A new specialty florist has sprouted up on Columbus Road, as two Athens entrepreneurs combined their respective talents.
Polly Creech, owner of Polly's Flower Farm, and Christina Deshaies, owner of Thyme and Again Gardening, opened the Hyacinth Bean on Feb. 6 at 94 Columbus Road.
It's been really interesting and fun (so far)
Creech said. We bring diverse skills.
The store is named after the purple hyacinth bean, which grows as a vine, producing purple flowers, Deshaies said.
(The flowers are) just really pretty she said. (The name) might strike imagination.
The business features locally grown flowers - with 50 varieties from Creech's 10-acre farm in Albany - and pots made by Athens County residents, Deshaies said. The two met through a mutual friend and began discussing working together.
One of their services is supplying fresh flowers for businesses, such as Casa Nueva and Village Bakery & Cafe, and for doctor's offices, Creech said. At the beginning of the week, they replace the flowers with fresher ones and bring the vases back to the shop.
We have about five (businesses) right now said Creech, and we're looking to expand.
They also expect a high volume of wedding business, which she said would probably be more than we can reasonably handle.
The shop is located in the incubator for the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks, which promotes cooperative business in the area.
Leslie Schaller, a business counselor for ACENet, said the incubator is a good place for a new business.
I've worked with (Creech and Deshaies) in terms of developing their business plan
she said. They have an edge in terms of competition. They have experience within the field.
The shelves were not yet full, though Deshaies said they would be receiving more goods in the next few weeks.
We will offer some unique products
Creech said.
The two owners said they hoped to reach out to the student community. We think that (students) would find it delightful
she said.
Hyacinth will be competing with other Uptown businesses, Creech said, adding that she thought the atmosphere of cooperation and teamwork would help all involved.
The (Athens) businesses support each other
she said. I think it's been fabulous.
Both owners said they were focusing on customer service and personalization, which will include birthday and anniversary reminders and records of purchases. Once we have a customer
we keep a customer
Creech said.
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