MILWAUKEE— A midwestern floral shop knows what it means to grow. Now, they are helping other local businesses do the same.
Flowers for Dreams is rooted in Chicago— that's where they're headquartered. Now, they have storefronts in Milwaukee and Detroit. But for the next few weeks, you might see their logo around town in new spots.
Flowers for Dreams ships all over the region, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and, of course, Wisconsin. They're making tour stops in their brand new bus at all of those places.
Yes, a local flower shop is going on tour.
"We have a flower truck; people know about our flower truck, but we just bought this bus, outfitted it, and now we're taking it across the midwest," Lindsay Leinenkugel, who is the marketing director at Flowers for Dreams, said.
But what does a flower tour entail?
At each of their 13 stops, the bus is parking outside a local shop or eatery. Flowers for Dreams will give away free mini bouquets, as well as offer products and larger arrangements for purchase.
Today, the bus was parked outside of one of Milwaukee's iconic food destinations: Public Market.
For those who have called Brew City home for a while, this does not come as a surprise. When Flowers for Dreams first came to the city, they were stationed on the market's second floor. Swinging by to show support for their former home, and local brands it houses, seemed like an easy choice.
"We love Public Market. They have a lot of really good local brands," Leinenkugel said. "People are just out and about, and we're right in the middle of [downtown] right here... People love it here. You can grab a bouquet; you can grab some food inside; you can go to Benelux. It's right here. It's where everything's happening."
And while Flowers for Dreams was showing love to other local businesses, locals were showing the floral shop some love. The line to get a bouquet from the bus wrapped around the block, with dozens of people patiently waiting at any given time.
Leinenkugel calls her loyal customers a "fandom."
"People are really proud of their local brands and I think that's what we stand for," she said.
Flowers for Dreams is proud to be local, too. All of the flowers they arrange, sell and ship come from the midwest. Their fall farm arrangements are sourced from local farmers. Leinenkugel also noted a recent pay increase: Every employee makes a minimum of $15 an hour. She said the business treats their own people the same way they treat their customers, and she wants that to show.
The business also donates 25% of its profits to local charities. Milwaukee charities they have previously donated to include GiGi's Playhouse, Pearls for Teen Girls and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, just to name a few of the roughly three dozen local nonprofits they've worked with.
Now that they are shipping to more areas, Leinenkugel said they will be donating profits to charities in those places as well, trying to make a difference, one petal at a time.
For more information on the Flowers for Dreams tour, click here.
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