What makes a mom-and-pop shop so special to a small community like ours is the heart and passion the owners put into their small business. At Petal Passion, the boutique is more than a small business to its owners. It’s a passion for connecting with people in the community and creating bouquets so beautiful that they touch the hearts of others.
When Sarah and Jason Barrett set out to open a floral boutique in 2014, they knew they wanted to make a difference in the community.
“When people come in for weddings and funerals, I think what’s really rewarding is the way of not just having the business, but we're really trying to give 'em closure or celebrate the start of a new marriage or welcoming a new baby,” Jason said.
Before the idea of Petal Passion Floral Boutique was planted in her mind, Sarah had been working in different floral shops in Shelley and Idaho Falls for over a decade.
Her first job in a florist shop was 26 years ago when the owner of the shop pulled Sarah off of the street at a 4th of July parade and said, “I need some help in here. I heard you were good, and I would love to have you in here.” So Sarah’s journey as a florist began.
“She started training me, and I learned so much from her and just fell in love with it,” Sarah said. “That’s what I’ve done ever since.”
Along the way, Sarah mastered the skill of being a florist. Her knowledge of flowers and arrangements, customer service skills and her eye for detail grew, but her creative spell had always been in her.
“She’s always redecorating the house,” Jason laughed. Sarah agreed,“I’ve always been that way. When I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do was reorganize my room.”
Sarah’s natural knack for design is what makes Petal Passion stand out in the industry.
The floral boutique is filled with a wide variety of flowers that she describes as rare and unique. “We try to have a lot of flowers to choose from,” she said. “We try to carry stuff that people have never seen before, and that's kind of what I’m known for. People come in and tell me, ‘I love that you’re unique and different.’”
The flowers at the boutique come from all over the world. From roses and tropicals from Ecuador to tulips from Holland, the bouquets crafted here are unique for their color combinations, rare flower types, arrangement styles and accent flowers.
When it comes to her creative process, she often uses the old-school style of “roundy moundy,” as the florists call it. The roundy moundy style refers to florals that are arranged in a round, full and dome-shaped bouquet.
As a florist, Sarah pours her heart and passion into each arrangement, and as a business owner, she imparts her knowledge and skills to her team. “I love being able to teach them different things and skills,” she said. “I wouldn’t consider this a job. I would consider it a career because it’s a skill.”
The skills she’s taught others are the very ones she learned along the way. As soon as the flowers are delivered, they process them, cut them and place them in fresh water with preservatives that help them last longer in the cooler. Each step ensures the quality of the flowers and makes all the difference when crafting a fresh bouquet of flowers, as opposed to the flowers you will find at a grocery store.
As small business owners, both Sarah and Jason put their all into the floral boutique to provide a high-quality product, but they describe the most rewarding part of the job as seeing people’s reactions and knowing they’re helping make an event or occasion extra special.
Petal Passion offers arrangements for any occasion, including weddings, funerals, birthdays, anniversaries, dances or sympathy arrangements from Rigby to Shelley. On their website you will find a wide variety of florals to choose from, and the boutique offers same-day delivery.
For more details, head to www.petalpassionofidaho.com.