Blooms Flowers is sprouting a new pop-up shop

Blooms Flowers owner Cathie Manuelli loves the heritage touches on the 1918 shop where her business is based, “but even though it's a beautiful old building, it got to the point where she needed some updating.” It means the red brick shopfront will be closed for renovations until November, but customers won’t have to travel far to the new location. For the next three months, Blooms will move next door to the staff car park at MLCS Corporate Accounting.

When the temporary store opened last Saturday, it was already surrounded by a forest of flowers and plants, and the always smiling florist jokes that her accommodating neighbours have “already had a couple of bouquets, and we'll make sure they looked after for their staff party at Christmas!”

It’s not the first time Blooms has moved – when the business started in 1981, it was located in front of Outdoors On Parade, and moved next door when that business expanded. Then not long after Manuelli took over in 2007, she moved it across the road to its current location at 100 The Parade. And while the current move means downsizing from a floor space of 140 square metres to 12, Manuelli and her team have adapted well to their new surroundings.

“It's a tiny shop, but it's perfectly formed,” she says with a trademark smile. “And we don't have the full range that we normally have in store, but we've taken snippets of everything so in addition to flowers there’s some giftware, plants, baby clothes, gourmet treats and Glasshouse fragrances.” And because any stock that wouldn’t fit in the new store is currently boxed up in the florist’s lounge room, customers can still order from the full range with a day’s notice.

Most importantly, the personal touch at the heart of the Blooms experience remains unchanged. “A lot of florists nowadays do production lines so you go in and see ten identical bouquets,” explains Manuelli. “But we don’t follow that cookie cutter approach; everything here is individually made. Customers can give us a price, their favourite colour, or a flower they particularly like and we’ll make something up especially for them.”

When it comes to delivering the very finest arrangements, Manuelli has another secret weapon up her sleeve. “We source directly from growers, and I do that every day,” she says, “so I have a very close relationship with our growers.” It means she can cater to just about any customer requirements, and with enough lead time can even order a custom crop for special events like weddings.

“I just need to give the growers six months’ notice and work within the seasons,” she explains, “and they’ll dedicate a whole row or section to what we need.” That seasonal aspect also informs what stock Blooms carries, and means Manuelli can support South Australian growers rather than importing large quantities of flowers. “People want peonies all year round these days, and we can get them in if we need to. But if you wait until they’re in season, you're going to get them in their optimum state, at the best price, and they're going to last the longest. That means we can guarantee customers are getting the best quality flowers no matter when they come in.”