On the Historic Fourth Avenue in a concealed patio, the Flower Shop on 4th Avenue is a hidden gem with fresh flowers and a passion to create unique and artistic floral arrangements for the Tucson community.
The flower shop opened in 2015 and recently celebrated its fifth birthday in March, a week before the COVID-19 pandemic closures, according to Pati Velasquez, the Flower Shop on 4th Avenue’s manager and public relations coordinator.
“We’re just a local independent novelty flower shop and we have the best spot in town, I think, on the avenue,” Velasquez said. “It’s a really good, beautiful place to work. We live and breathe this place. We’re always here. We do events, but a lot has been postponed [due to COVID-19].”
The Flower Shop on 4th Avenue has been considered a BloomNation’s Best Florist in 2017, 2018 and 2019, according to the shop’s website.
The shop offers a variety of floral arrangements for numerous occasions, such as birthdays, sympathy, weddings and just because, according to its website.
Floral arrangements begin at $49.99 and up depending on the complexity and size of the design, according to Velasquez.
Along with traditional flower arrangements, the shop offers creative and artistic designs and recommendations to fit the needs of all its customers, according to the shop’s website.
“I really like the pink roses and the sunflowers and linear flowers such as snapdragons,” said Norah Schultz, the owner of the Flower Shop on 4th Avenue.
Unlike traditional large wire service flower companies, the Flower Shop on 4th Avenue has creative control over its designs and arrangements.
“We’re not a wire service. We’re not a slave to [Florists’ Transworld Delivery]; we completely have creative control over everything that’s on our website, everything that goes out the door,” Schultz said.
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Desiree Padilla, a floral designer at the shop and University of Arizona freshman studying molecular cellular biology, agrees with Schultz.
“Our shop is a novelty, so everything we do, we have a say in what goes out. It’s really like a tiny community. So it’s different from the other shops that I’ve worked at before,” Padilla said.
The Flower Shop on 4th Avenue works closely with local businesses and organizations on Fourth Avenue and Downtown Tucson, such as Johnny Gibson’s Downtown Market, HighWire Lounge and the Tucson Museum of Art, according to the shop’s website.
“So every partnership we have, we have a personal relationship with the people. A lot of the places are restaurants and stuff that belong to our friends or our work colleagues,” Velasquez said.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Flower Shop on 4th Avenue hosted classes and events at their shop, some of the events included flower crown making, art to flower classes and field trips from local schools, according to its website.
“We partner up with local breweries and we have a really tight-knit community over here. It’s basically a seasonal thing. So, if it’s fall, we make those dry flowers or we make flower crowns and that one’s really popular,” Velasquez said. “And it’s, you know, all walks of life that show up and then they get their favorite beer or wine from the bar. It’s like a field trip for grownups.”
During the pandemic, the Flower Shop on 4th Avenue hopes to create events that can be held virtually but are still in the process of coming up with ideas, according to Velasquez.
“I would love to do something virtually. It would have to be really, really engaging for everybody because you can see a million tutorials on YouTube and like we’re really hands-on,” Velasquez said.
Many local businesses have been deeply affected by the pandemic, but business for the Flower Shop on 4th Avenue continues to grow, adding more floral options on their website, despite the economic downturn, according to Velasquez.
“We kind of adjusted to just going with the flow on everything and we’re putting different stuff on the website and we’re busy and we’re happy, but we’re also very realistic,” Velasquez said.
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The Flower Shop on 4th Avenue looks forward to the future of creating beautiful arrangements for various events in Tucson, according to Velasquez.
“It’s a lot bigger than it looks, what we have going on and what we can do. It’s not just ordering a dozen roses for somebody, it’s also weddings and big galas for local foundations in our town,” Velasquez said. “We also decorate retirement communities and private houses for Christmas. It’s like we do everything.”
Velasquez wants to remind Tucson that the Flower Shop on 4th Avenue is here and ready to serve the community for any of its floral needs.
“Come and say hi and pick something up, you know, you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg, but you can come and get something for your kitchen sink or something that’s on your bedside table when you wake up,” Velasquez said. “Just a little happiness. This makes people happy and it smells good. If you’re next door just come say hi.”
The Flower Shop on 4th Avenue is located at 531 N. 4th Ave. They are open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Their phone number is (520)622-7673.
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