Couple: Life is like a bouquet of roses

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December 15, 2009

By Stacie N. Galang The Salem News Tue Dec 15, 2009, 06:00 AM EST

PEABODY — Every day for 25 years, Dennis and Michele Feld wake up and smell the roses.

The entrepreneurial pair decided they wanted to own their own business and jumped at the chance when Evans Flowers & Greenhouses came up for sale in 1984. Michele had experience in a flower shop, and her husband understood the business side.

"This came up, and we lived in Peabody, and we thought this is a great business to own," Dennis said.

They bought the Warren Street business on Nov. 1, 1984, and they haven't looked back.

Flowers attracted Michele to the company in the first place, and they're what keep her motivated, she said.

The designer said she couldn't imagine running a business if she didn't love her work. To keep her designs fresh, she has continued her education through the American Institute of Floral Designers and serves on the board of Teleflora in New England.

"I'm big into that," she said.

The company employs 11 full- and part-time workers, including its owners.

"In flower shop terms, that's a pretty good size," Dennis said.

One driver has been with them since they started 25 years ago, and several boast 10 or more years with the business, the couple said.

"We're very close to our staff, all of them," she said.

Adapting to the times

Dennis said their flower shop was among the first in the area to bring in computers. Now, he works to ensure their Web site rates among the top results in search engines.

"We try to adapt to all this technology," he said.

Last week, for example, they sent customers an e-mail blast on Christmas specials and worked electronically with the U.S. Postal Service to send a mass-mailed postcard.

Dennis said the company recently posted its first video — on their 25th anniversary — to its Web site, and their daughter created a Facebook account.

"We're not sitting here tweeting because we have work to do, but we're very active," he said.

As to their longevity amid growing competition, the couple said they staked their reputation on service, operating the business seven days a week, with a half-day on Sundays.

"We're always here," Michele said. "I think that people know they can call us."

While flowers are their primary product, Evans also sells fruit baskets, European gardens, plants and silk flowers.

But nothing is more impressive than a dozen roses sent to the wife, Dennis said.

Dennis and Michele Feld essentially spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week together, which works great, they said. Their duties don't overlap during the day.

"I run the office. Michele is a designer," Dennis said. "We each have our own jobs here."

He called them lucky to spend their days together.

"She's the force behind us," he said. "She's talented."

As her muse, flowers never get old, Michele said.

"I still love flowers," she said. "I still take flowers home all the time and have them in my home, and I still get excited over them."

Dennis is proud of the company's silver anniversary.

"It's been fun," he said. "It's really been very rewarding."