers. One of the cakes she decorated was in People, and she has been featured in Southern Living. She would never tell you this. I promise. She does not even have these things framed in her shop.




I have posted previously about other members of my family and their creativity. I am incredibly fortunate to have had this type of influence in my life growing up and to be able to continue to be around it.

4 comments:

celiaclowe said...

amazing flowers, just how talented is your family??? thanks for the information about keeping it lean while building. AND BTW...my neighbor had a RED VW of similar year that we would deck out for July 4 and he would drive around the neighborhood with all the kids hanging out dressed in r,w,b. thanks for the memories.

Molly Ann Quigley said...

celia...am so excited to see your blog. i will definitely do a blog giveaway and link to your page when it is up and going.

Molly Ann Quigley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Leisa said...

Who wouldn’t forget their first stick shift driving lessons? That’s when you got the first scratch on the car paint, the terrified scream when you think you’re about to slam onto a post, or the first time you drove a car to your neighbor’s curb and onto their mailbox. =P

Leisa Dreps