LYNN — Athanasia Mavros, known to most as Nancy, and her daughter, Amanda, began their own flower business, Blush and Bloom Florist, in October out of their home in Lynn. The two have worked together before at their family’s previous restaurant, Hayward’s, on Lynnfield Street, but decided that it was time to transition from food to flowers.
Blush and Bloom Florist caters to weddings, single arrangements and all other occasions. They hosted their first public event in the form of a “Galentine’s Floral Workshop” at Red’s Kitchen and Tavern in Peabody on Wednesday night. Guests had the opportunity to make their own floral arrangements while enjoying some food and beverages, with the restaurant’s COVID-19 restrictions and precautions in place.
Nancy has been creating flower arrangements as a hobby for more than five years. Her and her husband, Anastasios (Taso), both immigrated to Lynn from Greece when they were younger. Amanda said, “she has always wanted to be a florist and just do weddings because they make her so happy. But we had the restaurant and then my dad got sick and it was just always a dream for her. But she didn’t think that she would actually make it into a business.”
Taso recovered from cancer in 2018 and Hayward’s closed in 2019, so with the pandemic restricting Nancy to her home most of the time, she decided this was a good time to pursue her dream.
Right now the duo works solely out of their home, but plans on partaking in some pop-up locations over the summer.
“With COVID-19, it is definitely not the right time to be out looking at places for a permanent location,” said Amanda.
Amanda is a full-time nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, but assists her mother with social media, website, and speaking with customers.
“I am always at our bridal appointments and helping my mom,” she said.
The pair work together to complete requests for weddings and holidays, especially with Valentine’s Day approaching. The pricing for the floral arrangements varies, depending on how much their wholesalers and farms sell.
“Since it’s out of season now, we solely depend on our great wholesalers in the area. There’s a few in (Massachusetts) and some down in (Rhode Island),” said Amanda.
Arrangements vary in price depending on the size and type of flowers. The price for weddings depends on the size of the wedding, bridal party, centerpieces and other special requests, and can be anywhere from $1,500 to $6,000.
During the winter season, many of their flowers are imported from warmer locations such as Holland, Ecuador, Chile and California. As the spring and summer seasons approach, the Mavros team plans to acquire their flowers from local farmers.
“We want to support small and local farmers in our community. We have found a few that we will be using once we have warmer days here. We are so excited,” they said.
Nancy and Amanda hope to open a storefront or some kind of flower studio in the next few years, but are not rushing into anything. They would like to stay on the North Shore but will cater to customers throughout New England.
As for the event at Red’s Kitchen and Tavern, Amanda said that it was a fun floral event that was “basically like a paint night, except you made floral arrangements and got to take them home.
“It was a great way to connect with the community and build relationships with fellow entrepreneurs. The restaurant industry is one of the industries that had a major hit within the last year. We are close family friends with the Drivas family (the owners of Red’s) and figured why not host our first event for Galentine’s Day here.”
The women are planning to host more of these kinds of events in the spring and summer. They are hoping to do at least one a month, adhering to the COVID-19 precautions and restrictions.
“We are hoping with the vaccination process coming out that we will be able to go back to some normalcy in the upcoming months,” Amanda said.
Nancy and Amanda are still taking Valentine’s Day orders and offer delivery. They can be reached at [email protected] or at (617)-240-2436. They are also present on Instagram at blushandbloomflorist.
