DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Valentine's Day is one of the busiest times of the year for florists, and inside a longtime Decatur flower shop, the rush is in full bloom.
At Svendsen Florist, bouquets of red roses and carefully arranged stems fill worktables as staff prepare for orders and deliveries. The family-owned business has served the community since 1946, providing floral arrangements and gifts with a focus on craftsmanship and customer service.
Co-owner Melissa Keays describes the holiday as the industry's championship moment.
"It's like our Super Bowl of the year," Keays said. "It's our busiest day, our busiest week. We have to spend several days ahead of time preparing everything for all of the preorders and last-minute pickups, deliveries and things like that."
The shop is known locally for creating arrangements, from weddings and anniversaries to sympathy services.
Behind the colorful displays is a process that begins long before flowers reach a vase.
"It's not just throwing stems of flowers in a vase," Keays said. "There's a lot of prep work … there's a specific shape and style, and everything has to be just right. Experience is really key in this business."
That experience runs deep. The shop traces its family roots back generations. The family's greenhouses date back to 1918, and ownership passed down multiple generations.
"Not only am I a fourth-generation owner, but we have three and four generations of our staff that work here as well," Keays said. "We've been training our entire lives."
For co-owner Jayne Svendsen, the business has been part of life since childhood. She recalled old photos and stories from family members talking about the dirt road that led to the shop and how the city grew around them.
"When we were small kids … we would actually sleep in the shipping boxes," Svendsen said. "Mom, Dad, aunts, uncles, cousins, we were all working together. People don't even have that anymore, where whole families work together."
The shop's decades in Decatur have also helped build lasting customer relationships.
"It's so wonderful to have such good, loyal customers," Svendsen said. "Decatur is kind of a small town, so we know tons of people who come in all year long."
Keays said those connections are what make the business meaningful.
"We are a pillar in the community," she said. "Generations of customers have come here … I love seeing women come in who remember coming with their grandparents 50 or 60 years ago."
From new babies and weddings to holidays and funerals, the shop says it shares life's biggest moments with customers.
"We're a part of every special occasion for a lot of families in the community," Keays said. "We really like that connection with everybody."
The next generation is carrying that legacy forward, already involved in the business.
"My son works here as well, so he's fifth generation," Keays said. "We plan on being a part of this community forever, if we can."
And for the owners, the goal behind each arrangement is simple.
"That somebody cared enough to buy the best," Svendsen said of what she hopes customers feel when they receive flowers.
Svendsen Florist operates at 2702 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and continues to offer in-store shopping and delivery services, carrying a large inventory of fresh flowers, plants and specialty arrangements for a variety of occasions.
As the holiday rush continues, the shop is extending hours and encouraging preorders, but is ready for last-minute shoppers, too.
"We prefer preorders," Keays said, "but last-minute is also our specialty, so we're prepared."
More information about the shop is online.Â
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