SHOP TALK: 'Helping people out, making their day' at Norm's Flower Petal
Among the restaurants, spas and shops of downtown Mount Pleasant, is a sweet-smelling shop called Norm’s Flower Petal. Part of the community for over 50 years, Norm’s is now run by the founder’s son, along with a long-time employee, Linda Vogel.
Central Michigan Life sat down with Vogel for an interview to learn more about the colorful, calm and aromatic shop.
How did you end up working here?
I had a friend who worked here and I started puttering around. Eventually she retired, and I took her spot. I’ve been here about ten years now, but the store has been around (for) 50.
The owner, Alan, his dad started it. His name was Norm. People always come in and say “Is Norm here?” A lot of the time we just let it slide because it’s easier than saying no.
Do you have a favorite flower?
I do, and it’s not one we usually have in the store, but my favorite is the poppy.
I had a poppy plant that was given to me at my dad’s funeral, and I’ve just loved them since then. It was a red one, but we moved and it died, so now I have a purple one that blooms every year.
So, I like the poppy. And they will last for a couple days if you pick them and keep the water changed, but they don’t last as long, typically, as your other flowers.
Besides that I would say alstroemeria. It’s a Peruvian lily, they’re just teeny tiny lilies. That’s one thing we carry all the time because they’re a nice filler flower and we get them in all sorts of colors.
After 10 years, what kinds of things have you learned from working here?
I have learned which flowers die the quickest, and which you need to clean and strip everything off of.
Working with people … everyone’s a little different. With funeral work, you get people that come in and get it done right away, and others — they just don’t know what they want, and it can be very hard for them. So you just kind of work with them, sometimes you sit and cry with them.
What do you like about this place?
I like helping people, helping them decide what they want for weddings or funerals. I have a great boss — my mother is 84, so I take her to and from a lot of appointments. He’s really good about letting me come and go when I need to, so that’s nice.
What kind of difficulties have you run into along the way?
During COVID I wasn’t here, but just like (for) everyone else, it was hard. I didn’t work for two months, which was fine with me, but it’s hard when you’re sitting here and don’t get a phone call. At the time people were thinking they wouldn’t have the money to (shut down), but then no one really knew what was going to happen. But we made it through, so that was a good thing.
What role does Norm’s have in the community?
We try to help people out. We try to comfort people, brighten their day, or wish them happy birthday and happy anniversary. We play a role in quite a few people’s lives, just wishing them well.
Do you think there’s anything about the store that most people don’t know about?
I think a lot of people don’t realize that we carry more than just flowers and plants. We do sympathy stones and chimes, we have candles, stuffed animals, things like that. A lot of people might not realize that.
We just carry a little dab of a lot of items. We try not to overbuy because times change.
It used to be the blanket people always wanted at funerals, but then it went to wind chimes and lanterns or stepping stones, so it changes. We just try to keep a little bit of everything to help other people, but it’s hard. Especially when you’re dealing with a funeral, people don’t always know what they want.
What kind of flowers do people get most often?
It’s usually assorted flowers in bright colors. For funerals, usually they’re roses, a lot of times, gerber daisies, things like that. But red roses, of course, are the number one seller for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries and funerals.
I like my garden flowers at home, but for me to take home a bouquet? I don’t do it. My husband gets out of it for Valentine’s and anniversaries because, especially for Valentine’s day, I don’t want to see another flower.
People don’t realize that every rose, every flower that comes in has to be cut clean. We don’t just get them off the truck and, boom, throw them in a vase; it takes time. After many slices and pokes and things (my hands) are, well look at them now, sliced all up. My fingers are usually green and yellow. You don’t stay clean when you work here.
What do you think is in store for the future of Norm’s?
Hopefully, it’s business picking back up. Summer’s coming in, and sometimes during the summer it slows down a bit, but then when school — CMU especially — and grade schools kick back in, we get busier because everyone’s sending flowers to their kids or teachers who are going back to school.
It’s been harder since COVID, with delivering to the dorms. Now, we have to call the students. We used to be able to leave them at the front desk, but now we can’t. It certainly makes it more difficult, but we have to think of safety first.
If readers could take one message away from learning about you and this store, what would you want that to be?
We’re here for you to help you decide what you want. If you can’t make up your mind, we’d be happy to help.
We’ll have people call and they really don’t know what they want, so I’ll walk them through flowers. Helping people out, making their day.
