Melanie Gearhart said she made easy choice to take over former Richmonds Floral when shop became available
There is a lot of history for Melanie and John Gearhart in the flower and gift shop they recently purchased.
Melanie Gearhart said she started learning the flower business at the former Richmond’s Floral when she was a child. An aunt and uncle owned the shop after the Richmonds owned it, and she said she would often play inside the shop and was always interested in the flowers — and the shop.
“I actually have two aunts in floral design,” she explained. “Being around that all the time made me interested in it.”
And then in high school, she returned to Richmonds to work.
“I actually started here in ‘89 in high school in a vocational program where you could go out into the community. Some people worked at Boise and some people worked at the hospital, and I wanted to go into floral design so I came here to start with the vocational program.”
And that is when Melanie found a love for both flower design and her husband, John. The couple met while she was working there and the rest, as they say, is history. They eventually married and had three daughters. Gearhart said she kept her flower skills fresh by working at Streiff’s Floral in town, but always knew that she wanted to own Richmonds one day.
“I loved working here, loved the shop, loved doing flowers,” Gearhart said. “We were contacted about this business because Gail (Fish, the previous owner) was sick and wasn’t able to run it any more. They wondered if we were interested in purchasing it. It was a big surprise, but very exciting.
“I’ve always wanted the shop, always wanted to own it. We were pretty excited to get that call ... I’ve always wanted this business so right away it was a yes, for me anyway,” Gearhart said. “And my husband’s been wonderful, he’s been working like crazy around here,” since the couple took over the shop on Oct. 20.
And now the business, for the first time since opening, has a new name, according to Gearhart. The new business will be called Gearharts Floral & Gifts to reflect its new owners.
“It was important for us to put our name on it,” Gearhart said. “I really had a hard time deciding if should we change the name from Richmonds, because it’s been Richmonds forever and Richmonds are the ones that built the building. So I had a hard time deciding that, but we wanted to make it our own. Being that our story is here, we thought it would be nice to put our name on it.”
And now a new generation of young girls will have the opportunity to play in the store and learn the business, too.
“I have my three girls and they’re really excited about helping out. And I’m really excited about teaching them the business and how to design flowers,” Gearhart said.
And Gearhart added that she and her family are not the only ones excited about the opening of Gearharts.
“It’s fun to know that so many people are excited about us purchasing it,” she said, adding that community support has been nice.
Over the past few weeks, the Gearharts have been doing some remodeling, including painting and getting new carpet, which is a work in progress as they head into the busy holiday season.
“I think people will understand that we’re trying to remodel and move in while we try to service them for the holidays,” she said.
Gearhart said she hopes to use the on-site quonset greenhouse for bedding plants, as well as offer cut flower arrangements and gifts.
“I love doing fresh flowers, always have, so I’ll add a unique touch to fresh flowers that go out,” Gearhart said.
The couple is still deciding exactly what to order because they did not have a lot of time to plan the business before taking it over, she said.
“Because it was such a surprise for us, we don’t even know (what we’re ordering) yet,” Melanie explained.
And as for her personal touches: “Everybody has their own unique way of designing, everybody has their own unique style,” she said. “I want (customers) to know that they are getting something special, unique, and that they will be taken care of.”
The telephone number for Gearhart’s Floral and Gifts is 283-8141. Their hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
