Ever tried to move a flower shop? Its easy! Just get an elephant and a strong rope, hook it on and pull real hard.... Or something like that. December 1999

This month we asked people who had moved about their experiences and if they had advice for others. Judy, of Fairfield Flowers (Eugene OR) moved because they were in a really old building and the landlord was just not interested in fixing things and keeping the place in good shape. She finally had enough and found a much nicer building 2 blocks away on the "better" side of the street with easier traffic access. "The new layout gives the same amount of display space but the work room is larger and the overall layout is better". She also reminded me that her new cooler is much bigger and since I’m the one who put it in you can learn a secret. After we put it up, Judy came to look and noticed what I had not- It only left a 26" wide aisle way from the front of the shop to the work area in the rear. "Well", she said philosophically, "I guess we can turn sideways and make it down this corridor OK." I said no way, pushed her out the door and told her to come back in the morning. We worked all night and had the 16' cooler torn apart, reduced by 18" and re-assembled by 6 AM.

Judy planned her move over 2 months and hired a moving company to move 90% of the shop. "They did it all in 3 hours and I highly recommend it. They took everything in one load and their big lift gate made it easy. If I had tried to move it myself I would have had to rent a truck and hire people anyway and it would have cost more than the $600 I paid them anyway."

It was the right thing to do. Our building is cool in the heat, warm in the winter and .. not dirty! We did cause customer confusion by moving to the other side of the street and even after 4 years we occasionally get people who have "just found us again" because they were looking on the wrong side of the street.

An anonymous shop in the Portland area did things the carefully planned but unexpectedly fast way. "We knew the building was going to be demolished for a shopping center and a year ago I started looking for other places. Finally found just the right place, signed contracts, put down earnest money and... had someone else buy it out from under me with only 2 months to go before we needed to be out of the old place." She quickly looked for whatever was available and found a spot 2 blocks away but while workable, it is really not what she wanted.

The White Rose (Albany OR) didn’t get along too well with the old landlord so Jim and Jim up and moved 2 whole blocks away from one old bank building to another. "The old place had 4 vaults which we used as offices and storage and this new one has one too so we store dried material there. Can’t be any drier and more air tight than a vault so things keep well there. Our walk by traffic is much higher here, parking is better and the extra 1,500 square feet is useful for our BIG displays. The logistics of the move itself were difficult with coolers needing to be moved and rebuilt and the general problems of having things in two locations for a few weeks. The overall moving costs were higher than expected because we had to do some remodeling that we had not counted on but overall it was a very good thing."

Advice- "Plan ahead and be willing to change your plans at the last minute."

Jim Fisher of Grand Avenue Florist (Portland OR) was in need of more room and moved from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet. "We didn’t have enough room for work or for display and this new location gives us not only more of both of those but an indoor parking area for staging deliveries as well. We knew our lease was coming up for renewal and we were not satisfied with where we were so we started thinking, and planning and from thinking to move in was 6 months. The biggest advantage besides the extra room is the good neighbors on all sides and the excellent parking but the trade off is that we are now in an old building, not in the best of shape. An unexpected advantage is the unique coffee shop next door and its fun customers which we get to enjoy as well.

Advice: Try to get all loose ends wrapped up quickly so the move is done fast. I have seen many shops with paper over their windows for months and that’s not good at all."

Clatskanie Floral (Clatskanie OR) was forced to move due to frozen and then leaking water pipes in the shop ceiling. which the building owner just never seemed to care about getting fixed. Kay moved the operation to what had been a pizza parlor right on the highway and finds the added visibility and her new Beanie Baby sign bring in a lot of new customers. "We have drawn people from all over to those Beanie Babies. One from Scotland and from all over the US and Canada.

Debbie at the Tree House (Cave Junction OR) moved in September of ‘98 and advises a summer time move if at all possible. "It was difficult doing the move right when we wanted to set up for the fall and Christmas but it was worth it in the long run." The old location was a huge building with a coffee shop and lots more to draw customers but "we were an "up town" type of shop in a non up town town." They moved from a big space to a much more compact space and its "small & cozy and looks filled rather than half empty. Our customers have commented on this and they like it much better. We dropped the coffee shop, floral sales are up and we are happy."

Baker City Floral (Baker City OR) described a move from Hell that turned into Heaven. Jeanne Schroder shared that her shop’s move was the result of the building being sold. "We had a corner location so the new owner (who really wanted our spot to expand his own business) decided to raise our rent." It was a very stressful and costly time until they moved up the street a couple of blocks into an old appliance store. "I did the bare minimum for decorating. A fresh coat of paint and a border wall paper. You can imagine what "old appliance store" carpeting looks like. To hide it Jeanne brought in "old fashioned Victorian style, floral area rugs" which she bought from a local carpet business. Everybody who sees them loves them ad wants to know where to get one so we send lots of referrals."

"The first year after the move was tough because people seemed to think that since the shop left the old building that we had "left the country" but one really wonderful result of the move is that the new shop is really "me". I wanted to go with a more Victorian look because there are so many wonderful Victorian homes in Baker. I was tired of "boots and wagon wheels" for a decorating theme. Also the old location had it’s own local history which I could never get past. An old appliance store doesn’t have a history so I can make one of my own.

Anonymous- In a mall built in 1975. "We are planning to move in the summer of 2000 and since our name is the same as the mall we plan to stay on the street which shares that name, within 1 mile. We have found that the mall management doesn’t treat the small shops well at all and they even use another florist to send flowers to new stores opening in the mall. That’s frustrating! The rent outside the mall is about the same as inside but the big advantage is that we will be able to set our own hours rather than be stuck with mall hours and we can take the 4^th of July and other holidays off without being penalized.

Hungerford Farms (Portland Colton OR)is moving too as we reported a few months ago. Our target date is June to be completed and fully moved. A friend commented that we were going to make that in good shape but I had to point out that the target was LAST June, not next June and we are 6 months behind at this writing. Oh well, when you build it yourself it does take time.