The Flower Shop, located at 323 Church St., which was formerly Say it with Flowers, opened its doors Tuesday, Jan. 9 and is ready to make an impact on the community.
Owner Tracy Dyess decided after retiring from a career in education that she wanted something else to do and jumped at the opportunity to open The Flower Shop.
“My husband and I decided to come to Columbia — my grandchildren are here, I love the town and love the park — I just enjoy this place. When somebody told me this (building) was for sale, I decided I’d try this,” she explained. “I love the house, people enjoy coming here and I enjoy visiting with them. So many people just come in and visit with me to talk. We want them to feel like this is home.”
The Flower Shop will host its Grand Opening Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. with Grumpy Man, which stocks a variety of jellies and jams in the shop, catering sandwiches and other items.
“He’s (based) out of Purvis and they’re just wonderful. We’ve had quite a few people come and pick (Grumpy Man products) up,” Dyess said. “Even though they’re in Purvis, people are having a hard time getting it in other places, so it’s already been a big seller. Everybody that has come in to get some has come back to get more.”
The Flower Shop is a full-service florist led by floral designer Tasha Jones, who has more than 20 years of experience, and also goes beyond just flowers for weddings.
“We have some really unique ideas for weddings, and we’re full service on weddings. We have rentals, flowers, different supplies and I direct. We rent a little bit of everything,” Dyess said. “I would like for people to come in and talk to us about their weddings because we can do anything they want, anything unique with flowers and arrangements. Just come in and talk to us about it.”
The Flower Shop has a kid store called Curious Kids where it plans to begin hosting classes for children to build robots, play games and have tea parties. Children can also play in the room while parents shop. The Flower Shop has a multitude of teddy bears, and children can select a bear and candy to make their own little gift bag.
“I want parents to be able to come and let kids play in here. I also have a television in there,” Dyess said. “We want people to come in, enjoy the house and enjoy the flowers.”
Dyess’ daughter, Presley Stovall, and daughter-in-law, Tiffany Dyess, have played an integral role in opening The Flower Shop. Wanda Nace and Dyess’ husband, Dan, also are a large part of the family business. Tracy Dyess hopes that her daughters will eventually run the shop and wants to keep The Flower Shop in the family.
“(Stovall and Tiffany Dyess) worked hard many, many nights painting and tagging products,” Tracy Dyess said. “The girls are real good about finding unique things that they think people want and isn’t available elsewhere in Columbia.”
The Flower Shop stocks Twisted Steel Jewelry, men’s products such as beard merchandise and knives, gifts such as custom pottery, Grassroots candles and collegiate products. Local author Brandi Perry’s new book, “Splintered,” will also be available for purchase, and she will host a book signing in The Flower Shop in February.
The Flower Shop will be offering tie-dye roses for Valentine’s Day and will feature a Friday Flower Happy Hour when flowers will be available for 50 percent off.
Dyess said she plans for The Flower Shop to be extremely active in the community, evidenced by a kind gesture Thursday.
“I’m real big on education and love children, and I want to be a big part of what’s going on around here,” she said. “Today, we’re going to take flowers to all the teachers of the year to say, ‘We’re proud of you that you’re dedicated enough to become teacher of the year.’”
Dyess hopes The Flower Shop will be around for many years to come in Columbia.
“I’d really like to see it do real well and flourish. I love working with weddings, and I think people would enjoy working with us because we would do anything we could to make a perfect wedding,” she said. “Long term, I’d like to stay here in the community and be real active in the community, especially with children and the schools.”
The Flower Shop is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. and can be reached by phone at (601) 633-5007.
Pictured Above: Floral Designer Tasha Jones and owner Tracy Dyess operate The Flower Shop. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
