LaVassar Florists has been a fixture in north Ravenna for 35 years, but chances are, you haven't heard of it. The shop's subtle, cream-colored exterior is easy to overlook, in spite of the small sign reading "Florist" that hangs from the store's awning and faces North 75th Street.
Still, the flower shop is a household name to generations of North Seattle families who have depended on LaVassar to see them through anniversaries, graduations, weddings and funerals.
"We're here for all of the passages in life," said Judy Maag-LaVassar, the store's owner. "It's a very personal business. When a customer comes through the door, we often know who they are, who their family members are and what they like."
A family effort
LaVassar Florist is housed in a 78-year-old building at 7530 20th Ave. N.E., and offers floral bouquets, wreaths and corsages, as well as gourmet food baskets, balloon bouquets, silk arrangements, houseplants and gift items for pickup or delivery.
The shop's emphasis on quality, consistency and customer service earned it a nomination for the Seattle Mayor's Office Small Business Award in 2003.
Judy won't take the credit for the store's success herself, though. It's a family effort, as she enlists most of the LaVassar clan to help. Her five siblings regularly lend a hand in the store, while balancing professional and family obligations of their own.
Their children and Judy's mom, Joyce, take an active role, as well.
"On holidays and busy weekends, there are three generations working here," Judy said.
Each of the store's full-time employees "specializes" in an aspect of the business. While Judy focuses mostly on holiday orders, her sister Joanne LaVassar Schumacher, one of the store's four full-time employees, handles bridal orders, which make up about 30 percent of their profit.
Together, the LaVassar sisters have lent their expertise and patience at a variety of celebrations and condolences, resulting in many fond memories and a number of near-mishaps and humorous anecdotes, from hitchhiking to a wedding after the shop's van broke down, to duct-taping ripped tuxedo pants.
Judy and Joanne keep a scrapbook of photos and thank-you cards from satisfied clients that remind them of the important work they do.
"For me, it's a card or a phone call [from a customer] saying, 'That was great-you made my day,'" Joanne said about the gratitude that she receives from brides.
Passing the torch
LaVassar Florist's neighborhood reputation for quality floral arrangements and great customer service started in 1966, when the family's matriarch, Joyce Reems, opened the business in the family basement.
She had trained for years at a flower shop in Downtown Seattle before borrowing a $150 from her mother for a business license. Some of her first clients were neighborhood friends and her husband's colleagues.
Judy approached her mother as a student at the University of Washington in 1971 about taking a more active role in the business and eventually inspired her to relocate the shop to its current commercial location on 20th Avenue.
"I would have never relocated the shop if Judy hadn't approached me about it," said Joyce, who agreed to move partly because the residential location was easily accessible for her young children to walk to after school.
Today, younger generations of neighborhood kids walk to the floral shop when their moms can't pick them up at the bus stop on time.
Judy even nursed a client's dog there after it had surgery.
The constant traffic is a blessing for Judy, who depends primarily on word-of-mouth for new business, in addition to tradeshows and fund-raising donations at local schools and churches.
It seems to be paying off. LaVassar Florists is growing steadily amidst a temperate business climate that sways with weather, gas prices, airlines, seasons and a slew of other variables.
"I love that there is always change happening in this business," Judy said.
She has made adjustments in some of the company's suppliers, changed designs, adopted weekly staff meetings and hired a consultant within the last two years to ensure that her shop is abreast of current business practices.
Her mom, Joyce, couldn't be happier with what Judy has done with the shop.
"I think it's extraordinary," she said. "I'm so proud to see that the employees here are so talented and the customers are happy."
For more information about LaVassar Florists, call 522-1147.
Colleen Kiser usually writes her Off the Beaten Path column for the first issue of the month.
She can be reached at needitor@ nwlink.com.
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