Ep # 180 - How A Norwood Florist Wins With Care Over Clicks

A bouquet isn’t just decor. It’s an apology, a celebration, a thank you, a quiet show of support and sometimes the only words someone can’t find. We talk with Joanne from K Flowers And Design in Norwood, New Jersey, about what really happens inside a neighborhood flower shop and why the most important ingredient isn’t a rare rose or a trendy ribbon, it’s care.

Joanne shares her family’s path through the floral industry, from early days selling in Manhattan and Queens to running a storefront in Haverstraw, New York, and finally opening K Flowers And Design in Norwood about five years ago. We dig into the practical reality of running a small local business, competing with online flower delivery sites, and building loyalty through thoughtful floral arrangements that fit any budget. You’ll hear how her mom’s warmth and attention to detail turn quick transactions into relationships, and why that matters when flowers are tied to real emotions.

We also get into changing customer trends: recurring flower deliveries for partners, dads shopping with kids, and the shift from big weddings to smaller, more intimate events with simpler centerpieces. If you’ve ever called yourself a “brown thumb,” we cover plants too, including how to choose low maintenance houseplants and what to ask for so your greenery actually survives. Listen, share with a Bergen County neighbor, and if you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review.

K Flowers And Design
540 Livingston St
Norwood NJ 07648
201-525-8477
K.flowersanddesign@gmail.com
kflowersanddesign.com

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast

Intro/Close 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.

Doug Drohan 0:11

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast brought to you by the Bergen Neighbors Media Group. I am your host, Doug Drohan. Today we have a very special guest because I have to say, after almost 200 episodes, I have not had a florist and design company on the show. So I'd love to welcome Joanne of K Flowers and Design based in Norwood, New Jersey. Welcome to the show.

Meet K Flowers And Design

Joanne 0:33

Hi, Doug. Thank you so much for having me.

Family Roots In The Flower Trade

Doug Drohan 0:35

Yeah, thank you for joining. I, you know, as I just said, we haven't had a florist. I've had many different business owners on the show. Um, and it's great to kind of dig into the world of flowers and design and um, you know, what's behind and how you guys compete with, you know, 1-800 florists, which has been around a long time, or maybe not compete with them, because maybe, you know, if I go on you know, florist.com or whatever, they might send me to you. But uh let's let's go back a little bit. So your parents own the shop. How long has it been open?

Joanne 1:07

Uh I would say that it we have now been open for around close to five years now.

Doug Drohan 1:13

Okay, so it's relatively new. Yes. Post post-COVID.

Joanne 1:17

Yeah, post-COVID. It's it was the best time to open up a store.

Doug Drohan 1:22

Yeah, yeah, not during COVID or right before it.

Joanne 1:25

Um yeah.

Doug Drohan 1:26

So how did your parents, you know, get into the flower business?

Joanne 1:31

Um, I would say that flowers has always been around for as long as I can remember. My parents really started out in the floral industry in the early 90s, working outside of, you know, small bodegas and delis in Manhattan and Queens. And then in the early 2000s, they actually opened up their first store in Haverstraw, New York, which they ran, yeah, which they ran for over about a decade. Um, and then after, you know, some changing circumstances, my mom just continued to work in the field, uh, including several years in Cloister and Montvale. And then, you know, we found our way back to our original roots and opened up a store again here in Norwood.

Doug Drohan 2:12

Nice. So you guys are originally from the Queens, New York City. That's where you grew up. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I used to live in uh well from Long Island, but I lived in Astoria and I worked in Manhattan. I lived on 26th Street, and I lived on uh Bleecker Street and Thompson.

Joanne 2:28

It's so different from what it is today, yeah.

Competing With Online Flower Giants

Doug Drohan 2:31

Yeah, yeah, I guess. But and New Jersey's a lot different from New Jersey is so different. Yeah. I mean, I that was a big thing. Like if I was getting uh flowers for a date, I would just walk into a Korean uh, you know, one of the like I guess not really a Korean deli, but I guess the um on almost every corner there was a a um vegetable and fruit, you know, place with like the clear film. Yeah, like the great thing about the city is like I get off the subway and I just go buy my dinner and I get this and I go shop there, I go shop there, and at any hour too. Yeah, yeah. So it was good. That was good for people that do things last minute, which is what I was pretty good at. Um so all right, so you open up in in Norwood five years ago. Um I'm trying to think because I live in this area. Is there, I mean, okay, there's a florist uh similar to you in Cloister. Um the empty vape. Well, no, I won't I won't say their name because I don't want to give them a plug. But anyway, so how do you how do you guys compete? Like what's your answer to competition? I mentioned, you know, the the dot-com uh businesses. So like what has the company done all these years to you know to kind of survive and thrive?

Joanne 3:48

Well, you know, as a small business, I think that we've just learned how to balance the realities of running a business while staying true to why we originally really started. Um, I would say that my mom, if you have ever met her, she is incredibly selfless, warm, and generous. And she is the biggest reasons why customers continue to return. No matter what you can spend, she ensures that you receive an arrangement that feels thoughtful, beautiful, and meaningful. Like every piece that leaves our shop carries not just flowers, but care, intention, and love. She really spends her time on every single piece. She will uh have conversations with customers to really understand what is going on, to be able to cater to the situation at hand. And we understand that arrangements are, you know, often represent meaningful emotions of other people, and we really want every recipient to truly feel that. So I think that would be the main reason why people keep coming back.

Doug Drohan 4:49

Yeah, yeah. And then, you know, there's typical um occasions why people buy flowers, but is there is there been a trend of people getting arrangements or flowers for beyond the normal like anniversaries, sympathies, you know, Mother's Day type of um, you know, occasions, or is it pretty much steady throughout the decades?

Joanne 5:13

No, I think that that's one of the most beautiful things about being in the floral industry. You really are able to see the behind the scenes of moments that other people celebrate because we have some we have some customers who just buy flowers, right? They buy their flowers for the significant other. It's a preset order that is put in, you know, we know every three months to send out a dozen of pink roses in this couple grabbing. Yeah, we really pay attention to consistent customers as well and kind of get to the flow of what you like and what you want.

Doug Drohan 5:50

Yeah. Uh you know, I never thought of that. That's a nice spouse to always have flowers on a on a uh, you know, like a shopping, what is it, the prime, you know, prime uh whatever, you know, have it on a regular basis. That's that's a good deal. Uh a good deal. I mean, a good a good thing to do for your uh for your significant other. It's nice. So um yeah.

Joanne 6:13

Uh we also have like fathers coming in with their daughters to pick out arrangements, yeah. They'll drag their uh dads in and pick out whatever they want because we also offer stuffed animals, so then drag their parents in because we're in like a plaza area. So while they're walking by, they can just grab whatever and go.

Weddings And Smaller Event Trends

Doug Drohan 6:34

All right, and go next door and get a coffee at the tasting room, yeah. So um obviously, when you think about flowers and floral uh arrangements, you think about weddings, right? Is that a big part of your business doing uh centerpieces and weddings?

Joanne 6:50

I would say our previous focus was really big weddings. Now, more so my mom, we get a lot more parties and intimate events. She does a few weddings, just not um on a super huge scale because we are still fairly new, so we don't have too many hands on deck.

Doug Drohan 7:09

Right, right. To do somebody, yeah. If you're doing a you know, a wedding in New Jersey or Bergen County, it could be 150. It's gonna be big. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And you know what? I think there's a trend nowadays, like people, the younger generation that you might fall into don't do the big elaborate weddings anymore. Um, you know, they're more casual. They're still buying flower arrangements, I think, but it's not like the big, like, I'm gonna be Princess Die for five hours kind of thing.

Joanne 7:36

You know, definitely not. It has died down a lot more. Casual and more simple arrangements um are now the trend.

Easy Plants For Brown Thumbs

Doug Drohan 7:45

Okay. Now, aside aside from uh, you know, what you might think of from a flower design business, you also offer plants, right? So what how does that um like if I wanted a tree, like a FICA tree in my house? Or um I I think that the challenge with somebody like me, or I hear this from a lot of people, is that I'm just gonna kill it. You know, I put anything live in my house, it's gonna die within, or I go away on vacation, or does it get enough sun? Is it gonna get enough water? Like um, you know, people will say I'm a brown thumb, not me personally, but that might say that about themselves. So is that something you're seeing you guys cater to that um crowd where people want plants in their house?

Joanne 8:28

Oh, absolutely, Doug. Believe it or not, just because I am the daughter of a florist does not mean that I know how to maintain a plant either. We um offer a wide range of plants actually from all different sizes, but also for different levels of knowledge, right? So we have plants where you could just purchase it and leave it out. My mom will instruct you on how you need to properly take care of it. We have some plants that you could just leave out, water it uh once, and then kind of not come back to it until like two months later. So it really all depends.

Doug Drohan 9:03

Yeah. And I know there's a lot of um benefits, you could even say health benefits or psychological benefits to having a plant in your room or in your house. Um, you know, it's it definitely adds to the decor, but there's more to it than that. Um, but uh yeah, I have a fake phyto tree in my house. I you know, but you know, I get one near the window, it'd be nice.

Joanne 9:26

Uh it's alive and well though, so that's all that matters.

Doug Drohan 9:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it looks good. Looks good. You can't tell it's fake, except for the fact that it's in a dark place in the house. So it's like, how's it getting the sun? You know. Um, speaking of that, with with lack of sun, do you like, you know, some people get the big lights and things like that. They're gonna grow. I I've seen something, and I don't see that your company offers this, but I've seen people that grow vegetables in their house in this kind of uh vertical garden. Have you seen those? Is that something people might ask you for?

Joanne 9:58

Or um we've actually we've never really had those. I think um those are more for specific flowers that you want to just keep indoor grown. We more so buy outdoor grown flowers. Okay that yeah, but they last for a very long time because we aim for the quality.

Growing Up With Entrepreneur Parents

Doug Drohan 10:24

Yeah. So all right, so five years. I always ask people, um, you know, I have a lot of doctors on the show and people from all different backgrounds, what is it like being a business owner? And now you're you have a different perspective because you're the the child of business owners, so you get to live it whether you like it or not. You know, it wasn't your choice. What has it been like? Let's just because you're the one talking to me, what's it been like for you being the daughter of entrepreneurs? Uh, has it been inspirational? Has it been frustrating? Uh, I know, you know, when I ask people, there's like one word that they use to describe it, they say roller coaster. You know, there's ups and downs, and there's good times and there's bad times. Um, like what has it been like for you as a daughter of you know, business owners, entrepreneurs?

Joanne 11:14

That is a loaded that's a that's a load of well.

Doug Drohan 11:16

I don't want to, yeah. I mean, I'm sure like I I know people whose parents, I mean, luckily you're not in the restaurant business because I think that's the toughest, the toughest business for your parents to say, come help out, because those those hours are yeah, they're never ending.

Joanne 11:29

Um, I would say it has been kind of everything, and in between that as well. From a very young age, my first memory is my parents, you know, coming home from work and really watching them just move around. My parents would bring my sister and I to the store all the time. So we grew up moving with my mom and dad. I think that as an adult now, I can reflect back and I'm absolutely truly grateful for those experiences and those moments because that has instilled the work ethic that I carry to this day. And I can only say that it's from my parents. But I would also say that as a child of entrepreneurs, it has been very frustrating because as an entrepreneur, there are moments where I know that there's a theory called the rubber ball theory or the ball theory. Um you're juggling multiple balls at the same time, and not every one you drop may be important. You know, there are some balls that are rubber. If you drop it, it'll come back, and then there's some that are glass. And I think that my parents did a great job with what they were given to try and not drop as many glass balls as possible. But I do think, you know, as I was saying, as an adult, now I can really reflect back and they they might have thought that those were glass balls back then, but now I view it as rubber balls because we've come back and I understand the decisions that they have made um to to be where we are today.

Doug Drohan 13:02

Yeah, yeah, that's great. And a lot of children of entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs themselves. Uh like what what's your like, you know, where do you want to go? Have you ever thought of it? I again I'm putting you on the spot. You don't have to answer, but you know, sometimes people say, Yeah, no, I would never do that. Or people say, Yeah, I can't imagine working for someone else and you know, going to the city and commuting every day.

Marketing Through Instagram And Pop Ups

Joanne 13:26

I mean, I would definitely love to explore the field of being an entrepreneur. I currently am some sort of a boss right now. So, you know, managing everything, seeing it, I definitely do have the skill set for it based off of my observations over the years. So it is a field that I definitely think that I will explore and you know, probably see through.

Doug Drohan 13:50

Yeah. And what uh in terms of marketing, what do you guys do when it comes to getting your name out there in the community?

Joanne 13:59

Well, we run an Instagram page uh and we also have a website, k flowersanddesigns.com. We are also very interactive uh through Google reviews. So whoever comes by, we kind of just respond back and forth. I think that as for marketing though, that's as far as we go. We try and go the social media route, but occasionally now that the weather is also getting nicer, we might do little pop-ups here and there in the towns to show face.

Doug Drohan 14:30

Yeah, that's nice. I mean, you know, every town around here has a town day. Norwood, North Valley, Park, Altapan, everybody's got a town day. Um always a chance to put a table up, um, you know, if you wanted to. But yeah, listen, the community part, the outreach, like there is not a huge amount of competition in Northern Valley, but at the same time, a lot of people don't know you exist, you know, where you guys are located on that strip. Uh, you know, you're near Verana, you're near Dunkin' Donuts. But um, you know, I think that's another challenge that a lot of businesses have is like, oh, I have an Instagram page and like I but I don't follow you. How would I know you're there? You know, so it's it's great. I think what really drives you know your business is what you said in the very beginning. It's the way, especially your mother treats every customer and the emotional part of what you do, because there's you know an emotional part to every decision that people make uh when it comes to purchasing. And uh, I don't know if there's anything more you know emotional than giving flowers and receiving them. I know my wife uh loves when I bring flowers home for her. So um, you know, there's something about the aroma, about the look, uh, what it does to the room, what it does to the V, you know, you bring it, put it in the kitchen. It's just great. So I think um, you know, obviously when it comes to how you treat your customers, that's the best marketing you could do, right?

Joanne 15:58

Yeah, it's the closeness factor. You know, everyone who walks into the store, we we know pretty much a good chunk about their life. You know, everyone's coming in with a different story. Either you are trying to get well flowers, who are they for? You know, we want to know, we care, and we really want to ensure that when you come to pick up the arrangement that you are paying for, you're very happy with it. And then whoever else is on the receiving end of it, when they receive that, they just feel nothing but warmth and beauty.

Location Hours Website And Phone

Doug Drohan 16:31

Yeah, that's great. So, is there anything you want? Uh I didn't ask you that you'd like to get uh, you know, like our audience to know about. Have we touched on everything? For I mean, of course, we have to say, where are you located? And the phone number and the website. So why don't we go there? So you're in Norwood, you're on Livingston Ave. I mentioned you're next to Verana. Um, what what's the exact address?

Joanne 16:54

Uh we're located at 540 Livingston Street in Norwood, New Jersey. We're open from nine to six Monday through Friday, and then nine to five on Saturdays. On Sundays, we're closed because the big bus needs rest.

Doug Drohan 17:08

Yeah, yeah, I would think so. And for those that are driving up Livingston from say Harrington Park, it's on the right hand side. If you're coming down from Northvale, it's on the left hand side. Um, and then the website is Kflowersanddesigns.com.

Joanne 17:25

You can also find us on Google or give us a call at 201-525-8477.

Doug Drohan 17:33

That's great. Well, Joanne, I really appreciate you joining. And uh it's great getting your insight because I haven't had uh, you know, these the child of a business owner on the show yet. So this is cool. No, I mean it's not like I, you know, you're not 10 years old. I mean, you're an adult, so it's great. And I um, you know, I appreciate you joining and and stay with me for a minute. We're just gonna have Chuck say a few words, and you and I will be right back. All right.

unknown 18:00

All right.

Intro/Close 18:01

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen.com. That's gnpbergen.com or call 201 298 8325.