Flower business to complement existing gift shop

By Robert Williams

Editor

Taylor Crabtree, 19, will likely become the youngest business owner in Frazee this week when she premiers Frazee Floral on West Main Avenue. Having a strong business acumen at such a young age was something she got by watching her parents.  ¶  “Obviously, my mom and my dad have their own businesses,” Crabtree said. “My dad has had his own business my whole childhood and my mom, I’ve always seen her work really hard, whether that be at Essentia, nursing home, she’s kind of done a lot. She’s always community forward, always involved. That helps when you have that going on in your life as a child.”  ¶  Taylor’s own personality has helped shape her path as an introvert working to overcome some of that internal shyness when necessary while embracing what really makes herself tick.  ¶  “I have also liked working on my own more,” said Crabtree. “I’m kind of laid back and I like independent work.”  ¶  Crabtree tried working conventional jobs, tried to fit it, but it never felt right.  ¶  “I worked at a few places and I felt like a lot of people—I’m just here for the paycheck,” she said. “It’s not fun; it’s stressful and not motivating. I want to do something that I’m passionate about and I care about and I’m good at. It’s not so much work then.”

Running her own business was the way to go and that plan is completely fluid as she prepares to get her flower company started.

“I like working hard,” she said. “I’ve always loved physical labor. I think that’s where I’m headed with the flower shop.” 

Frazee Floral will be located at 305 West Main Avenue, along with the Creating Community Junction Gift Shop. For Crabtree, this is the starting point to the full business she has planned for the future.

“Eventually, I’ll have a shed on our property set up and it will have all kinds of stuff that I make and grow,” she said. “The gift shop here is a good starting point and makes sense with the flowers. It’s something that the town doesn’t have.”

Crabtree got started with the floral business plan after returning from a year in Colorado Springs with her boyfriend Ben Nolan.

“There was a need for a flower shop and I love plants and flowers; I’ll do it,” Crabtree said. “I just got started on everything needed to do that.”

Flowers have been a popular, if not seasonal item, locally with multiple U-Pick businesses popping up over the past few years. Crabtree is hoping to feature those businesses rather than compete with them.

“I did not want to take away from the other flower businesses in the area; I want to work with them,” she said. “I really want to offer something different so there’s no competition.”

Crabtree is focusing on a “grab and go” style business where shoppers are taking arrangements from the cooler that are ready and waiting. 

“I’m hoping to collaborate a little bit with some of the farms so we’re all getting business from each other,” she said. Part of what I want is to be really local. Right now, we do have to do some ordering but I really want to change that for the future. I want to grow everything; I want to get stuff from local people who are growing everything. In-season, I definitely want to feature the farms around here who are already up and running.”

Flowers and arrangements from the local U-Picks have been available on occasion at participating downtown businesses. Part of Crabtree’s angle is reaching the customers that are not likely looking for the picking and arranging experience, but still want fresh flowers from the area.

“It gives the opportunity to get flowers from them without having to go do a whole activity,” she said. “I hope everything goes well when I talk to them about it.”

Another reason Crabtree is excited for her new business comes from watching Frazee diversify and grow over the year she was in Colorado.

“I want to be a part of that,” she said. “I want to make the town a nicer place and be a part of the community.”

While in Colorado, Crabtree spent much of her time outdoors in a new setting, but she also took on new challenges like teaching a crocheting class for the first time.

“That was a bit of a learning curve for me and my students,” she laughed. “It was really interesting and fun.”

Getting out of her comfort zone was made easier by being in a new place instead of a small town where everyone knows your name and family. She found a new personal feeling of being able to be her true self while in Colorado.

“They didn’t even know where Frazee was,” she said.

There were drawbacks as well, including apartment living and residing in a city of nearly half-a-million people.

“It’s really nice to be back; I never thought I would say that,” said Crabtree. “It gives you perspective; it makes you miss things you didn’t think you would miss and it makes you grateful.”

Being new in a new place helped divert Crabtree from what was easy and forced her to challenge herself.

For now, getting the floral side of the gift shop up and running is the goal but the bigger goal is to expand upon that with all of the other things Crabtree likes to do including her crocheting and gardening – with an emphasis on hot peppers.

“Last year, I grew a lot of different kinds that were really interesting and I plan on having my yard be a giant garden, basically,” she said. “I’m really into tea blends, dry herb seasoning blends and I make kombucha too. When you make it yourself you control the fermenting time, how long it’s bottled versus sitting in the store getting more sour and more pungent. People don’t make stuff like that around here. I just see so many things I do that I can put into my business. I think it will be really cool.”

Opening day for the gift and floral shop is Wednesday, Jan. 29, with future plans to move across town next summer after a full year in business downtown.

“I feel confident about this opportunity and opening here is a really smart move at first; everybody knows where this is,” said Crabtree.

Frazee Floral has a web presence on Facebook and Instagram. Contact information is (218) 255-7575 or frazeefloral@gmail.com