Floral Heaven
Floral Heaven is the flower shop owned by Eiry, as well as Tally Roma before his death. Eiry chose the location, while he chose the name. There is a small apartment above which has been inhabited by various people at different times, and is currently in the general use of the staff. The shop is located in Minato-ku a few doors down from the Osa-P Jewelry Shop.
Floral Heaven specializes in Western plants and flowers, and caters mostly to the foreign population in Tokyo. They can also make arrangements utilizing the now rare art of Victorian Flower Language.
Their second location, Floral Dream, is headed by Yumiko.
Hours and Staff
Floral Heaven is open from 8 AM–8 PM on weekdays, 8 AM–4 PM on Saturdays, and 12 PM–4 PM on Sundays. They do have extended hours for holidays such as Valentine's Day and Mother's day.
Eiry does the early work, and opens the shop in the morning. She normally works from about 7 AM to 6 PM during the week, but no longer keeps hours on weekends except for special events which must be booked ahead of time. She can often be seen working on planning arrangements in The Hotel. She holds Master Florist certificates for both Vermont and Japan. (Thanks to Dr. Xadium for the awesome business card!)
- Richard Rogers, who while not quite what they were looking for, has fit in quite well. He has taken Eiry's weekend hours and has hours 3-4 days during the week, as well as picking up extra work and events as needed. He's currently helping out at both locations.
Calli Janson is the flower handler for this location, unpacking, cleaning, hydrating, and opening flowers and plants when they arrive and arranges them in the coolers. She is also in training to become a florist.
Edar is the general manager and handles books for this location, as well as IT services.
- Nana Sano works 8 AM to 5 PM daily behind the sales counter, stocking their floor items, and taking phone-in orders.
- Their other behind the counter employees include Chloe, 5 PM to 8 PM on M-W-F; and Brad, who works 5 PM to 8 PM T-Th, Saturday, and Sunday.
- Their two delivery people are Inigo, who works during the week, and Gitaro, who does delivery on weekends and helps with holidays and events as needed. Former delivery person Yuki left in July 2016 when she got married, and was replaced by Inigo.
Kai and various members of the Astral Seminar group based in Tokyo can also be found here at times, either hanging out or helping during busy holidays. The shop is open to visitors unless they interfere with work or customers.
Available Positions
Candidates applying for work at Floral Heaven should be able to get along well with the existing full time staff, and be able to handle the unusual and non Human things that go along with the shop. Expect to work long hours during busy times and holidays including Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Christmas/New Year's.
There are currently no available positions.
About
Floral Heaven can be contracted for parties, weddings, funerals, and any other occasions. Other than flowers, the shop carries vases, gardening products, plant-based products, and other things of that nature. In 2011 they were chosen by a well-known Japanese handbag designer, Mrs. Nitta, to carry her products, as well. They do not carry jewelry in deference to Osa-P. They currently have contracts with both The Hotel restaurant Allez Cuisine and the New Grand Imperial Theatre.
Floral Heaven is a member of the World Flower Council, and they shut down floral work (but not their floor products) to attend the Philadelphia Flower Show every March, where they do a few Victorian Flower Language and Design panels each year.
The shop has also become the centerpoint for The Tokyo Lupa. Like packs, they have a tendency to use the shop as an economic unity. Both Vilya's paintings and business cards for Miara Mitsuki's former salon are available there.
Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011
In March 2011, Eiry arranged for her full time staff to travel to the states for the Philadelphia Flower Show, and most of them spent nearly a week there busy with viewing, panels, contact making, and idea gathering. They planned to conference upon their return to find an inspired new direction for the shop. While there, Eiry filled in for a sick presenter, running a successful flower language panel for two days.
They returned home the day after the record earthquake and tsunami to spend two days cleaning up glass and untrashing the shop, and see their plans for the future quickly unravel as Japan became a nation in crisis. They did everything they could to help, from donating any remaining sales to charity, as well as a generator and all their remaining fuel, which were previously used to power the three walk-in coolers during power outages. When they ran out of everything, they got busy helping with the relief effort, mostly helping to collect and coordinate donations from Lupa around the world.
Although the shop survived, it required some considerable sacrifice both by Eiry and her staff. They went ahead with it, however, hoping that the upcoming wedding season would enable them to recover from the crisis, which it did, but it took nearly a year for them to recover financially from the disaster.