Theresa Spielman Czcinski began creating paper flowers in her mother’s kitchen on Field Street in Bristol in 1945 – first using crepe paper then wood fiber flowers. Theresa attended the Elise Cutler’s School of Floristry where she learned how to create real floral arrangements and obtained her General Course Certification for the designing and color combination work of floral arrangement in 1946. She continued to hone her craft while working for Erikson’s Florist in Bristol where she gained knowledge about custom floral arrangements for all occasions and was introduced to the Flower District in New York City for ordering plastic flowers needed to create the custom arrangements for the business.
After marrying and starting a family in the early 1950s, Theresa with the support and help of her husband, built The Artificial Flower Shop next door to their home on Lake Avenue where the business continues to operate today – adding on to the original building three times over the years to expand the business to include DIY craft supplies, candles, holiday-themed supplies, handmade dolls, and canvas bags.
Today, Theresa at the age of 93 still runs the shop along with her daughters, Carol Atwood, Terry Hebert, and Dawn Pinkowish. This women, family-owned business continues the shop’s tradition of creating quality silk and dried flower floral bouquets and arrangements for the home, office, funerals, weddings or any other memorable occasion. The bouquets and arrangements are beautifully crafted and everlasting – each one custom made for their customers’ unique needs and tastes.
Serving the Bristol community with “heart” is how Theresa and her daughters treat every customer every day. Their mission statement is “Provide a creative, knowledgeable, friendly experience to all who walk through our door.”
Customer reviews online are a testament to how customer service is taken seriously at The Artificial Flower Shop:
Jaime G. says, “My mother-in-law and I stumbled upon this shop randomly and I am SO HAPPY I did. Dawn and I worked together to create the perfect bouquets and boutonnieres for my wedding and best of all, they’ll last forever! I had spent hours researching alternatives to bouquets because I didn’t want to waste money on flowers that would die right after the wedding. Not only was Artificial Flower Shop extremely well priced, people believed the flowers were real despite the silver sparkles and out-of-season flowers. I can’t recommend Dawn’s services enough. She was an absolute pleasure to work with!”
Darla L. says, “Love this place they do beautiful work and are the best to work with, they always give 150%!”
JoAnn B. says, “GREAT LITTLE PLACE FOR ALL YOUR DECORATING SUPPLIES. I JUST LOVE SHOPPING THERE. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU WILL FIND, JUST AROUND THE CORNER. THE OWNERS ARE SO FRIENDLY AND SO HELPFUL. LOVE THIS PLACE”
Now that spring is here, visit Theresa and her daughters at The Artificial Flower Shop, located at 246 Lake Avenue for all your spring and summer event floral arrangement needs.
Hours:
Monday through Friday 10 am – 3 pm
Saturdays 10 am – 3 pm