By Mike Hazlip—
Lindsey Garvin says opening a new flower shop inside Sunrise Mall last weekend was a dream come true for her. The shop, Little Violet’s, is named after her one-year-old daughter and is located near the JCPenney entrance of the mall.
“I’ve been doing flowers and plants for over 10 years and I just thought I need to do this on my own,” she told The Sentinel in an interview. “Everywhere I was working, there was so much more potential and I just wasn’t able to expand my creativity as much. It’s just something I’ve been wanting to do for a really really long time.”
Little Violet’s officially opened its doors on Sunday, May 1, but the following Monday was the first full day for the business, Garvin said, calling the new venture she shares with her boyfriend “a little scary.”
Despite Sunrise Mall’s vacancy rate and a decline in foot traffic over the years, Garvin remains optimistic about the shopping center’s future. She hopes to gain some business from Royal Stage Preforming and Visual Arts, a recent tenant coming to the mall, and says there’s potential for growth.
“I have a lot of faith in Sunrise Mall bouncing back,” she said. “So I thought this would be the perfect time to get in.”
Related: 200-seat performing arts theater to open in Sunrise Mall
With 10 orders and counting already in for the weekend, Garvin said on Friday that she expects to have a busy Mother’s Day.
“I have a feeling this weekend is going to go really well,” Garvin said.
Garvin sells more than flowers at Little Violet’s, and everything is made in America by small business owners, she says. There are handmade greeting cards from New York and Massachusetts, gift bags from a woman in Utah, and puzzles by an artist in Georgia. Garvin makes the T-shirts herself.
Growing up with a father who worked in landscaping, Garvin is no stranger to horticulture. Some of her past clients included corporate businesses in the Bay Area with indoor plants that Garvin was tasked with keeping alive and healthy, she says.
“I’ve just been drawn to it my whole life, it’s in my blood,” she says.
Hours for the new store are Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays, according to the store’s website.