We were delighted to speak to Pam from Tribeca Citizen about our business and our recent move back to Tribeca. Thank you, Pam!
Spotlight: Élan Flowers
Because this site focuses on news, the businesses that have been around awhile—and that make this neighborhood special—don’t get the coverage they should. Spotlight attempts to make up for that.
Élan Flowers has a unique relationship to Tribeca: it was founded here 40 years ago on Duane, then moved to Franklin in 2015, then to Grand Street in Soho in 2017, and now back to the neighborhood, to 1 Worth at Hudson. Owners Christine and Patrick Hall, who bought the business in 2015, will move their home here in the near future as well. Patrick is the floral designer and an advocate for small business in NYC; he was recently honored with the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce’s Best in Business award. Christine is a choreographer by trade and also handles Élan’s marketing.
How did you get started in this business?
PATRICK: I started working in the floral industry when I was still acting – I have my master’s from NYU. At the time, my “survival job” was working in events and floral design. It eventually became a career and I was an event designer for 10 years. But my favorite part was always the flowers. It’s the pure beauty. It always makes me smile and makes me happy. Plus I love having a team of like-minded creatives.
CHRISTINE: Patrick thought he could spread his wings a bit more if he owned the business. He’s amazing. He’s a real advocate for small business.
When did you open the store, and why here?
PATRICK: Élan Flowers had been in Tribeca for most of its 40 years. We wanted to be back here and bring our artistry and industry back to the neighborhood.
The original Élan was on Duane Street for 20 years until they lost the lease and moved the business to Franklin. We moved to Grand Street when we lost that lease on Franklin.
This is the whole saga of small storefronts in Tribeca. It’s largely about losing leases. What happened to Élan Flowers over the years is typical. We are really happy to be in our forever home since we bought this place. The business started here with 750 square feet, and at Grand Street we had 1200 square feet. Now we have over 6000 square feet.
This space was the former Xeno Lights – they rent lights and equipment for the film and television industry and had been here for 30 years, since the building converted to a coop. We bought the commercial unit – two floors and the basement.
CHRISTINE: Patrick’s dream was always to move the business back to Tribeca. But when I saw this space I said no way — it certainly wasn’t pretty. It was so filled with equipment when we closed on it, you couldn’t even see the back of the space. When we saw it empty for the first time, we were like oh, so this is what we bought!
PATRICK: Believe it or not, the curb cut in front was very valuable to us. It means there are not placard cars parking in front of the store and blocking deliveries and pickups.
Read the rest of the article HERE
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