BUCHANAN — The opening of Sandy’s Floral Boutique over Memorial Day weekend introduced Buchanan residents to Sandy Huyvaert’s floral artistry.

“More and more local people are discovering us.  They come in and say they didn’t even know we are here,”  Huyvaert, the owner, said.

She has touched the lives of others by providing the flowers for several summer weddings, and, each day, that opportunity grows.

While owning a business is a new adventure for Huyvaert, she is no stranger to many in the South Bend area.

“I moonlighted in several South Bend flower shops while my children were in high school and college and did weddings out of my basement for all their friends as they got married,” Huyvaert said.

Huyvaert joins a growing number of women who choose new careers for the second half of their working life. Her first career is that of a medical office manager. She also taught different medical courses at Davenport University when it was still in South Bend.

“When we began looking for a location for the shop, it was one of my former Davenport students, Kristie Detgen, who urged us to have a look at what Buchanan had to offer.  As a child, my family frequented the lakes in this area, and, while we were not campers, we often came to Fuller’s and Clear Lake for the day,” Huyvaert said.

As a child, her interest in crafts and creating was encouraged by her mother and grandmother.

“It was just a way of life, growing up.  When the boss I work for announced that he would be retiring within 18 months, he gave us plenty of time to consider what to do next. Did I want to stay in the medical field or did I want to do something I wanted to do for the rest of my life and into my retirement?”

After consulting with her husband Don, they agreed to take the plunge and just go for it. They closed on the building at 105 Days Ave. in February.

“It was a cold winter,” she said. “No heat. No plumbing. But we had electricity to work with and the demolition and construction began. We tore everything out – two drop ceilings up to the original.”

The wood from the surprise second drop ceiling in the back portion of the building became material for the front displays and by the time they opened; the shop was bright and cheery.

The boutique reflects a very eclectic taste and offers a wide variety of product. Huyvaert herself creates the majority of the selection in the shop. She has a woman who makes the quilts she offers for sale and specialty items like bath salts.

“Dick Barnes of Dick Barnes Woodshed supplies the food safe containers and other items such as bowls, cutting boards, lazy susans and even euchre counters,” she said.

It is the floral arrangements, fresh and silk, that are the shop’s mainstay. Weddings are Huyvaert’s specialties and where her commitment to personalized service shines through.

“Usually brides will come in about a year before the wedding. Full of plans and great ideas of what their ideal wedding look will be. Often there is a moment of sticker shock when the reality of what those dreams can cost sets in.”

A bride facing a less than Kardashian budget, is then encouraged as Huyvaert uses her experience and expertise to design floral arrangements in keeping with both the dream and the budget.  This is the same attention she prides herself in offering every customer. When this business owner says, “May I help you?” she means it.

Her bridal corner offers a portfolio of her work.  During the summer she was asked to participate in a photo shoot Niles photographer Steve Bono and other area photographers did by the shores of Lake Michigan. Huyvaert provided the bridal bouquets and in exchange added to her digital frame display of her designs and to her database of referrals for other services brides require as the big day approaches.

“I ask careful questions about the occasion, the recipient, the customer’s ideas and budget.  Cost is often an issue. I want to see where they are coming from, so they will be happy with their purchase,” she said.

She already has a couple of standing orders and is looking forward to welcoming many more customers as the Christmas season approaches.  It is not too early place holiday orders and Huyvaert says that by placing orders now, there is more advantage than just getting a head start on that list.

“By ordering early, customers can actually save money,” she said.

A couple of times a week Huyvaert makes a trip to two South Bend flower wholesalers to personally pick out the flowers she uses in her creations. This allows her to provide the freshest flowers for bouquets, arrangements and centerpieces and when it comes to flowers freshness counts.

Custom orders are no problem and the more information the better. In case of centerpieces, for instance, you will want to let her know whether the arrangement will be used on the dinner table or sideboard, the size of the table, whether long or round and the number of people sitting down to dinner to assure that your floral display will not inhibit conversation but will enhance how guests experience your party.

Sandy’s Floral Boutique delivers whether to residences, businesses or local funeral homes. The shop is affiliated with flowershopnetwork.com an online, worldwide association of florists which allows her to offer her services to those who live outside the immediate area.  The shop is also found through the network on Facebook using either a Buchanan, Niles or Galien search.

Visit the shop Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Wednesdays and Fridays, 1 to 6 p.m.; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call (269) 409-8358 or fax (269) 409-8359.