‘I’m so proud to be back’ — Q & A with Lauren Springer

Lauren Springer, left, owner of Fiddleheads Florists, and
designer Cathy Peabbles stand among some of the fresh
 cuts available in Springer’s new shop on Shore Road
 in Cape Elizabeth.

CAPE ELIZABETH — When Cape Elizabeth native Lauren Springer, 32, returned home after seven years as a preschool teacher in Brookline, Mass., she made the jump out of the classroom and into the floral industry. In January, she opened her own shop, Fiddleheads, on Shore Road in Cape Elizabeth, and now Springer has launched “Flowers for a Cause,” donating $5 from each purchase of a specially-designed arrangement to a local nonprofit organization.

Springer recently talked with The Current on starting out in the floral business, moving back to Maine, and giving back to the community.

Q: How did you get involved in the floral industry?

A: While teaching, in the summertime I worked at a local flower shop just sort of helping out. I did that for three years and almost purchased the shop, but decided I wanted to move back to Maine before making any sort of business commitments. So, when I came back here, I decided not to teach and to work in the floral industry full time. I ended up managing a shop in Portland for a few years.

Q: So, you took some time before making the ownership plunge?

A:  Yes. It was a wonderful experience and I certainly know more now than when I was going to purchase the other business in Massachusetts. It was very good idea to wait. Things happen for a reason and that was a good thing.

Q: Why did you want to come back to Maine?

A: My husband lived here, and my family all lived here still. I lived in Boston for 11 years and it was just time to come back. When you grow up here, you’ve got to come back. It’s just so nice here.

Q: And why leave teaching behind?

A: I know this is going to sound crazy, because not a lot of people like this, but I’ve always loved working in retail. When I was little I always thought about having my own gift shop. I love having those interactions with people all day long, and working in a flower shop, I realized that, unlike teaching, those people aren’t parents, and the flowers don’t talk back. It’s just all around a much more pleasant experience. As much as loved teaching, and it was a wonderful experience, I love doing this 10 times more.

Q: Was there any trepidation in striking out on your own?

A: Oh, yeah, mostly because people were very blunt in telling me that it was a bad idea. They said, “How can you do this? What are you thinking? The economy is so tough.”

Q: So, nobody thought a flower shop would make it? What made you go for it anyway?

A: Well, flowers are a luxury item, in some ways, but, while managing the other store, I saw that even in tough times, people still like to treat themselves. Flowers may be a luxury item, but you don’t have to spend a lot to get a lot. So, for one reason or another, it just fell like the right time. Everything just fell in place to do this, so that sort of eased any nerves I had.

Q: How has business been since you opened?

A: It’s been great. There was a lot of curiosity about the shop, so we got a lot of walk-ins. People were really kind when we first opened.

Q: And how did you come up with the idea for “Flowers for a Cause?”

A: I saw it done at other flower shops in bigger cities and I thought it was a great way to make you feel good about treating yourself. What a nice feeling to know that when you order something that some of the money is going back to your town, directly.

Q: Will the charity arrangement be a different design each month?

A: Yes, we custom design for the season and whatever the charity is. Our first arrangement is to benefit the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation, so we tried to have it be very bright, very vibrant, because it’s for kids.

Q: Will the funding always be about the same, a $65 arrangement with $5 going to that month’s charity?

A: I think we’ll probably play around with it a bit. It will always be a $5 donation, but maybe next month we’ll try doing something that’s $45 so that, that way, you don’t always have to spend $65 to make a donation.

Q: How are you choosing the beneficiaries?

A: We asked around and we had people send us information about their organizations. We then read up on each one to see if it was an organization that we felt good about, that they were doing good things in the community.

Q: And who’s next?

A: The Education Foundation will run through April. After that, we’re not exactly sure yet. It will most likely be another Cape organization, although I imagine eventually we will branch out, because there can only be so many before we start repeating ourselves very quickly. We’ll also probably spread things out and run most organizations for two or three months, because not everybody buys flowers every day.

Q: Does the charity get to participate in the design of their arrangement?

A: So far, I’ve left the creativity up to me designer, Cathy [Peabbles], but that’s a good idea. We might do that. We are hoping in the summer to do something that features local flowers, because we do want to buy locally as much as we can. We are locally owned and operated, and we are not associated with any national order-gathering companies.

Q: Why not?

A: We are part of a network of independent florists, the reason being that when somebody is sending flowers it’s really important that when people order an arrangement online that they get what they pay for. With some of the national order companies you just do not get the quality or the quantity for the money. I think it’s really important that people go local to the extent possible. Your flowers will last longer, I promise.

Q: So, you’ll be offering flowers from locals, to locals?

A: Absolutely. We’re really hoping that we can work with the farms in Cape Elizabeth, or even just with the people who have gardens in the summer with wonderful flowers their willing to share with us. It’s all about that network of sharing, that’s why I’m so proud to be back, and to give back, in my community.