Written By: Phaedra, a Pressed Bouquet Shop Designer
Have you heard the big news? If you follow our socials, you may have seen that we’re about to make some big changes to Pressed Bouquet Shop— for one thing, you won’t be calling us by that name for long! Not only are we rebranding, but we are also moving! We wanted to get you the inside scoop on these happenings, so we went to the person who knows this business best, CEO and founder, Amelia. We asked her some questions about the coming changes, and got some insight on where the team is headed (literally and figuratively). From Amy’s attic to our current 6,000 square foot facility, and to our soon-to-be new home, the Pressed Bouquet Shop journey has been a long and exciting one that will only continue, creating beautiful keepsakes and helping folks working here to find careers. We catch up with Amy on a cozy Friday morning. We’re all in PJ’s and sipping cocoa, as it is the Winter Extravaganza, put on by the party planning committee. Amelia is ready for our questions, and we can see her teeming to talk about these long-planned shifts in the company.
What led you to doing a rebrand?
I knew from the start of this business that we always had plans to grow in ways that would allow us to reach different goals…we knew that there are so many talents currently within the building, and that our team could learn new skills. We wanted to make sure we positioned ourselves so that we would be able to represent what our company could be in the future and not keep ourselves boxed into simply pressing bouquets should we branch out of that in the near future.
Why the move, and where are we headed?
Why are we moving? Because we are out of space! But, also because I really want to have [the building we are working in everyday] inspire our team of creatives. When I stumbled across the account that posted the space we are going to be moving into and learned that it was not only larger, but it also had beautiful designs to it and really exciting historic things going on with it we knew that was the right space to go.
How did you find the new space?
Oh my God, it was the craziest story: so I was on Instagram one night- and this was after we had toured a couple other business parks randomly- and I was just scrolling and I saw what turns out to be Platform Five had posted a photo of a different space they had for lease, got super excited about it. The next day I came in and told the office team, “Oh my gosh, this is for us, we have to go check it out.” Caitlin, our Director of Operations, and I went and checked it out. I really pushed to make it make sense for us, it was three floors, it just -- it wasn’t going to happen with what we needed to do. So, I was pretty bummed that it wasn’t making sense. And then, you know, I was talking to the owner of Platform Five, Haigai, for a while and he was saying: “you know I have this warehouse down in the West Ward...” After a couple of months went by and we found we had no movement on other spaces, I was like, let me just send this text and see if it’s still available, and it was, and met up with him a couple of days later and then the rest is history. So, Instagram worked in our favor yet again for this business.
That is such a great “finding our place” story! You mentioned the West Ward- for those who don’t know the area, where exactly are we moving to?
It is in Easton, Pennsylvania, going back to the first location of our first brick and mortar shop that we opened. It is in the West Ward. For those who don’t know what that area is, it’s off the circle about eight or nine blocks, on Northampton Street. The circle has main streets that go off of it like spokes and we’re off one of those streets, but far enough away where it’s still accessible with street parking and you do not have to pay for parking, but it’s close enough where you can walk to some great restaurants and shops.
I know our clients will love that! When will these changes be taking place?
They’re all taking place in 2024. When they’re going to take place is pretty much dependent on when everythings ready to go. We’re approaching this year by not holding ourselves to extreme deadlines and tight schedules, rather going with the flow a little bit more and making sure that, while we have a plan, we are following it with a grain of salt and we’re moving in when the time is right for everything. So we have a whole schedule planned out for when we’re going to start some minor construction projects to make the place make sense for us. Once all of that’s ready we’re really aiming for everybody to be moved in by April 1st– but again it depends on construction timelines.
Going with the flow is a great attitude to go into something like this with! So, with all of these changes will orders be affected and will products take longer to get to clients?
Great question, thank you for asking. No, they will not. We are in a position where we are going to be assuming our new location while we’re still finishing out our current lease. Meaning that our team will still be functioning to their normal capacity and there should be no downtime in workflow. The only times where the team may see interruptions are the days where they’re actually going to the new location and getting settled in for a few hours. That might be the only transition we experience.
That’s amazing! And what is our current turnaround time?
Our current turnaround time is six to twelve months. We leave it pretty broad to allow ourselves some flexibility to make sure we return the product to the customer in the best possible condition. And we’re always working to improve that!
Again, amazing. Will the products themselves change at any point?
Another great question. Our products will never go away from bouquet preservation, we’re always hoping to do that, and we’re always going to stick with our flagship frames and we’re going to always stick with resin preservation. We may introduce some product offerings within both of those divisions, and we may introduce a new division, but we’re going to stay true to our roots and do bouquet preservation for the long haul.
Any hints about possible new territory you want to cover?
The only hint, I guess, is that we really want to focus on being more accessible for the general public and finding solutions that can be more cost-effective for couples that may not want to spend, or cannot spend, a lot more money post-wedding. We do currently offer lower priced items, and we do not have order minimums! So our ring dish for $59, or our 6x6 frame that starts at $129 are two examples of our lower-cost items which we currently offer to clients. We hope to expand these options for couples.
Which of these changes are you personally most excited about?
Oh, good question. I’m the type of person who loves change, not because I like to get rid of the old but because I always am one who wants to embrace the new. So, I think I'm really excited about– I guess our rebrand first, in that we’re allowing ourselves the opportunity first to be aligned with new offerings, rather than the new offering and then having to go backwards and rebrand based on that.
And then second, i'm absolutely excited for our move because I think the location itself being in a community that is closer to NYC, closer to the Tristate area, will really allow us to offer more workshops, be more hands on within the community, and maybe do some things with the children in the area, get more involved with volunteer opportunities, and just be on a more populated street will allow us to show more face. [Laughter] I mean, while the warehouse is super vibey I’m not sure that this is the position for us for the long term. Hey, it served its purpose but if we have an opportunity to move elsewhere, I think, we’ve got to take it.
Absolutely! Sounds like everything is really coming together. Did you imagine that this was where you would be when you first made that initial piece?
Oh my god, no. When I first made that initial piece I was like --I mean I was always the type of person who's like, “ Can this be a business? Can this be my creative calling, while supporting me financially?” You know, like how can I make some extra income and use it to go to the grocery store an extra time a week, or whatever. But the fact that it's grown to where it’s at in that it’s not only allowing us to have close to thirty team members who have their careers through us, it’s also allowing us to allow those people to express their creativity every single day. That is something that I still kind of do an internal double-take at every day, and I'm like “Oh, this is real, like, there are real people who are into this and invested in this” and it– it’s just super exciting.
It really is! Okay, one last question– can you give our clients and wider community a hint about the new name?
I guess the hint I can give for the new name would be that we looked for something that stays true to our roots, but also allows us to branch into things that might be just outside of preserving bouquets. So, we’re still focused on nature but we are opening up to more possibilities.
Wow, so much is on the horizon! We appreciate Amelia taking the time to answer our burning questions, and we hope that you got some of your curiosity satisfied. The team couldn’t be happier to be on this journey with her, this business, and your most special flowers. We have all loved Pressed Bouquet Shop, but it’s almost time to say goodbye to that name and hello to… (you’ll know soon!)
