ALBION — Timeless Floral, like many timeless ideas, started as just a dream, Jackie Borer’s dream.
It started 10 years ago when the previous tenant at 354 W. Main St. in Albion decided to sell her store.
“Originally, I was doing a little wedding decorating, and the lady who had the shop here had it for sale and approached me,” said Borer, who will be celebrating her 10th year of being open on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 22-23. “And that’s how I ended up buying the shop. When I started, it was just half of this building, and there was a jewelry store on the other side. He ended up retiring, and I took over the whole building.”
The smell of fresh flowers accompanies the pop of the bright greens, deep purples and vibrant shades of red and orange across the ferns and flowers that fill the front of the shop.
Alongside the plants, other house decorations and knickknacks sit on the shelves. Borer has always been a decorator by trade but wasn’t sure if she would ever add businesswoman to her résumé. When she had the opportunity to achieve that dream, she jumped at it.
“I’ve always picked flowers for as long as I can remember,” Borer said. “Out of the road ditches and pastures, and I always enjoy arranging them, and I always like to decorate. I’ve always wanted to have a store, but I didn’t really ever think I would, so I thought I’d take a chance.”
That chance has paid off. Borer has been able to create an atmosphere special to her store. What makes it so unique is Borer’s ability to intertwine her own personality into what the store is.
“I feel like Jackie kind of found her niche more,” said Cindy Kurtenbach, who has worked alongside Borer since Timeless Floral’s opening. “… I feel like the store radiates her personality more. I feel like she’s honed in on what customers want around here and what sells, along with her style of home decor and plants.”
Kurtenbach described that style as earthy and artsy, something the store certainly embodies.
That ambience seems perfectly fit for Albion. The friendly atmosphere embodies the town, which seems to live by the small-town cliché, where everyone knows everyone and supports everyone.
Across several stores through Albion’s business district, flyers about Timeless Floral’s 10th anniversary hang in windows across several different businesses. One of Albion’s own is celebrating a milestone in its journey, so that means all of Albion is going to show out and celebrate.
“I feel like Albion is really good at supporting (each other),” Borer said. “I feel like the businesses support each other very well. We try to collaborate a lot of times, like doing things with another business, to try and bring business to all of us. … The people of Albion are very good at supporting us, too.”
It takes just one quick glance at Timeless Floral’s Facebook page to verify that. Mixed in with pictures of flower arrangements are posts promoting other businesses.
That support for one another goes beyond just a social media post as well. In the past, Timeless Floral has hosted pop-up shops from other businesses and other events. Those events go a long way toward helping promote not only Borer’s business, but a lot of local businesses. In turn, Timeless Floral is often the first stop when someone needs something.
“I feel like a lot of people when they need something for a funeral, or a birthday or an anniversary, this is one of the first places they come to,” Kurtenbach said. “And I just feel like it has been a happy thing for the community.”
Timeless Floral has become that first stop because of the experience people get working with Borer. Although she grew up just down the road in Petersburg, Albion has always been a place Borer has spent a lot of time.
That gives her a leg up against competitors such as Walmart or Menards. Those places can’t quite put the personal touch that Borer has been able to capture with her business.
That’s made clear by Timeless Floral’s Google reviews. Out of 13 reviews, Timeless Floral’s lowest is five stars.
Comments range from people expressing their love of the arrangements themselves to the service that comes along with doing business at Timeless Floral.
From baby showers to weddings to funerals, Borer’s line of business deals with events from every stage of a person’s life. When looking for decorations for such prominent events in someone’s life, being able to provide the level of hands-on work that Borer can is just as important as the unique options she provides.
“What we have tried to do is make our bouquets unique,” Borer said. “We try to make them a little different than what you might see at Walmart, or (other) every day (stores).”
Having a different selection, alongside listening to what her customers want, and then providing that has been a huge part of Timeless Floral seeing a decade.
Each day for 10 years, Borer has been celebrating her own dreams. A celebration she now gets to share with Albion starting on Friday.
“That whole week, we are going to have a signature bouquet that will feature a protea,” Borer said. “We’ve always used a lot of proteas here at the store. And then we have some different drawings we’re doing through social media and things like that.
“And then on Friday and Saturday we’re having a plant-palooza, where we have a lot of different plants. We had one in the spring, and we probably had over 70 different varieties of plants here. And so we’ll have a lot of plants and some rare plants, and we’ll draw for a discount on everything in the store.”
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