By DAVID TELLER
Staff Reporter
Despite the name, Pistil Packin' Posies has nothing to do with firearms.
Owner Angela Hagedorn said the name of her new Cheney floral business came after just trying some different names to see how they ran to together.
Hagedorn officially opened her doors on Aug. 15 when she decided to formally establish her business after an increase in customers. She said her wedding and floral business was built on a word of mouth reputation and it was time to expand.
“This just happened out of necessity,” Hagedorn said.
A floral business was not what she wanted. When Hagedorn went to Spokane Community College she had plans to eventually open a greenhouse. She graduated with three horticulture degrees in 2004 and went to work. She began doing floral arrangements when she entered her name in a bridal festival registry. The calls just kept coming.
Realizing she needed a little more help, Hagedorn contacted one of her teachers from college, Loretta Etchison, to see how she runs her business. Hagedorn said her teacher thought Hagedorn would do well as a florist and encouraged her to continue as an entrepreneur.
Pistil Packin' Posies is a small shop. Hagedorn said she does mainly custom orders, focusing on weddings. She also does birthdays and funerals, but does not have a large inventory on hand because she said she does not want to deal with losing perishables.
“I'm obviously not a ‘Chet's,'” she said, adding that someone wanting to buy just one rose should go there because Hagedorn orders only want she uses.
Because she keeps a small operation, Hagedorn has focused on what she does best: Weddings. She said she has earned recommendations from reception hall venues like The Mac, Cozy Concept and Beacon Hill. She also said she has been referred by Spokane wedding photographer, Ifong Chen. Hagedorn also belongs to a referral and networking group called Inland Northwest Party Resources Organization (INPRO).
A floral business isn't all there is to her business. Hagedorn is offering consignments for handcrafted or second-hand “re-purposed” items. Re-purposed items began life as one thing, but are now used for something else. She has glass ashtrays, candy dishes and vases that are now yard sculptures. She also has a china plate on a candlestick that is now a cake plate.
She said the merchandise element of her business is not only for additional revenue, but she said there are a lot of creative people that need someplace to display their wares.
The floral business is on a trial run. Hagedorn is a para-educator at Salnave Elementary School where she works with Down Syndrome children. She is also a member of the Salnave Parent-Teacher Organization. Though she wants to see her business be self-sufficienrt, Hagedorn said she plans to remain with the school district, even if she see success with her floral shop.
Pistil Packin' Posies is located at 1006 First St. or call 235-POSY. She is open (tentatively) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. She offers free wedding consultation by appointment only.
Whether the business goes or it stays, Cheney is a stopping point for Hagedorn. She moved around a lot as a child, and that continued as her husband was in the Air Force. Now that he is retired, she plans to stay for a long time.
“This is home,” she said. “We love it here.”
David Teller can be reached at [email protected]
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