Flowers in the Mitten moved to Wayne – A florist experience you can’t find anywhere else

Rachel Botu, owner of Flowers in the Mitten.

By Sarah Shurge – Some things in life just seem meant to be. For Rachel Botu, that is owning a flower shop. Her shop – Flowers in the Mitten, formerly located in Romulus, recently moved to downtown Wayne.
The business soft-opened at its new location on Wednesday, February 1st, and had a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, February 7th.
However, Botu’s journey to becoming the business owner she is today had many twists and turns along the way.
Botu originally worked for her father in the trucking industry after she graduated high school. She continued working there for 10 years.
During her maternity leave, her husband, Paul, mentioned to her that she should do something she loved for work. He suggested something with wedding planning, bringing up the fact that she did the flowers for their wedding and loved it.
A random day after that, Botu walked into a flower shop and the owner’s daughter offered Botu a job if she completed floral design classes. Botu signed up for classes that very night and ended up working in that exact flower shop for a year and a half. Botu proceeded to win a scholarship and traveled to Texas for a week to learn how to run a successful business. During that week, Botu gained a passion and started looking into the process of how to open her own flower shop.
However, she almost didn’t open her shop because the week Botu was signing her lease for her Romulus location, her father passed away. All of her family said they were behind her and supported her, so she pushed the signing back a week.
Flowers in the Mitten was open in downtown Romulus for three and a half years.
“I love doing what I’m doing and it’s become such a passion,” said Botu. “The customers we have have become like family because we’re so close to them.”
Botu started a vendor show in Romulus. The show had 20 vendors to begin with, but now has 70.
Eventually, unfortunately, Flowers in the Mitten didn’t receive the traffic flow it needed. With no support from the city, Botu had to make a tough decision: either close its doors or move.
One of our vendors from the show that does custom tumblers has a husband that is a DTW employee. They heard Botu mention she was looking for a new location for her business, so he reached out to Lori Gouin, Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Director.
Gouin reached out to Botu immediately.
“According to the discussion board and social media, the main thing we [the City of Wayne] need is a florist and a bakery. We strive to fill the missing pieces in the business community and this is filling a missing piece,” said Gouin.
Within two weeks, Botu moved Flowers in the Mitten to Wayne.
“This was just God opening all the doors for us to come over here,” said Botu. “My big thing has always been community and small businesses. I’m excited because already we’ve seen such a huge welcoming with the city and also to partner with the Makers Market.”
Gouin mentioned since the Makers Market is closing, a great way to keep that going is to enter a partnership where the tenant keeps the makers inside their building.
“I’m really grateful that we [the DDA] have this opportunity with Botu and the investment and commitment she’s making,” said Gouin. “And the potential to cultivate another permanent storefront business within 12 months.”
Flowers in the Mitten was designed as a one-stop shop with customized items. Botu provides both custom work and items you can buy in store as well.
You can purchase flower arrangements, stuffed animals for flower arrangements, angels and lanterns with LED candles, garden decor, sympathy stones, cement benches, standing stones on an easel, and more.
“Funeral pieces are a large part of our flower sales and I really try to specialize and add something to the flowers to represent your loved ones,” said Botu. “This is not something you see in an everyday flower shop. We do it differently and do it right.”
Paul is a partner with the shop and does all the woodworking. You can order a custom sign for a wedding, wedding flowers, or custom pieces. The shop just needs a few days in advance to create them.
“When I’m shopping, I want to do a one-stop shop,” said Botu. “We were trying to figure out how to expand this, so that’s why we are so excited to partner with the market. It worked out perfectly pairing with them.”
Botu hopes to bring the vendor shows to downtown Wayne as well.
“I want to bring stuff to the community and grow,” said Botu. “There are so many different activities going on every month here, I want to get involved and be a part of this great community.”
Botu and Paul have been married for seven years, they have a 14 year old daughter and 7 year old son.
“I need to give a huge thanks to my family. I would not be where I’m at without their support,” said Botu. “Every holiday, my brother and sister take the day off to help. My mom always helps. Even my 83 year old grandpa was here to help me open this new location.”
Flowers in the Mitten opened at the ideal time right before Valentine’s Day.
“For Valentine’s, we have one-of-a-kind designs that other florists won’t have,” said Botu. “We planned to bring out new designs coming into the new shop. Everyone can look on our website for deals or giveaways for popular arrangements.”
Flowers in the Mitten is located at 34852 W Michigan Ave in downtown Wayne. It’s open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. through 2 p.m.
“Anything that the community wants to see, we are willing to do. Painting, candle making, there is always something for the community to do,” said Botu. “We have classes at the shop that are open to the public or private.”
For more information about Flowers in the Mitten, you can visit their website at flowersinthemitten.com or call (734)992-8334. You can also check out their Facebook page by searching “Flowers in the Mitten” for live videos, giveaways, and announcements.