PRIMAL FLOWER POWERS A DOWNTOWN TREND—LINK TO GR8R LB RADIO SHOW
By Greater Long Beach
It’s been a year since Shelley Anders, a florist from Dallas, became the eco-florist of downtown Long Beach by opening Primal Flower, a little shop in an old brownstone on the corner of 3rd and Elm, and how nice for her.
Anders discussed the accomplishment and its obstacles on the June 7 edition of Greater Long Beach Radio. She and pastry chef Justina Fenton of Shortnin’ Bread were the featured guests on one of a recent series of programs that are examining Long Beach’s encouraging movement toward authenticity. The women illustrated how the drive of their individual entrepreneurialsm has intertwined to become a mission with the potential to drive the entire city to a new manifestation of itself.
Anders officially celebrated Primal Flower’s first anniversary Saturday night, right there in the shop, by throwing an after-hours party—that is, the 6 p.m. start is the hour Primal Flower closes— with an invitation to everyone, and how nice of her.
The nicest part of this little success story, however, is that it’s not really so little. A lot has happened during Primal Flower’s first year, providing reasons for a lot of people to celebrate.
That old brownstone at 403 Elm, which had been used as a children’s day care, has become a colony of entrepreneurs. Primal Flower opened shortly after Durty Mick’s record store—right around the corner from the comparatively well-established Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse—and was soon joined by Justina Fenton’s wholesome-ingredients bakery, Shortnin’ Bread.
The diverse collection of small, imaginative business ventures of both high-quality and style has very quickly become both emblem and engine of a movement that may finally bestow downtown Long Beach with an identity that is not only new—there have been lots of those—but authentic.
Click here to listen to this episode of Greater Long Beach Radio—the collaborative public-affairs project of GreaterLongBeach.com and KBEACH.org, the Internet radio station at California State University/Long Beach.
