About REED FAMILY FLORAL

In 1982 my Great Aunt, Karen (Reed) Fleming, and my Great-Grandmother, Chloe Ann Reed, started Reed's Floral in the same location that I operate from today. They worked hard and run an extremely successful business for many years. My mother would often pick me up from daycare and stop by the flower shop so I could see Granny and Aunt Karen. Many of my afternoons and evenings were spent playing in the styrofoam and running around the Christmas house or riding in the delivery van while mom helped them deliver on Valentine's Day. Little did I know that 21 years later I would be spending my career as a florist in this same building doing these same types of work!
 

Due to health reasons, Aunt Karen and Granny sold the business in 2003. The new owners operated under the Reed's Floral name until 2007 when they closed the business permanently. Even though the flower shop was gone, the building remained with the Reed Family and was used as a rental for about 20 years.
 

After she sold Reed's Floral, Aunt Karen underwent two back surgeries. These surgeries left her disabled from her career as a florist but blessed to be able to care for my Granny when she needed her most. Our family mourned the loss of my Great-Grandmother, the matriarch of our Reed family, to congestive heart failure in 2017.

I graduated from Shelby Valley High School in May 2017 and enrolled in the business management program at Big Sandy Community and Technical College. There I completed my associates degree while working full-time for the Army Corp of Engineers at Dewey Lake. After Big Sandy I enrolled at Morehead State University to finish a bachelor's degree in Accounting. I knew I didn't plan to stay long-term with the Corp, but I didn't quite know what I planned to do for a lifetime.
 

My mom decided in December 2019 she would make a few Christmas wreaths at home and sell them on Facebook just to make some extra money. I began helping her with the wreaths and eventually decided I would try to make a silk casket spray. Even though everyone bragged on the finished product, I thought it was awful. I began watching YouTube videos and learning all I could about floral design. I found an interest I never knew I had! I loved designing flowers and using my creative freedom and talents. To put things quite simply, it just took off from there. I began taking flower orders on the side and working during the evenings out of a little building in the backyard at home, while still working full-time for the Corp. In order to buy supplies at wholesale prices, I had to be "official." I told mom that I wanted to use a business name similar enough to Reed's Floral for the community to know it was the same family. After much consideration, Reed Family Floral was born and I was the sole owner at only 21-years-old!
 

After Memorial Day 2021, Aunt Karen asked me "Why don't you buy the flower shop building and move, especially if you plan to do this forever?" That really made me think and, afterall, I had quickly outgrown my backyard shop. Could I actually quit the Corp and run a full-time flower shop? Did I have enough customers to make it? My mind wondered and ran wild trying to figure things out. I made a visit to the bank and we closed on the property in August 2021. I soon resigned my position for The Army Corp of Engineers and was now a full-time entrepreneur operating Reed Family Floral in the same building that Aunt Karen and Granny worked from. This building had made a full circle and was back in use as its original purpose - a successful, busy, community flower shop. I don't want to say "things have fallen into place" because I prefer to say "I'm blessed." I give all credit to God for blessing me with a talent I didn't know I possessed.
 

To sum things up, this is Our Story, but what I wouldn't give for Granny to know I carried on what she and Aunt Karen started all those years ago. Although I'm certain she would tell me how crazy I am, lol, all while she smiled inside with pride. Aunt Karen occasionally stops in the shop on the days she's feeling well. I know she wishes she was able to work by my side, as do I. Oh the things I could learn from her skill as a renowned florist! I can only hope I'm making them proud as I try daily to be a successful business owner, just as they were from 1982 until 2003.