Field Floral owner Lee Matalone. Photos by Charlotte Matherly.
An Arts District storefront has traded soft serve for floral bouquets.
Field Floral Design opened May 1 at 311 W. Broad St., where ice cream shop Charm School previously operated.
It marks the first brick-and-mortar store for Field Floral owner Lee Matalone, who started her business about two years ago out of her then-home in New Orleans, organizing pop-ups and working at hotels, weddings and other venues and events.
When the Virginia native, who previously lived in Charlottesville and grew up near Washington, D.C., moved to Richmond last September, she had her mind set on opening a store.
“I came back and immediately started sort of looking for spaces and trying to be really immersed in the community, because that’s something that matters to me,” Matalone said. “Everyone’s really supportive and warm [in New Orleans] and I really love that energy and sort of wanting to foster that here, too.”
The shop is next to Common House social club on Broad.
The new shop keeps bouquets on display for walk-in customers to buy, and also provides arrangements for weddings and other events, and provides floral programs for hotels and restaurants. Field Floral also offers a subscription service for consistent flower deliveries.
Matalone sources her flowers from a variety of places, often getting blooms from local markets like the River City Flower Exchange. She said she especially loves “weirder” and tropical flowers, so she orders some internationally as well, but her selection changes every week.
Prior to becoming a florist, Matalone worked in academia, teaching literature and creative writing at LSU and Clemson. She had a love for flowers, so she started working with florists on the weekends. It’s a riskier industry career-wise than academics, she said, but she likes the physical work where she gets to move around more.
The florist occupies the 3,000-square-foot old Charm School space, which the soft serve shop left last fall in favor of a wholesale production location in Scott’s Addition and its other shop in Forest Hill.
Matalone leases the Broad Street space from owners Ted and Katie Ukrop. It’s adjacent to Common House, a social club and coworking space, and a few doors down from the Ukrops’ Quirk Hotel.
Ted Ukrop said with new apartments planned by Bank Street Advisors on the next block, he’s excited to mix tourists and visitors with residents in the area. He said Field Floral Design beat out a bakery and a coworking space that were also interested in the storefront.
“We always thought that a floral shop would be a great asset to the neighborhood,” Ted said, adding that it could be a good fit for Common House and Quirk Hotel, which regularly host weddings.
Prior to Field Floral and Charm School, the building had been the home of Quirk Gallery, which is now located in Quirk Hotel.
The Ukrops helped pay for the renovations for Field Floral — mostly constructing a big wall to separate the front of the store and clearing out some walls in the now wide-open workspace in the back. Matalone said the renovations totaled around $20,000.
The rest of the transformation was on a tight budget. Matalone reused counters left in the space from Charm School and purchased a $9,000 cooler for the flowers. The inside of the store is minimalistic with an alcove in the front window, bright periwinkle walls, several flower displays and this month’s art showcase — colorful, modern paintings by local artist and animator Jordan Bruner — lining the walls.
Matalone is working with other businesses on the block, hosting events like floral arrangement workshops and showcasing work by local artists in her store. She also plans to use the empty parking lot next to her shop for community events, like a local market, and bring more people out to the Arts District.
Field Floral owner Lee Matalone. Photos by Charlotte Matherly.
An Arts District storefront has traded soft serve for floral bouquets.
Field Floral Design opened May 1 at 311 W. Broad St., where ice cream shop Charm School previously operated.
It marks the first brick-and-mortar store for Field Floral owner Lee Matalone, who started her business about two years ago out of her then-home in New Orleans, organizing pop-ups and working at hotels, weddings and other venues and events.
When the Virginia native, who previously lived in Charlottesville and grew up near Washington, D.C., moved to Richmond last September, she had her mind set on opening a store.
“I came back and immediately started sort of looking for spaces and trying to be really immersed in the community, because that’s something that matters to me,” Matalone said. “Everyone’s really supportive and warm [in New Orleans] and I really love that energy and sort of wanting to foster that here, too.”
The shop is next to Common House social club on Broad.
The new shop keeps bouquets on display for walk-in customers to buy, and also provides arrangements for weddings and other events, and provides floral programs for hotels and restaurants. Field Floral also offers a subscription service for consistent flower deliveries.
Matalone sources her flowers from a variety of places, often getting blooms from local markets like the River City Flower Exchange. She said she especially loves “weirder” and tropical flowers, so she orders some internationally as well, but her selection changes every week.
Prior to becoming a florist, Matalone worked in academia, teaching literature and creative writing at LSU and Clemson. She had a love for flowers, so she started working with florists on the weekends. It’s a riskier industry career-wise than academics, she said, but she likes the physical work where she gets to move around more.
The florist occupies the 3,000-square-foot old Charm School space, which the soft serve shop left last fall in favor of a wholesale production location in Scott’s Addition and its other shop in Forest Hill.
Matalone leases the Broad Street space from owners Ted and Katie Ukrop. It’s adjacent to Common House, a social club and coworking space, and a few doors down from the Ukrops’ Quirk Hotel.
Ted Ukrop said with new apartments planned by Bank Street Advisors on the next block, he’s excited to mix tourists and visitors with residents in the area. He said Field Floral Design beat out a bakery and a coworking space that were also interested in the storefront.
“We always thought that a floral shop would be a great asset to the neighborhood,” Ted said, adding that it could be a good fit for Common House and Quirk Hotel, which regularly host weddings.
Prior to Field Floral and Charm School, the building had been the home of Quirk Gallery, which is now located in Quirk Hotel.
The Ukrops helped pay for the renovations for Field Floral — mostly constructing a big wall to separate the front of the store and clearing out some walls in the now wide-open workspace in the back. Matalone said the renovations totaled around $20,000.
The rest of the transformation was on a tight budget. Matalone reused counters left in the space from Charm School and purchased a $9,000 cooler for the flowers. The inside of the store is minimalistic with an alcove in the front window, bright periwinkle walls, several flower displays and this month’s art showcase — colorful, modern paintings by local artist and animator Jordan Bruner — lining the walls.
Matalone is working with other businesses on the block, hosting events like floral arrangement workshops and showcasing work by local artists in her store. She also plans to use the empty parking lot next to her shop for community events, like a local market, and bring more people out to the Arts District.
Great for her! Rushing Blooms is a block or two down the street and is absolutely slammed during graduation weekends and weddings, I’ve personally seen people leave who become impatient (one person team that curates your bouquet on the spot) so this should help balance the demand. We need more businesses to stick around E. Broad for a bit.
Good luck with your new venture! It’s looks like a beautiful space. Everyone needs more flowers in their life!
Flower Power!