Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Dukes.
Hi Debbie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am married to Brad, we have 3 beautiful girls, and we have called Toledo our home for the past 19 years. My degree in Floral Design and Marketing is from Ohio State. After working 16 years with a college ministry (and every so often doing wedding flowers for my friends’ weddings), I decided in January 2019 to step back into working with flowers full-time.
In September of 2019, we started The Flower Mercantile – a few dreams on the list but flexibility on what shape this floral business would take. In January 2022, it became really clear that The Flower Mercantile was a wedding and event floral company. We have shifted our focus to working with clients for weddings and events in the 419 area, with a willingness to travel further for some clients.
We were shocked to see the steady growth in our business even though covid. We have grown mainly on word of mouth, and by using The Knot to connect with potential clients who maybe haven’t heard of us. We have a current team of 3 and in addition, my family helps a ton and is very supportive.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a pretty smooth road, but like any growing business, there is still the constant wonder if people will reach out and book our services. Is our pricing right? We wonder if they go a different direction was there something we could have done differently to help them?
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are 80% a wedding floral business, the other 20% of our business comes from our return customers who love our work and want us to send flowers to their loved ones. We currently don’t advertise this service but we love working with our clients, so when they reach out and ask we do everything possible to try to accommodate which might include asking if they have flexible dates for delivery so we can always pull from the best flowers we have coming.
We don’t keep flowers in our space at all times, we only order them when we have special orders. We offer arrangements for Mother’s Day. That is the main Holiday we offer flowers for. At Christmas we host about 6 wreath workshops- you purchase a ticket to come and we walk you through creating a fresh evergreen wreath. One of my favorite things is providing a space for others to be creative and giving them the tools and encouragement to create something beautiful they can be proud of…..no experience is necessary for our classes.
Probably what I am most proud of is just our desire to work hard for our couples. To create something beautiful for their day. We work hard to listen to their vision and work with them to create something wonderful.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
We have been in Toledo for 18 years and it is just amazing to watch it continue to be transformed.
Over the last 5 years, as I have become a small business owner using social media to connect with people, I have noticed more and more of Toledoan’s pride in this city. I love watching the revelation projects happening Downtown.
I enjoy seeing all the small businesses grow, and the way people support and encourage creativity in our city. Art is all around us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theflowermercantile.com
- Instagram: @TheFlowerMercantile
- Facebook: The Flower Mercantile
Image Credits
Jordyn Renee, Amanda Collins Photography, Abby Collins – Knots & Pines, and Megan Larson Photo
