Dec 7, 2007

Season looks bright for smaller shopsBy Kristin ShawZWire.com

Schodack-While many people say they are going to cut back on holiday shopping this year, local independent shop owners say they’re doing just fine.

“Percent-wise, we’re ahead of last year,” said Patti Varga, owner of Field Flowers Ltd., on Route 9 just north of the county line. “Some days are better than others, but sales are steady and we’re expecting a good holiday season.”

Ms. Varga said that while the holiday season is the busiest time of year, she’s finding many people nowadays do their Christmas shopping year-round.

“People have been shopping for the holidays for a while now; in fact, some people are already done. They have tighter budgets and have to spread out their shopping throughout the year. Overall, though, people are spending about the same as they did last year.”

Field Flowers has been in business for 15 years and moved to its new location three years ago.

“We just grew out of the space we had. We’re very pleased with our new space. We have lots of parking and lots of new merchandise,” said Ms. Varga.

Field Flowers is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.

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