Hope and Faith

Floral

By Nell Musolf

With the much-welcomed arrival of spring, not only has warmer weather finally come back to our area, but also the time to start celebrating.

May marks a month of special events including Mother’s Day, proms, the start of the summer wedding season and college graduations.

Many people acknowledge those events by sending flowers. No one knows that better than the people who work at floral shops.

At Hope and Faith Floral Studio and Gifts, 23 West Main Street, Madelia, owner Ryan Visher said May is one of his store’s busiest months.

HOPE & FAITH

FLORAL & GIFTS

23 West Main Street, Madelia 507-642-8967 hopeandfaithfloral.com Facebook: Hope & Faith Floral & Gifts.

“Hands down Mother’s Day is our busiest holiday. Valentine’s Day is also busy, but generally speaking people have only one sweetheart. Moms tend to have several kids which means more flowers are being sent.”

May is also prom time for area high school students. While prom used to mean a relatively simple corsage, the world has changed. Visher and his chief floral designer, Jen Kjelshus, said that young people attending proms these days are very aware of what is fashionable for the big night and very specific about how they want to look.

“It’s not only flowers, but also the jewelry they wear as well,” Kjelshus said. “The girls want things to match their dresses — flowers, bracelets — everything has to be just right. A lot of the parents get involved too and they enjoy it as much as their daughters.”

Fortunately Hope and Faith offers a wide variety of accessories to help make prom night shine. Customers can browse among necklaces, hair accessories, bracelets and other sparklers to enhance their outfit. And if all that shopping makes a shopper hungry, they can get something to satisfy their sweet tooth before heading home.

Upon entering the store, a large, loaded candy counter greets customers. It is there in the bake shop section where one can find treats such as muffins, cookies, fudge as well as 18 flavors of the Italian ice cream, gelato.

“This month our bench will return to outside our store,” Visher said. “It’s painted to look like a cow. We call it Mrs.

Moodelia and people like to sit on her and enjoy an ice cream while watching what’s happening on Main Street.”

Hope and Faith Floral and Gift Shop has come back strong after the 2016 fire that destroyed it and many other stores on Madelia’s Main Street. Visher said the fact that the community has worked together to rebuild is one of the main reasons the downtown is thriving, possibly even more than prior to the fire.

A destination

“I think Madelia is becoming a destination community,” Visher said. “So many people come to eat at La Plaza Fiesta and not just from Madelia but from the towns around us and really from everywhere. We’ve also reopened the movie theater down the street. Most of our businesses are owned by local people and that makes a big difference. We’re invested in the community, and it shows. We are a very supportive community, and we care about each other. That also shows.”

Visher, who in addition to owning Hope and Faith serves as Madelia’s fire chief, opened his first floral shop in the Milwaukee area and named it after his two daughters using their middle names, Sidney Hope and Riley Faith. Visher returned to his hometown 18 years ago to be closer to his parents and decided to move his floral store along with him, keeping the name the same.

Kjelshus joined him nine years ago. Kjelshus previously worked as a hairstylist, a profession not as far removed from floral design as one might think.

“Flowers or hair — they’re both creative endeavors. I like to make sure arrangements look good before leaving the store. I was the same way with hairstyles,” Kjelshus said.

Since Hope and Faith sells items ranging from jewelry to candles to women’s clothing, items typically sought more by women than men, Kjelshus assists Visher on buying trips, primarily to Minneapolis but also to places like Atlanta, searching for items they feel their customers will like.

“That is where I really count on Jen,” Visher said. “I don’t know what women want to wear or what they’ll like. Jen does. We offer clothes in all sizes and thanks to Jen they’re flattering and comfortable. The same with gift items. Jen knows what women like and what they want to buy.”

Visher tries to buy Minnesotamade products to sell in his store whenever possible. The store recently added an engraver to give gifts a one of a kind panache.

As the floral designer and merchandiser, Kjelshus likes the variety her job offers. “Every day is different. It all depends on what kind of merchandise arrives and then we have to figure out what to do with it. It makes my life interesting.”

The store gets most of its flowers from Len Busch Roses, a wholesaler floral dealer based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Len Busch Roses has an environmentally friendly greenhouse that keeps an amazing number of flowers blooming year-round, not an easy feat in the Upper Midwest.

“I like to say our flowers are 3,000 miles fresher since we get them from Len Busch which is a lot closer than South America where many places get flowers from,” Visher said.

Hope and Faith Floral and Gifts was enjoying being back on its feet when March 2020 hit and everything shut down once again.

“Selling tomato plants kept us going during Covid,” Visher said. “We sold them through five different websites. It was a tough time for businesses everywhere, but we kept at it and made it through. Now I think everyone is hoping for a nice long stretch of quiet where nothing happens.”

Lindsey Rice is one of the nine employees working for Hope and Floral. She’s been with the store for about a year. Seeing customers come in and find a treasure is a highlight of working at the store for her.

“I love it when people come in and are looking for a gift or something for themselves and leave with a smile on their faces. I really do think we have something for everyone. We have flowers and birthday gifts and wedding gifts — people can find a present here for every occasion,” Rice said.