Full Bloom

Andy’s Flower Shoppe Keeps It Fresh

Andy Winstead was 8 years old when his mother and grandmother realized he had a gift. “They ran a small flower shop in their home,” Andy says. “When they saw I could do floral arrangements, they put me to work.”

That was 42 years ago. Today, he owns and operates Andy’s Lower Shoppe in Oneida. “My grandmother and my mother taught me how to do everything I know how to do,” he says.

Home in Oneida

After growing up in the flower business, the Morristown native opened his own shop in his hometown in 1997. In 2001, he sold that store, moved to Oneida, and opened Andy’s Flower Shoppe in a storefront on Alberta Street.

But when the space he was using for the shop sold in 2018, he had to find another location. Luckily, a building down the road opened with room for additional business opportunities for Andy and his partner, Keith Jackson. “We bought our own building,” Andy says.

Together, they added 2 new shops on either side of the florist—Mary Belle’s Ice Cream Shoppe and Keith Allen’s Tanning Salon.

The full-service florist offers everything from bridal sprays to funeral arrangements, as well as artificial flowers. Andy designs arrangements for favorite football teams, new mothers, birthdays, anniversaries, and more. The shop also creates specialized packages full of snacks and other gift items.

“Our biggest season is Memorial Day, but our biggest one-day holiday is Valentine’s Day,” Andy says. “We always do specials on Valentine’s Day, and we love to put little packages together.”

The Highland Connection

As a successful entrepreneur, Andy understands the importance of powerful tools and infrastructure, especially when it comes to broadband. He uses the reliable fast fiber connection from Highland for everything from taking orders to interacting with customers on social media.

“We use the internet every day,” Andy says. “We get orders in from all over the country, and all of that comes in through the internet.”

The business also maintains several websites to make sure Andy’s Flower Shoppe is easily found through online searches. “We have different websites, including andysflowershoppe.com and andysflowershoppe.net,” he says. “You can basically find us on the internet anywhere, and you have to be able to do that these days.”

The Andy’s Flower Shoppe Facebook page was liked by more than 4,400 people in October—a figure that’s higher than the population of Oneida, according to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data. Keith, who left a high-powered job with a large corporation to help run the businesses, is its social media director. “We really try to stay up on our reviews, because we know how important it is,” Andy says.

They also regularly receive requests from customers who want to recreate casket sprays or floral arrangements they’ve seen or found online. “We need to instantly see what someone is looking at, so we need that fast, fiber internet service,” Andy says. “And when they don’t know what they want, we can say, ‘Let’s go to so-and-so website and look at this together.’ It always immediately comes up for us, and it helps us instantly.”

Flower Power

In addition to his business abilities and strong entrepreneurial spirit, Andy credits much of his success to his clients and staff. “We have a really dedicated, wonderful staff and amazing Scott County clients,” he says. “These are the 2 entities that keep our doors open, and we are so blessed to have them.”

Another secret to success stems from Andy’s belief that what he does matters. He understands that the symbolism and beauty of flowers can make a powerful impact, especially during life’s most important moments.

“I know some people think, ‘Well, why would flowers matter?’” he says. “But there’s something about them that makes people happy. That’s important—very, very important.”

They can also help people cope during difficult times in ways that might not be readily apparent. “There are a lot of times that people go to funerals, and they don’t know what to say to a family that’s grieving and hurting,” he says. “But they can talk about the flowers. It doesn’t seem like much, but I’ve heard that so many times before. People will call us and give us compliments and say that we made it easier for them and the family.”

Published with permission from HTC.