The Boston Flower Company comes to Mattapan

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A new flower shop arrived in Mattapan this summer with a mission to impact the community with beauty. This is what owner and founder Yanique Shaw seeks to do each day with her newly opened store, The Boston Flower Company, a flower and workshop studio that specializes in weddings and corporate social events, and in hosting creative workshops.

Shaw’s on the right path, as she shared a story about a teenage boy who looked into her shop through her Ring doorbell — in awe of the beauty of the flowers.

“This teenage boy … was like, ‘wow, this is so beautiful.’ So, to win over a teenage boy, it just makes you feel like, okay, we’re gonna definitely try to … positively impact the community, even if it’s just looking at something beautiful. That’s really my role and purpose here,” she said.

Located at 468 River Street, the shop will accompany up to 25 guests for upcoming workshops Shaw plans to host.

As a Boston wedding and event floral designer, the shop is an expansion of the work she engages in.

Shaw spoke more about her new flower shop and how she aims to make it community driven; she’s asking people who come into the shop what they would like to see.

The Boston Flower Company in Mattapan is a floral shop and workshop studio that specializes in weddings and corporate social events, and in hosting creative workshops. COURTESY PHOTO

“We’re still curating the experience. We’re going to open it up to other entrepreneurs to host any creative workshops if they’d like to. … I didn’t want to hoard it to myself. I wanted to make sure that we definitely give back any way that we can. [We] also [have] a gift shop and the majority of the things that we sell in the store were made by local makers in the surrounding area, majority Black-owned companies. … I just want to make sure that we’re reflecting the community that we’re in. [It’s] very important to us,” she said.

Shaw added, “We’re also going to have a photo studio space here where we’re going to design it for holiday photos — for families and photographers to rent out for whatever they need to shoot — maternity, graduation, headshots, [etc.]”

Reflecting on her journey becoming the founder and owner of The Boston Flower Company, Shaw said she started out in her garage with weddings and events and was looking for a studio space so she could get out of her garage.

“This was the first space that my realtor showed me. [In] talking to the developers and the landlord, I told them I wanted a private studio space. That’s what I had in mind at the time, and they were very much like, ‘the community really wants something creative in the space,” she said.

Shaw is no stranger to Mattapan, as her mother owned a hair salon there for almost 30 years, truly making this a full circle moment.

“I’m very familiar with this area,” she said. “I feel like I grew up here [and] I’m fulfilling a purpose by opening this and bringing something to our community.”

The Boston Local Development Corporation (BLDC), a program that “works to increase employment opportunities for Boston residents by providing small business loans focused on commercial, industrial, and service companies,” supported Shaw when she decided to open her flower shop.

“They [have been] a major supporter from the early days of me just figuring out what I am doing well,” she said. “They’ve just been such a major support system, even till this day.  The woman who granted my loan [was] the first person to walk in the store on Friday when we opened. And so, yeah, that’s really special.”  Most of the money that helped fund her business came from the BLDC. 

Shaw also credits the city of Boston for the SPACE (Supporting Pandemic Affected Community Enterprises) Grant Program, which “prioritized helping small businesses with a priority for industries that were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Her advice to Black and other entrepreneurs of color who may want to open a business is just stay curious.

“Keep researching different professions and interning,” she said. “I interned a lot when I was in college. I even had the privilege to intern after college, but of course, we all have different responsibilities. I know that my privilege was definitely there, where I had that financial support from my family. 

Shaw also advises entrepreneurs of color to get out there and network to open doors.

“I still network very scared. It’s not easy putting yourself out there but do it scared … just put yourself out there. You really never know. I meet the most interesting people going to the events. …That connects me to other interesting people or other interesting opportunities,” she said.