Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August, 2019. We later heard from Flora’s original creator, Mary, and amended this article in November 2019.

This just in! One of your favorite little flower shops on the west end of town, Flora, is under new ownership from the proprietress Corinne Bryson. Says Corinne of the shop, which is now called Flora Good Times: “There will still be tons of plants and flowers, but I'm aiming to work with small local farms to get flowers during the growing season rather than imported flowers, and unusual plant specimens!” The shop has also started offering classes, like the Thanksgiving Centerpiece Workshop this Thursday, November 21, 2019 (catch rare workshops like this in A Little Beacon Blog’s Classes Guide).

But Wait - Where’s Mary?

Mary Fris originally created Flora - which had a different logo in all lower case (see Niche Modern’s coverage of them here when Mary first opened in 2015). We tracked Mary down in her gardening boots, and learned her true thoughts - which she never held back on sharing as she participated in city government goings-on by submitting her opinion from time to time.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss all of my lovely customers. ... Beacon has been my home for the last 20 years, but having a business here really made me appreciate what a truly wonderful community this is and continues to be as it evolves with a whole new generation of young families.

I intend to stay involved by volunteering or maybe even a part-time job on Main Street to keep my finger on the pulse. This community has given me so much and I hope to return the same. I also want to take up painting and travel ... maybe check off a few places on my bucket list or escape somewhere for the winter. It’s nice not having to lift buckets of water or run back and forth between suppliers. I don’t like the word ‘retirement’ - it seems foreign and I am not the type to put my feet up. I intend to stay active. But my days of owning my own business are over. At least for now ... lol!

To add to your Beacon trivia, Mary was once a pastry chef at 02, which is now Isamu. “Running a cafe is pretty much 24/7,” Mary told A Little Beacon Blog. “I’ve done that a couple times too! Lotsa work work work. Hats off to Jessica of Homespun!”

About The New Owner, Corinne

Where does Corinne hail from? It is always interesting to follow the thread of a small business journey, tracing from where a business owner started, and how they got here, to Beacon. Corinne is originally from outside of Detroit. She’ll fill in the rest:

“I moved to Rochester, NY, 10 years ago to go to school for photography. I moved to Brooklyn almost seven years ago to pursue that career and tripped and fell into floral design and fell in love with houseplants. My husband and I currently live in Brewster, where we’re working at filling our house with rare plants, hand-thrown ceramics and knick-knacks from our travels.”

Tripping and falling into floral design sounds fun. Let the opening of the shop begin! Flora Good Times will hold an opening day celebration on Sunday, September 1, 2019 from 12 to 5 pm. The shop is located at 197 Main St., Beacon, NY near the Beacon Bread Company.