White Flowers
White Flowers Gallery is a retailer offering t-shirts, infant's clothing, prints, tea towels and other gift items.
The business began in 1986 when photographer Eric Hansen suggested to his wife, Diana that the black and white floral prints they were making to decorate their home on Edgewood Boulevard in Homewood would also look good on t-shirts. She made a few to wear, and the interest she received led her launch a small business, selling shirts through the Lackey Floral Co. and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
From there, Hansen was contacted by merchandisers in Atlanta and Los Angeles, and soon she was getting orders from department stores like Nordstrom and Bullock's. Unable to get funds to expand as a wholesaler, Hansen instead opened two retail kiosks at Brookwood Village and the Riverchase Galleria, then moved into a permanent shop space at Brookwood.
In the 1990s, Hansen relocated the shop to a former BP station at 2824 Cahaba Road in Mountain Brook Village. She added skylights and trellises to transform the building.
In about 2008 White Flowers Gallery moved to the former Shades Valley Times offices at 2800 18th Street South in downtown Homewood. It closed its downtown brick-and-mortar store in Spring 2018 and reopened back at Brookwood Village on "Black Friday", November 23, of the same year.
References
- Park, Jennifer (January 8, 2001) "White Flowers: Everything's coming up roses for retailer." Birmingham Business Journal
- Cromwell, Sydney (May 4, 2018) "White Flowers to close after 32 years in business." Homewood Star
- "Homewood retailer reopening at Brookwood Village" (November 19, 2018) Birmingham Business Journal
External links
- White Flowers Gallery website