Willow Glen Resident
Business
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Sweet Scent: A new flower store has opened in downtown Willow Glen. This is owner Calee Grabinski's second store and is located on the corner of Lincoln and Minnesota avenues.
Calee's Lilies are now blooming on the corner of Lincoln Avenue
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
Tiger lilies, roses and other colorful floral arrangements are spilling out of the corner shop on Lincoln and Minnesota avenues once again.
The former Posey Garden in Willow Glen is now home to Calee's Lilies.
"People are so happy to have a flower shop here again," Calee's Lilies shop owner Calee Grabinski says. "There was a need for a full- service flower shop in Willow Glen."
Before opening the doors this month, Grabinski walked down Lincoln Avenue to check out the various businesses and their products and services.
"I wanted to make sure that I offered something different and unique," Grabinksi says.
The business owner noted her neighbor, Kubo Little House, which offered orchids and chocolates, and down the street Signed and Sealed, which specializes in stationery.
Grabinski's first store, which she opened in Campbell, carries these items, but she will carry different merchandise in her second location in Willow Glen.
"I want to empower the business district and the neighbors around me," Grabinski says. "I want to complement what they have already."
The flower shop carries a variety of exotic and well-known flowers as well as vintage brooches, which she uses on wedding bouquets. The shop offers services for events and weddings and year-round delivery. She also creates gift baskets and romance packages--a personal service that sends someone from the shop to individual homes to decorate a bedroom with flower petals.
Grabinski is also a fan of color and says it's important to be creative and "mix things up."
Grabinski stumbled into the flower business while working in the hotel industry.
"I had a floral arrangement I had made behind me at my desk, and a woman came in and told me she had to have it," Grabinski says.
The woman turned out to be an employee at Nordstrom, who offered Grabinski her first contract to create floral arrangements for the department store. That started Grabinski on a new career path.
"I began doing weddings and realized I was good at it," she says.
Grabinski enjoyed the time she spent helping brides and grooms plan their weddings.
"I'm not in it the flower business for the flowers," she says. "I'm in it for the relationships the flowers help me build. My customers become my friends."
The business owner also says her commitment to her community goes hand-in-hand with building relationships.
"These are my people and my neighbors," Grabinski says. "I'm just happy I get to show my love and creativity through my flowers."
Calee's Lilies, 1399 Lincoln Ave., plans a grand opening celebration for Jan. 13 at 5 p.m. The event is free, and there will be catered food and live music. Dogs are welcome.
Calee's Lilies is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. For more information, call 408.293.3393.
