When Lisa Disbrow was around 11 or 12 years old, her grandmother, whom Disbrow recalls as “always growing beautiful flowers,” brought her into a dreamy little flower shop filled with nostalgia-inducing repurposed gifts.
“I was hooked,” Disbrow recalls. “I knew right then that that was what I wanted to do.”
She held onto that dream through adulthood, eventually starting a flower shop out of her Belgium home. In 2022, she secured one of WEDC’s Main Street Bounceback Grants, which made it possible to finally bring that vision full circle and open her own brick and mortar shop, “Violets & Vintage: A Flower Shop Where Repurposed Finds Beautiful Purpose,” shortly before Thanksgiving of that year at 100 South Main Street in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin.
Her flower shop has the same dreamy, nostalgic shopping experience that she remembers charming her as a child.
“This is much different than going to Walmart and just picking something out of whatever they have,” Disbrow notes.
Violets & Vintage takes pride in creating creative, customizable arrangements that are personal and unique. For instance, a woman once brought in her late mother’s 1940s ceramic pot, and Disbrow was able to use that as a base to create a special arrangement for her.
Beyond gorgeous fresh cut flower arrangements, her shop provides stunning expressions of beauty for weddings, funerals, and parties. She sells boutonnières and corsages as well as green plants and hanging plants. She suggests at least 48 hours’ notice for custom orders (the earlier the better), but a generous variety of grab n’ go options are always kept on-hand for spontaneous gifts.
She points out that spring bulbs have arrived and she will be offering up fresh tulips every Friday until Easter.
An eclectic assortment of one-of-a-kind gifts for all occasions “sourced from my own scavenging’s and creations,” also fill the shelves of her small shop. Disbrow has a passion for upcycling everything from paper products to furniture and giving vintage items new purpose.
“I love being here,” Disbrow says happily. “It’s like my clubhouse.”
Unfortunately, the life of this florist is not always a bed of roses. Last October, Disbrow was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed surgery. She has been working on slowly regaining her strength while running the shop, but has additional surgery scheduled for the end of February. She is hoping she will find others to staff her shop while she recovers but will be at the mercy of their availability.
She is currently open Thursday through Saturday and by appointment but she urges customers to contact her at the shop phone number for any requests- (920) 668-5031, as it is important to her to keep her business blooming as she works through this challenging chapter of life.
“I hope to be ready to be back full swing by Easter,” she says.
Violets & Vintage green plants can also be purchased at Mercantile Plaza in Port Washington.
For more info, visit Violets and Vintage at its website, on Facebook and Instagram.
