Business Profile: The Flower Basket Pleasantville

Whether you’re decorating for a momentous life event, saying final goodbyes to a loved one or trying to apologize to your significant other, chances are that flowers will be involved — and The Flower Basket in Pleasantville wants to help.

Eileen Desmond is the new owner of the Manville Road store, which has been in business since 1929. After taking floral culture classes at BOCES during high school, she fell in love with the business and got her first job at a florist shop at 15 years old.

She said the ability to be creative and bring joy to people has been one of the main attractions of the job.

“I can’t draw to save my life, I can’t paint, nothing like that can I do, but for some reason this is just my thing. I love doing it,” Desmond said.

Desmond had worked at The Flower Basket for seven years before taking over the company in September following the retirement of Diane and Ron Ricci. Desmond has been busy creating arrangements for cheerful holiday celebrations and weddings as well as solemn funerals. She often creates custom arrangements that reflect the deceased’s tastes and interests, including guitars and team logos made of flowers.

When helping customers choose flowers for any occasion, Desmond said she will ask questions about the recipients to ascertain what colors and styles might best suit them.

She will often suggest how people can make the arrangements more unique, although customers don’t always take her advice. No matter how many times she suggests pink and lavender, she said, men always seem to want the traditional red roses for Valentine’s Day.

Desmond said while she competes with hundreds of online florists, personalized customer service is one of the key elements of The Flower Basket. Customers may see a particular arrangement online, but what is delivered to the person’s door is not always as nice as the photograph on the website, she said.

If someone comes into the shop with an idea, she can work with him or her to create a similar piece that captures the essence of the online arrangement while using flowers that are fresh and in season.

Desmond said that if a person wants to send flowers to someone who lives in another state, it would be better to call a florist near their home as opposed to ordering online.

“Don’t use these online or 1-800 numbers because you don’t know what the outcome is going to be,” she said. “You just don’t know what you’re going to get. It’s so much better to talk to somebody.”

In addition to flowers and plants, The Flower Basket also offers an assortment of gift items such as scarves, ornaments and gourmet fruit baskets that are fresh and custom made.

Since taking over the business, Desmond hasn’t made many changes to the shop, although down the road she would like to replace the awning and change some of the furniture inside. She noted that she would also like to bring in more gift and houseware items.

One thing that will not change, however, is the name. Although many people expected Desmond to make the shop her own with a new name, she plans to keep the one that has been a fixture in Pleasantville for more than eight decades.

“I would be foolish to change it,” she said. “People know it by name; people who have moved out of the area 30 years ago still know the name of The Flower Basket.”

The Flower Basket is located at 399 Manville Rd. Regular store hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call 914-769-1688 or visit www.pleasantvilleflowerbasket.com.

Examiner Media

Examiner Media – Keeping you informed with professionally-reported local news, features, and sports coverage.