Carol Shields answered phone calls Monday morning with the same sad news for each caller: “We’re going out of business.”
After blooming for 35 years, Shields Floral Boutique in Hazel Dell is closing.
“It’s been such an honor serving all the people of Clark County. I love them as if they’re family,” said Shields, who is retiring to tend to her ill husband, Larry Shields.
The store at 8302 N.E. Highway 99 was getting emptied Monday, and those helping Shields clear her inventory with one last purchase have only through the end of business Tuesday to do so. By Wednesday, the doors will be locked for good.
“It really kills me to do this,” Shields said, surveying what remains of her colorful career as tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t believe it’s at the end.”
Most of what’s left are artificial flower arrangements in dozens of sizes and shapes from all corners of the rainbow. Shields has marked everything down, as the giant banner outside the store says, by 65 percent or more. Whatever doesn’t sell is likely bound for Goodwill.
The closure has been tough on Shields, but what she feels the most is gratitude.
“I don’t want anybody feeling bad for me,” said Shields, 71. “I’ve had the greatest ride.”
Though the florist has had several locations over the years, the final 5,800-square-foot space had it all — a giant walk-in cooler, ample room for displays and dedicated workspace for designers. In the leadup to Valentine’s Day last year, hundreds of fragrant designs filled the shop. This year, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, the same space was filled with scattered moving boxes.
It was her employees, Shields said, who made any of it possible.
“I had a great staff,” she said of Carl Hudson, Jason Westman, Anita O’Daniels and her driver, Diane. “I couldn’t have done this without them.”
In her years in business, Shields also learned to transpose a love for her work to a love for her customers.
“Where a lot of people lose it is where they don’t make customers feel a little comfortable,” she said. “It’s not all about the bottom line.”
Small things like offering coffee or a cookie, she said, made all the difference. Shields worked with people who often were celebrating or mourning, so having a familial relationship, rather than a cold business transaction, was important.
“If the world has forgotten one thing, it’s that you have to care more about people,” she said.
A young man who stopped in Monday looking for a Valentine’s Day flower delivery offered Shields a hug and condolences. A woman who called from Missouri brought a smile to Shields’ face — all these years, and all that distance, and she still gets her flowers from Shields Floral Boutique.
“There are a lot of things in this world that are tough,” Shields said, “but you have to take care of things as they come along.”
