Wait, WHAT?
Some of you have followed us from our very first days at our stall in the former Marketplace on Ridge Avenue. Many of you have joined the journey since we moved to our current home on Conrad Street. After 6 incredible years here, we’ve outgrown our 900 sq ft and are ready for the next step – a big move, a new name, and a CAFÉ!
We purchased the building in June 2015 and spent the last two years raising funds and designing a beautiful space for our customers and staff to enjoy together, while continuing to keep Falls Flowers running at full steam. Now, we’re in the home stretch as the building nears completion: we’re gearing up to purchase equipment and fixtures to fit-out the space, hire and train additional staff, build relationships with more local artisans, and get everyone excited.
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Proposed storefront
We’ve been listening as our neighbors have wished aloud for a modern gathering space to serve as a cornerstone of the community, and we’ve always believed that community involvement has been the key to a successful business. We’re proud to call East Falls our home and we’re eager to do our part in making our community shine. But WE NEED YOUR HELP. We’re asking you to show your support for this project and get us to the finish line.
You’ll be supporting a local business run by one of your neighbors. You’ll be helping us to bring in another local favorite, High Point Coffee. You’ll be helping to build a community gathering space. AND you’ll be voting with your dollars that THIS is something that you want in East Falls.
Why Vault + Vine?
As a business owner and resident, I am 100% committed to serving East Falls first. My hope is that we provide a valuable enough service to that you will continue to support us through the name change. However, most of our business currently comes from outside the neighborhood, with events and deliveries making up the majority of our revenue. With our new, expanded business model for 3507 Midvale Avenue, “Falls Flowers” was no longer big enough to express it all. I sought a name that would give people a sense of what they might experience when they come to our new space. We’re growing from flowers and some plants and some gifts, to flowers and a greenhouse, and a café, and an event space, and more gifts (stationary, home goods, textiles, bath and body, the list goes on), and, eventually, a small nursery. It is bittersweet to be changing names but, after much contemplation, I strongly believe that it is the right thing to do. But, if you want to keep calling us Falls Flowers, we won’t mind one bit!
The JOURNEY
In 2008, my husband and I were looking for a new neighborhood to call home. Cambridge (MA) was great, but we couldn't afford to buy a home, and there didn't seem to be room for growth. We eventually bought a house in East Falls because it was close to my family, and felt like a neighborhood where we could set down permanent roots and create the life we were seeking. The following year, I decided to jump in with both feet, opening Falls Flowers as a stall in the former Marketplace at East Falls. When the Marketplace closed the following year, rather than shutting down with it, we moved everything into the basement and in February 2011 opened up shop in our current home on Conrad Street.
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Our 1st location inside the Marketplace at East Falls, 2010
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Our current home at 3421 Conrad Street, 2017
Over the past 7½ years, Falls Flowers has grown from a single employee (me!) to employing a staff of five. While both our retail and events business has grown considerably, our event work has often taken a front seat over retail operations, despite always knowing that there was much more room for retail growth. By 2014 we’d nearly reached maximum capacity for growth in our current space and were in desperate need of a larger location that could also accommodate my dream of incorporating a café.
Moving Falls Flowers outside of East Falls was not an option. I'd had my eye on 3507 Midvale from the day we moved into the neighborhood, and jumped at the opportunity to purchase the building in 2015. I've launched an Indiegogo campaign for this project in order to bring the community into a project for which you have been vocal advocates. From day one of Falls Flowers, I have always believed that the secret to successful small business is community involvement. As neighbors, we support each other, which is why I'm reaching out and asking for your support. After two years of tirelessly working towards bringing our new retail and cafe space to life, I'm asking you to step up to the plate and show us that you believe in this project too.
The NUMBERS
Your financial support will give us a much needed boost to finish this project without taking on additional debt. Thus far, we've received a combination of traditional and non-traditional loans to finance the purchase and renovation of the property. Your contribution towards our $50k goal will go towards purchasing the equipment needed for the cafe and help us to complete the interior fit out of the retail space. While we do have additional avenues of funding available to us, your support here will allow us to move more quickly without the burden of interest or repayments (other than the great perks we're offering!).
For those of you who love to crunch numbers, here's where things stand:
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Building purchase (cost + legal fees): $440k
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Building renovation (permits, consultants, plumbing, hvac, electrical, new 2nd floor event space, greenhouse structures, parking lot updates): $650k
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Interior fit out (counters, light fixtures, shelving, display structures, etc): $75k
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Cafe equipment (espresso machine, grinder, coffee maker, fridges, sinks) : $25k
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Inventory (plants for stocking the greenhouses, coffee and pastries from High Point for the café, more of everything we currently carry, new merchandise such as home textiles, bath and body): $15K
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Outdoor seating and plant nursery: TBD (on the horizon…)
That’s a grand total of $1.2 million. Whoa! But, we’re 100% positive that this is a worthwhile investment. Regardless of whether or not we reach our goal, every dollar we receive during this campaign will go towards getting our doors open in time to celebrate with you this Spring.
The GOODS
As a token of our gratitude, we're offering a number of perks that will only be available through this campaign. Whether you’re in it for the coffee, or have been dying to take a design workshop with us, we’re certain that there’s something for everyone here. Need to see it with your own eyes? Check a few of these goodies out below:
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Postcard ($10) or 12x18 Poster ($30), photo credit: Shannon Collins Photography
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Smell good: our custom Flower Shop scented candle ($40), hand poured into a limited edition vessel (TBD!) by our friends at Olliver
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Adopt a Plant: you'll have the opportunity to choose a plant and we'll plant it up in a limited edition planter ($75)
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Floral trifecta: 3 months of flowers for your home ($250)
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Lifeline: A year's worth of drip coffee and a special edition mug ($500)
There are many more great perks of all shapes and sizes! Make sure to check them out on the right.
The IMPACT
Currently, if you live in East Falls and want to purchase unique gifts for yourself or loved ones, the nearest options are to travel to Manayunk, Mt Airy, or Chestnut Hill. While we enjoy visiting, we think that East Falls deserves a retail hub of its own! Our new location will also give Midvale Avenue a much-needed boost, bringing some fresh landscaping to break up the expanse of pavement between Chuck’s and MAT.
Your contribution will also help us to keep doing what we do best. Every year, we donate our time and money towards supporting and growing our neighborhood, working with community groups such as: East Falls Community Council, East Falls Development Corporation, the Sports Association, Historical Society, Friends of Falls Library, Friends of Laurel Hill, and many more. This community commitment averages out to 18% of our annual profits!
And you can rest easy knowing that you’re supporting a genuinely good business. We’re a part of a growing movement of businesses around the world certified as a B-Corp. B-Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. We were the first florist (in the world!) to make this commitment, striving to do what a good business should do: support our community, buy and source locally, pay our employees well, and follow high standards of sustainability.
The RISKS
We’ve been doing what we do for a while now, but it doesn’t keep us from the many risks and challenges that come with this project. Investing such a large amount of money in a building and business plan the way we have is a really BIG risk! There are a lot of pieces that must fall into place perfectly for all of this to work out. However, we’ve been doing our homework, talking to experts, and working around the clock to minimize these risks for ourselves and for you. Two things to consider:
- Starting Falls Flowers during a major economic recession was no joke. It was hard and the business lost a lot of money in the first year. Nevertheless, persistence and a willingness to ask for help got us through those critical first years.
- I have café experience! Yep, the café concept isn’t coming out of left field – I’ve spent 3 years working in cafés of different shapes and sizes, with 1 year of management experience.
Journeys like this aren’t without their share of mistakes and failures. The key to success in our particular story is that we’re ALL IN, 100% committed to doing whatever it takes to make it work. It doesn’t hurt that we’ve cultivated a community of experts to advise and help us along the way!
The WORD
Whether or not you’re able to make a donation, you can help us spread the word. Use Indigogo’s share tools (up top, below our goal), use the hashtags #EastFallsIsGrowing, and #3507Midvale, and don’t forget to tag us! We’re on Facebook and Instagram @FallsFlowers. Tell your friends and family, neighbors and coworkers about the awesome perks they can receive for their support of a great local business.
With love and gratitude,
Peicha
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