Being a florist, Angel Wall works with customers on the happiest and saddest days of their lives and everything in between at Meadow Rose Floral, Home & Gift. No matter what a customer’s vision is, Wall is proud to help them create their dream wedding or honour a loved one as their family gathers to say goodbye.
The Rosthern-based business provides flowers and giftware for many occasions and word has spread about Wall’s selection. She normally has customers coming in from Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Martensville, and Blaine Lake. One woman travelled all the way from La Ronge when a friend highly recommended Meadow Rose for their amazing items and pleasant atmosphere. Wall is proud to be the reason that this woman came to Rosthern, she says.
It all started when the former flower shop in Rosthern went up for sale, and Wall knew she wanted to start her next entrepreneurial venture. After crunching the numbers, filling out the paperwork, and seeking some small business advice from Sagehill Community Futures, she was able to open her new venture in April 2019.
When starting a business, the paperwork itself is no small feat, says Wall, especially when you have a short amount of time to apply for potential funding opportunities. The dedicated and supportive staff at Sagehill helped Wall make her business dreams come true without risking her financial stability and long-term savings while helping Wall focus on making her new store her own.
A lot of work went into remodeling the 20-year-old space, she says; including new flooring and expanding the back room, but Wall’s main goals were to modernize and rebrand her new business by creating an online presence and bringing in new product lines from across Canada.
Doing the research so she could bring in a modern selection from small Saskatchewan and Western Canada businesses was time well-spent, she says.
“People are wanting sustainable products, they're wanting quality pieces, they're wanting not your traditional giftware.”
And those customer needs didn’t change following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Wall, as she ensured gift-giving and funeral and wedding planning continued within pandemic guidelines.
“A COVID shut down was definitely not ideal within the first year of business, but we're weathering it and we're making it through,” she says.
Wall and her staff were able to power through and keep spreading joy throughout a difficult time. Even with restrictions in place to keep customers at home, Wall was able to offer contactless deliveries to Rosthern, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and even beyond, for special days like Mother’s Day and the Easter season as well as many days where people just wanted to spread happiness during difficult times.
“People started wanting to send their friends and family flowers. It became a novel idea to spread joy.”
And Wall wants to continue to spread joy as Meadow Rose and Rosthern continue to expand into the future. With talk of a new hospital being built in the Central Saskatchewan town, Wall can see the entrepreneurial and community growth potential that will come from that, and she hopes to a part of even more weddings and special days for her community. With that comes the potential for expanding her building, she says.
But growth, just like entrepreneurship, takes time and effort, and up and coming entrepreneurs can’t be afraid of hard work, says Wall.
“Be willing to put in long hours, but the long hours will pay off when you see something that's like your baby flourish into something that you dreamt it would be.”
Taking over the shop and turning it into Meadow Rose, Wall says she has learned to roll with the punches, even if one of the first punches you get is a global pandemic.
“Always believe in yourself, that you can do anything you put your mind to, and push past the fear, because greatness happens on the other side of fear,” she says.