Randal Marsh has been in the flower biz for over two decades, after establishing The Flower Truck in 2020, he has finally settled his business into its forever home in the Britton District. We sat down with Marsh to learn about how one of OKC’s boutique flower shops has created its own community.
How did The Flower Truck begin?
I had been working with a local florist for 16 years. When COVID started, they closed for an indefinite amount of time, but regular clients were still reaching out to me for flower arrangements. I bought flowers from the grocery store and worked out of my kitchen before delivering the orders. We were going from house to house and truly working out of a flower truck, which was the initial idea. When I got the call that said it was time to return to work, I thought, “I don’t think I have to … I have my own business.”
The Flower Truck started as a delivery-only service. When did you become a brick-and-mortar business?
By the time the pandemic had subsided, we had already grown too big to just be an actual truck. We have had to move twice because we outgrew our previous locations. We moved to the Britton District last May right before Mother’s Day weekend, which may go down in history as one of the worst decisions I have ever made, since we were so busy with orders. I am really happy with the size we are now. We are small team of five and all of my staff are really competent and talented. Together, we have over 65 years of experience.
Where do you source your flowers?
We order from a flower broker in Holland a week ahead who ships to a local wholesaler that then delivers to us. If a customer was looking for something specific, we would need at least a week to order it. Everything is in season somewhere in the world, so most of the time I can order just about anything. We also buy locally from a farm in Stillwater called Bear Creek.
What is your customer base like?
We specialize in smaller events like intimate weddings and house parties and go daily to the local funeral homes and hospitals. We also have a lot of walk-in business. You can come in the shop and pick out flowers that you love. We can either wrap them up for you to arrange at home or we can build a bouquet while you wait.
What keeps us most busy are the day-to-day deliveries to private residences. We have customers who have us come monthly, bi-weekly or even weekly to change their flower arrangements. There is so much nuance to it. I have one customer that just wants a bucket of fresh flowers delivered so she can arrange them herself, and other customers who want me to bring completely new arrangements each time. My favorite part of the business is creating flowers for individual homes.
How else do you connect with the community?
We teach a lot of classes. We can set up at a business or event, or just host them in our shop. We have brides and their bridesmaids or friends celebrating a birthday come in and we teach them all how to make the same arrangement. It is a great way for a small group to have fun, drink some wine and be creative.
Visit The Flower Truck in the Britton District or find it on Instagram @TheFlowerTruckOKC
