Ellington

In the midst of winter, Grafe Studio will bring the scent and colors of tropical weather to St. Elmo with an “Escape to the Tropics” floral arrangement class Jan. 10.

“We figure everyone will be tired of the cold by then, so we will have fresh product coming in from Hawaii,” said Betsy Grafe, who is co-owner with her husband Dennis. “We will show how to make colorful centerpieces for home.”

The class will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and costs $25, which includes an arrangement to take home. Space is limited and registration is required. Grafe Studio hosts at least one class each month.

“One of the advantages of the flower industry today is that there are very few seasonal flowers because they can be grown year-round in temperate climates,” Betsy Grafe said. “Our big edge is we buy from farms directly in South America. We chose the farms that are environmentally and socially responsible growers.”

The Grafes began a part-time business in the early 1980s, arranging flowers for their friends’ weddings. The Grafes got their feet wet at the Business Development Center six years ago before opening a shop in St. Elmo two and a half years ago. Their business continues to grow, one bouquet at a time.

“We kind of specialize in weddings,” Betsy Grafe said. “Last year [2009] we did 60, and this year [2010] we did 90.”

Business should be blooming throughout the new year as well, starting with their first wedding Jan. 1, after which 18 more have already been booked, she said.

Grafe Studio’s designers, Julianna Chapman and Christy Babin, who have bachelors in horticulture from Mississippi State University, are experts at making sure no two wedding bouquets or boutonnieres look alike, according to their employers. They added that Chapman and Babin get to know their customers so they can tailor designs to the customer’s personality, creating classic styles or fun and funky with incorporated jewelry and keepsakes.

“We don’t call ourselves a florist shop,” Dennis Grafe said. “We call ourselves floral merchandisers, because we market flowers in non-traditional ways as well as doing everything a florist can.”

As florists, the Grafes can prepare bouquets, cut flowers by the bunch or place them in arrangements delivered to customers in and around Chattanooga. As merchandisers, Grafe Studio’s flowers can be found at Pruett’s Grocery on Signal Mountain, the food court at UTC, The Village Market in Collegedale, Erlanger hospital’s gift shop and the Moore and King Pharmacy at Erlanger Health System’s Women’s East. Grafe also sold blooming orchid plants at Greenlife Grocery until recently. Now, healthy Phalaenopsis orchids can be found in the St. Elmo studio.

All the studio’s leftover flowers are sent as bouquets and centerpieces to hospice patients and nursing homes.