Business
BY KAREN CHANEY
Ginger Kerr Collier co-owns Allen Flower Shop with her father Jim Kerr, who bought the business in 1972.
Allen Flower Shop orists design custom arrangements at their downtown shop.
PHOTOS BY KAREN CHANEY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Allen Flower Shop owner continues a 50-year legacy While working on a ower arrangement in the Allen Flower Shop workroom, co-owner Ginger Kerr Collier points to di erent sections of the room that stir up memories of family members
because they remind her of spring, she said. Florists at Allen Flower Shop create a variety of ower arrangements ranging from traditional to contemporary styles. Customers can choose to duplicate a predesigned arrangement or give the orist design parameters and let them create a custom arrangement. The impact The busiest seasons at Allen Flower Shop are Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Christmas. The top three reasons people buy owers are birth- days, anniversaries and sympathy. Collier said she feels honored when customers order owers for a funeral from her and nds comfort in her religious beliefs. “It’s an honor to honor their loved one with owers,” Collier said. “When somebody is grieving ... at a funeral, I like to think of all the beautiful owers at a service and think about their beautiful life. I’m a believer and I like to think about the beautiful life that they’re expe- riencing in heaven and the beauty that they’re
Plants are also sold at Allen Flower Shop.
who stood behind the counter with her. In 1972, when Collier was 2 years old, her father, Jim Kerr, bought Allen Flower Shop for her mother, Carolyn Kerr. The Allen couple relocated the business within Allen to the current location in 1973. Collier o cially became co-owner of the business with her father in 2025 but has been run- ning the business for the past 15 years, she said. The setup Customers can stop by the shop to purchase fresh, premade ower arrangements from the cooler, select individual stems, or order custom or predesigned arrangements either in person or online. Some customers choose a ower sub- scription, which provides regular deliveries on a preset schedule. “He does it every six weeks and has been doing it for six or seven years. We change his [arrange- ment] up with di erent colors or di erent vases. He treats my drivers, including me, like we’re friends,“ Collier said of an Allen resident whose ower subscription always includes carnations for his wife. Collier said she orders owers from Dallas ower wholesalers who source them from a variety of places including Ecuador, Canada and the United States. Her personal favorite owers are stargazers because they smell good and tulips
Fresh, premade ower arrangements are available.
seeing right now.” The background
The Kerr family home is located a short bike ride from the shop. Collier said when her father bought Allen Flower Shop as a birthday gift for her mother, it was meant to give her a hobby. “My dad always jokes and says, ‘Men, buy your wife owers, not a whole ower shop,’” Collier said.
MCDERMOTT DR.
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102 E. Main St., Allen www.allen owershop.com
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ALLEN EDITION
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