By Murray Gleffe, Correspondent
ASHWAUBENON-Who doesn’t like to see flowers live on for more than a week! At Silk Scapes, that pipe dream can become reality with the custom team of Gail Schroder (President) and Wendy Koss (Professional Floral Designer).
Schroder got her start in the business 32 years ago when a representative from a silk company just happened to come into Kelly Services where Schroder worked in Phoenix.
“I was a little apprehensive talking with him at first, but the novelty of it sounded so cool when he talked about the product,” Schroder said. “My parents were still living in the Green Bay area and I had this vision of starting up my own company back where my roots were. After a few months of debating about it, I took the big leap forward. I decided to have a retail store with walk in trade and to also concentrate on commercial businesses. Once I got going, it was neat to start getting into the designs of interior plant-scaping.”
As with anything, you have to evolve and change with the times. So, in late 2017, Schroder and her team bought the open retail space on S.Ridge Road between Marvelle and Cormier, and moved into their present location.
“The decision to move to the new location was to get to an area that was a bit detached from the mall,” commented Schroder. “I feel like customers can spot and locate us better now that we are right off a busy thoroughfare. Within a mile you have Hinterland, Ariens Hill, and the Kohler Lodge that have all been put up within the last year. It not only attracts people to the west side locally, but our hope is that we bring in out of town walk-ins that maybe are driving around in their rental car or even just walking up and down Ridge.”
Silk Scapes offers hanging baskets, garden bags, flower arrangements, potted greenery, and much much more.
Live plants and trees can carry dangerous diseases that affect people in different ways.
Additionally, when spring rolls around, many individuals suffer from seasonal allergies.
“We will give you a healthy, vibrant, and enriching alternative,” added Schroder. “From Day 1, we have offered the customer a featured design in their container or ours at no additional charge. In my opinion, Wendy is one of the best floral designers around. She works very hard at getting the desired results for the customer.”
As with any move, there are challenges and obstacles to overcome. Silk Scapes is no different.
“Our number one competitor per se is the internet,” Schroder said. “You can buy silk now on a number of different sites. However, what customers might not understand is the picture they see on-line doesn’t correlate sometimes to the finished product. Another challenge is to get your business name out to multiple personnel. That can be difficult in this day and age with the ‘hustle and bustle’ approach people take.”
Schroder has accomplished a lot in over three decades being in business with the same company. However, she continues to have new ideas and has set new goals in 2018 like anybody else.
“I want to elevate our business with assisted living-in-house tenants, people with cottages that are not up at their property year-round, and continue to display our product at more and more hospitals where people can look at our arrangement and put that smile on their face for more than a day,” added Schroder. “We have just gone through our winter phase and are really looking forward to Spring and Summer where we will have new and innovative products waiting for that special person to take home. We are here to service your needs in any shape or form necessary to make you happy with the end result (our Silk Scapes product).”
Silk Scapes new location is 2214 S. Ridge Road, Green Bay, WI 54304. Store hours are M-F 9-5
*We can arrange appointments by phone after hours M-F*
Seasonal-Saturday. Check back for availability of store hours.
Schroder can be reached at 920-884-7788-Retail, 920-336-1111-Commercial, or by fax at 920-336-4408.
Website: www.silkscapes.net, Email: [email protected], Facebook: www.facebook.com/search
