WEST ELSDON — A Southwest Side native is revamping the tradition of gifting flowers by creating unique, elegant and sometimes edgy floral arrangements.
Odalys Ramirez, also known as “The Flower Dealer,” is a self-taught floral artist and founder of SRVD Chicago, a flower shop and lounge at 4425 W. 55th St. in West Elsdon near Midway Airport.
Ramirez’s bouquets are a testament to her creativity. She uses traditional flowers such as roses to create modern arrangements and floral art pieces. She’s made roses out of $2 bills, experimented with minimalist arrangements, wrapped bouquets using newspaper and collaborated with local designers to create handmade cards for arrangements.
“I wanted to bring something different. From my packaging to the experience, everything that I do, arrrange and package is [done] in a certain way — intentionally — for the one who receives it,” she said.
About two years ago, Ramirez began making floral arrangements in the attic of her West Elsdon home. She experimented with flowers bought at grocery stores, arranging them several times before giving them as gifts to her loved ones, she said.
“We didn’t really grow up receiving flowers all the time. I was like ‘Why not?’” she said.
Ramirez’s passion grew as she saw her sister and mother’s reactions to the bouquets she made, she said.
Ramirez’s hobby turned into a business last year after her sister, Ana Karen Ramirez, pushed her to share her creative vision with others.
Ramirez began by selling floral arrangements on the side while working full-time at a local Home Depot. She gained popularity through word of mouth as her family and friends bought bouquets and shared them with others in the neighborhood. At the same time, Ramirez grew her brand on social media under the name The Flower Dealer, posting photos of her artistic arrangements.
In 2024, Ramirez took a leap when she bought about 400 roses to make lush Valentine Day’s arrangements known as ramo buchón, a popular social media trend featuring huge bouquets made of dozens — sometimes hundreds — of roses.
Odalys Ramirez poses for a portrait at SVRD Floral Lounge, 4425 W. 55th St., in West Elsdon on May 8, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
A few months later, Ramirez held her first solo exhibition as a floral artist at the Southwest Side venue Effortless HQ, using flowers, plants and roses made of $1 bills to create installations.
One installation featured a flower bouquet hanging upside down from a chain, with small plastic bags filled with flowers lying on the ground underneath — a play on the theme of dealing flowers and her artistic name, Ramirez said.
A floral installation created by floral artists Odalys Ramirez, who is known as The Flower Dealer. Credit: Instagram
Ramirez said she has since created special arrangements for local businesses such as Novel Pizza and artists such as Sentrock.
For Novel Pizza, she created a pizza slice made of flowers, which was displayed at the shop’s grand opening. She surprised Sentrock, a famed Chicago muralist and artist, with a floral sculpture shaped like Sentrock’s signature red bird mask and floral arrangements used at an after-party of one of his exhibitions.
In spring 2024, Ramirez spotted a vacant storefront at the intersection of West 55th Street and South Kenneth Avenue on her way to work, and she thought the space could become something special for the neighborhood. She decided it would be the perfect home for her floral studio.
In September, Ramirez opened SRVD Chicago, her studio to create floral arrangements and attract customers, she said.
Through the shop and each of her designs, Ramirez aims to create something unique and break molds, inviting new customers and showing that “men can also buy flowers,” she said.
“I try to keep it a little bit of street, a lot of class. I like the elegant side,” she said.
SVRD Floral Lounge, 4425 W. 55th St., in West Elsdon on May 8, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Ramirez sells a variety of floral arrangements, including Bouquets of the Month, where she experiments to create seasonal-themed arrangements.
“You won’t know [if] it’s a rose or a tulip. I open them, I customize them, I cut them into shapes. You dress them up. You put glitter on them. You put feathers on them,” she said.
The shop’s “flower menu” also includes the popular ramo buchón, a signature bouquet made of 60 long-stem roses with customizable wrapping and initials, a mini box filled with eternal roses and other floral arrangements created by Ramirez.
Ramirez also hosts events at the lounge in collaboration with local artists and other creatives, she said.
For Mother’s Day, Ramirez partnered with photographer Kriztelle Halili to create a pop-up photo studio for mothers and their families to take professional portrait photos. Previously, SRVD hosted a live beats show at the floral lounge.
SVRD Floral Lounge, 4425 W. 55th St., in West Elsdon on May 8, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
As the business continues to expand, Ramirez hopes to grow as a floral artist and collaborate with local and national brands to create floral installations, arrangements and pop-ups for their events. She also wants to open SRVD in other cities, including her family’s hometown of Zacatecas, Mexico, she said.
SRVD Chicago is open 10 a.m-5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday at 4425 W. 55th St. To preorder, visit SRVD’s website.
Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:
Related