Middlebury flower shop moves to new location

On March 1, The Blossom Basket, previously located at 56 College St. next to Sama’s Café, moved to 8 Bakery Ln. The store, which was vacant when owner Jennifer Hill bought the space, sits across from Jackson’s on the River. Sandy and Jack Burkholder opened The Blossom Basket in 2001, but Hill will celebrate her fourth year as owner this June. She has been looking for a new space for several years, but said issues with parking made it impossible to find a vacant store until recently.
“Our lease ended in February,” said Hill. “We luckily found this space just before Christmas.”
The flower shop is now situated in the space where a bakery used to reside. Hill said the old oven door remains, but the rest of the space was completely empty, void of both plumbing and electricity.
“It was basically a basement,” said Hill, who is excited by the many parking options now available near her store, thanks to the bridge.
“It is a work in progress.”
The Blossom Basket prepares gift baskets, in addition to providing customers with a wide variety of plants and flowers to choose from. All products can be delivered for a small fee. The store’s website boasts many different events for which customers can buy flower and/or plant arrangements, including weddings, holidays, events, birthdays, anniversaries and baby showers. Get well and sympathy bouquets are also available.
“We have done a fair amount of work with the College,” said Hill, who has a background in fashion design. “A lot of our orders are phone orders outside of the local vicinity, but we do have a pretty loyal customer base in town and throughout Addison County.”
Hill especially enjoys the detailed handwork involved in arranging her flower bouquets. She and her husband moved to Middlebury from England, as her husband wanted to continue his work with dairy cows, and Vermont proved the ideal statefor the pair.
“I love working with color, and flower design is contemporary, and the students seem to like something a little more contemporary,” said Hill. “It [flower arranging] allows me to leave a little bit of my mark on my work.”
The flower shop, which is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. welcomes visitors. Hill, a native of Pennsylvania, said she and her husband were initially attracted to Middlebury because it was a college town.
“In this business, you get to interact with the College students and faculty,” she said. Hill has already seen some “foot-traffic” from students since the store changed addresses.
Hill also seeks to hire students whenever possible, and Ashley Quizol ’11 is currently her delivery driver.
The Blossom Basket’s grand opening is scheduled for Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2, but Hill has no plans for the celebration, as she is still “finishing up the space.”
“We moved from an old Victorian house to a more modern one with one open room,” she said. “I am looking forward to making a change and it is the perfect opportunity because I can start from scratch. I am really hoping people like the new space and I keep the same good relationships I have had with the town and the College. ”