Two 19th Ave specialty shops bloom
Seattle, WA — Sleepy 19th Ave welcomed former Pioneer Square florist Megan Mary Olander to the neighborhood with open arms when she moved in earlier this month.
A sixth grader from St. Joseph’s brought the floral staff a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on their first day of business in a new shop at 19th and Aloha. When Olander realized that, in the midst of moving that she didn’t order Mother’s Day greeting cards, a local greeting card entrepreneur sent over a batch just in time for the holiday.
“The neighborhood has been so welcoming and wonderful,” said owner and florist Megan Olander. “It’s really been a great move for us.”
Megan decided to move her shop from the Pioneer Square location after almost 29 years because of what she describes as a dwindling downtown economy.
“It is a neighborhood people don’t really want to come to anymore,” said Megan. “There’s a lot of sadness there… we have a lot of great friends there and had some wonderful memories, but the neighborhood has lost a lot of vitality.”
Megan Mary Olander specializes in European-style floral designs and makes all arrangements on special order. Olander goes to Pike Place Market and buys local, but she says she also has relationships with fair trade growers around the world, like her rose supplier in Ecuador.
The shop also features handmade gift items from local and international artists. Olander said she chooses vendors who use sustainable, recycled materials and have a unique, high-quality craftsmanship hard to find anywhere else. She is interested in featuring the work of local artists, too.
