Know Your Neighbor: Preeti and Jeff Schreier, Floral Shop Owners, Pleasantville

Schreier may come from very different backgrounds, but it’s their creativity – and technology – that helped bring them together.

Jeff grew up in Dayton, Ohio, the son of a floral designer with a love of gardening. He earned a master’s degree in art therapy at Nazareth College in Rochester before arriving in the metropolitan area.

His wife, Preeti, came to New York from Bombay (now Mumbai) to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology to study graphic design.

They met online, intrigued by each other’s creative interests. Preeti Schreier called their meeting “a miracle,” since at the time she was working long hours in advertising and living in Manhattan while Jeff had worked as an art therapist and later in merchandising.

“I came to New York 14 years ago and all I did was work,” said Preeti, who never expected to stay permanently after school since all of her family remains in India. “So how was I ever going to meet somebody and have a family and all that good stuff? It was meant to be that we met.”

Now they have taken another bold step. Earlier this year they opened a small floral and garden shop, Fox & Bramble, in the same space on Wheeler Avenue once occupied by The Pony Express near the Pleasantville train station.

Despite the challenges in an always competitive business environment, not only from other brick-and-mortar stores but through the online marketplace, they reasoned that the time was right to take the plunge and start their own business.

Jeff said considered launching an online floral business but thought that the best way to stand out is to have customers look, touch and smell the product.

“To me, I’m a visual person, so I like to go in and touch things,” he said. “By not having a store, you can’t really do that.”

Jeff manages the store as Preeti regularly commutes into the city to her job as an associate creative director at Bloomingdale’s. It also keeps him close to their Pleasantville home and two young children, ages seven and two.

But it wasn’t just the convenience of being within walking distance of home that helped them make the decision to open the store where they live. Although they looked at a variety of communities throughout Westchester, the couple reasoned that they wanted to bring their talents and passion to their home village and that people in the area were more apt to gravitate toward what they have to offer.

“We wanted to be in Pleasantville because we feel like this is the community that could appreciate something like that,” Preeti said. “It’s such a walking town and we wanted that sort of old-school service.”

They said that Fox & Bramble, whose name was partly inspired when they saw a fox outside their Pleasantville house where they have lived for the past seven years, offers traditional arrangements and also modern floral designs. Some customers enjoy experimenting with eclectic combinations, even for special occasions and weddings, such as mixing succulents with bright flowers.

The couple looks at themselves as not just florists but floral designers. Having the store allows them to tap into the emerging modern trends, which seems to be more prevalent among younger customers, Preeti said, but also allows people to walk in and get ideas or ask about what arrangements might be appropriate for a certain occasion.

Jeff said that he also works with customers to come up with something they like and is appropriate for the occasion that is within their budget.

“Some people come in and they don’t have much of an opinion, but a lot of people do,” Jeff said. “So you kind of get a blend for both and I think people have that option.”

So far their fledgling shop has been well received, particularly during the special days in spring. While summer was slow, they hope to tap into more special event opportunities, such as weddings, parties, and bar and bat mitzvahs.

Regardless of what the future holds, they’re happy they made the choice to open the store.

“This was our dream; this was his dream and I think you have to try to make it happen because at least you have tried,” Preeti said.

Fox & Bramble is located at 30 Wheeler Ave. in Pleasantville and is open Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call 914-747-4477 or visit www.foxbramble.com.