Kent Florist blossoms into its 10th year

Ann Scarlett had her own flower shop in her 20s but then started working for other people when she got busy with raising a family. When the opportunity to have her own business came up again, and with her kids all grown, it seemed like the perfect time to go for it.

Ten years later, and Kent Florist is still welcoming new and returning customers through its doors.

Now Scarlett works with her daughter, Beth Rescorl. She has worked on and off in the store through university, but has now spent the last five years working alongside her mom. “We usually get along really well,” Scarlett said.

Having different generations working together has been beneficial for the business. “It’s nice having me as an older perspective and Beth knowing all the social media aspects of it,” Scarlett said.

With the slogan ‘more than just a flower shop,’ Scarlett says it’s always interesting to see how different people have different ideas of what the store is. “Some people think we’re just a gift shop, because they’re maybe from out of town; people who are from Lindsay often just think of us as a flower shop.”

The store has a variety of items, from candles, soaps, jewellery, towels, table runners, and more.

Flowers are something people reach for in “all their happy and sad occasions,” Scarlett said.

During the days of lockdown, the business continued to thrive. Having delivery made it easy for people to send flowers to each other when they couldn’t go to events or see their family. With Scarlett and Rescorl part of the same household, it made it possible for them to still work out of the store together and fulfill orders.

At the same time Kent Street was a construction zone with the downtown revitalization in progress. “We have lovely big windows, so we did displays and priced everything in the windows, and then people could pick up out back.”

With events always happening downtown, Scarlett and Rescorl are happy to be a part of the community. They find the businesses down the street are supportive of one another, and they enjoy giving back to the community when they can.

The next big event lined up for them is Lindsay’s downtown block party on Sept. 12 and 13. “We’re making crowns and halos with kids out front for the day,” Scarlett said.

“We’ll also be donating to a local charity,” Rescorl said.

Christmas stuff is already starting to come in, as this is a business where planning ahead is key. “If I had a crystal ball and I could just tell what was going to sell and then we just order perfectly,” Scarlett said, that would be ideal.

“Every day is a new experience, there’s always something new to learn and do. You just have to be creative and come up with different ideas,” Rescorl said.

As for Scarlett, she feels Kent Florist has made it to 10 years by “moving forward and doing new things.”

The shop also will host classes for things like making flower arrangements, which they advertise on their Facebook page @TheKentFlorist and Instagram @floristkent.