Business Monday: Grace Flowers Hawaiʻi ready for busy week before Valentine’s Day

After 14 years in business, Alison Higgins knows how to prepare for a week of walk-ins and last-minute orders with Valentine’s Day approaching.

On Saturday, she organized orders and ensured her shop, Grace Flowers Hawaiʻi, would have more inventory than usual to provide the community this week with beautiful flower arrangements for family members, friends, spouses and sweethearts.

She opened Grace Flowers Hawaiʻi in Honokaʻa in 2012, but her experience with plants and flowers goes back further.

“I have been around plants since I was born on the Big Island,” Higgins said. “My parents had a nursery in Waimea, and I remember making bouquets at 9 years old. Later, I helped in my parents’ nursery, working with all kinds of plants. I’m lucky that my only jobs have been in nurseries or as a florist.”

Higgins gained experience at the Fairmont Orchid in Waikōloa, arranging bouquets and centerpieces for weddings and corporate events at the hotel.

After a few years in the business, Higgins opened her own flower shop in Honokaʻa nearly 14 years ago. To her delight, Grace Flowers Hawaiʻi has been in business ever since.

“When I first opened, my main goal was to stay open and make beautiful arrangements for people,” Higgins said. “I started doing some local weddings, and luckily, I had great contacts on the coast who found me. Coordinators I worked with before asked if I was willing to travel, and I was flattered by the opportunity and never said no.”

While Grace Flowers offers bouquets for individual orders, much of the business involves creating arrangements for weddings and events on the island’s west side.

Higgins started Grace Flowers by herself, but the shop now employees 16 people to handle the monthly average of 30 weddings and events, which require bouquet designing, deliveries, event planning, shop management, customer service and running the small nursery.

“I have amazing people who are just as passionate about flowers as I am,” Higgins said. “We keep busy running the shop seven days a week, making centerpieces for corporate events or weekly arrangements for hotels and other businesses.”

She said they also make lei, offer grab-and-go arrangements, and have a flower bar where people can create their own arrangements.

On Saturday, Higgins was preparing for one of the busiest weeks of the year for flower sales, with Valentine’s Day nearly synonymous with flower arrangements.

“We usually get quite a few walk-ins from people, mostly teen boys, who may have forgotten about Valentine’s Day and are hoping to get their loved one a bouquet,” Higgins said. “We try to have plenty of red roses and locally sourced flowers, as well as enough staff to take care of more in-store customers.”

Grace Flowers Hawaiʻi strives to use locally sourced flowers, but red roses come from off-island and must be ordered. If they run out of roses, other options will be available.

“Red roses are beautiful, but I think some people like getting something different,” she said. “I encourage people to think about what their partner wants. Maybe they love yellow, maybe orchids, or perhaps they prefer a live plant. Some think local equals tropical, but we get beautiful local flowers that last longer and support flower farms in East Hawaiʻi.”

Higgins has received stunning protea, orchids, ginger and anthuriums, shaped like hearts.

“I think local shops do a great job offering various Valentine’s Day options that aren’t the typical arrangement, which is fun for the designers, too,” Higgins said.

While Grace Flowers is working to serve as many people as possible this week, Higgins suggests preordering as soon as possible or walking into a shop by Wednesday.

“The busiest days for a florist are always one, two and three days before Valentine’s Day, so I recommend coming early this week to ensure you order what you want,” Higgins said. “We’ll have different sizes at various prices and more roses than usual.”

Whether someone is a last-minute shopper or well-prepared, Higgins appreciates people choosing to shop at small, local flower shops for Valentine’s Day, graduations or any day they need flowers.

“We pay our employees a competitive salary with benefits, and in our small town, that makes a difference in where people spend their money,” Higgins said. “I always encourage people to shop local when possible, and luckily on the Big Island, you will find a cute flower shop with a team working hard to create something beautiful for customers.”

Grace Flowers Hawaiʻi is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 45-502 Rickard Place in Honokaʻa.

For photos of arrangements and online orders, visit the Grace Flowers Hawaiʻi website.