The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
European floral flair
Maureen's offers something different
By Sue G. Collins, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 29, 2007
Perched at her design bench in the corner of the bright new shop downtown Saline, Maureen White-Goeman is up to her elbows in anthurium, bouvaria, amaranthus and heliconia.
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These are the tools of her trade, the inspiration behind her creativity and just a few of the unusual blooms she will sell you by the stem or in an arrangement from her new flower shop, Maureen's Designs.
Jack and Maureen White-Goeman moved to Saline with their four boys a year ago and not long after started planning their new venture.
White-Goeman's family owned a flower shop in Bay City, where she worked for 20 years, and she has toured and trained in Europe, developing her love of floral design.
When she and Jack were looking at commercial space, they were attracted to the corner location at Murphy's Crossing, where Serendipity Studio had recently closed its doors.
The renovated space is like a never-ending spring day. The ceiling is robin's egg blue and the walls are celery green, lined with over-sized vases brimming with a palate of hot pinks, smooth whites, juicy citruses and bright greens.
Now, through the expansive windows, passers-by can feast their eyes on the new, lit display case in the shop's back corner, bursting with fresh cut flowers and ready-made arrangements. There are 5-foot-tall deep red roses from Ecuador and lofty stalks of ginger flowers from the tropics.
And, oh, the scents. If you think a carnation or rose fills the nose, try a stargazer lily or hyacinth, says White-Goeman. She believes in working with each customer to explore why they are buying flowers. Are they looking to impress? Is the scent important, or is there a color scheme to accommodate? Hoping for the biggest bang for a buck?
"We can do that," said White-Goeman, who will be in the shop nearly every day to lovingly unpack the fragile blooms that come from all over the world, pamper them while placing them in a proper display vases and coddling her stems throughout their stay at Maureen's Designs.
This "chain-of-life treatment" is crucial to the longevity of flowers, she says, and something that will be taken very seriously at the shop.
"We want the longest possible life for our high quality flowers so the customer can enjoy them for many, many days," White-Goeman said.
Customer service also will be extensive with a preference tracking system and one-to-one service, she said.
White-Goeman's husband, a residential Realtor, has helped with the business logistics for Maureen's Designs, affiliating the shop with Teleflora, developing a Web site, www.maureensdesigns.com, and a planning for a wide-spread delivery area.
For an Easter centerpiece, White-Goeman is suggesting an original topiary made of fresh flowers, which will stand tall on the dinner table, not hindering conversation. Or, she is offering over-sized pastel colored egg cups filled with little posies to line the center of the table or dot each place setting.
With prom season approaching, she already has some and unique ideas for young couples and hopes to be busy this season helping brides with wedding flowers.
Just need a good, strong dose of spring? "Come on in, pull up a stool to my bench and breathe deep," suggests Goeman. "I hope people will feel free to stroll in, wander around the shop and feel at home. We just love this town so much and feel we have a very good fit here."
Maureen's Designs is located at 101 S. Ann Arbor St. and can be reached at 429-0700.
Sue G. Collins is a staff writer and can be reached at 429-7380 or scollins@heritage.com
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