'It's the best job in the world,' Codsall florist says as village flower shop celebrates 70th anniversary

A beloved village florist in Codsall, South Staffordshire, is marking a major milestone - celebrating 70 years in business - with a week of free fun-filled activities for customers.

The Flower Shop, Codsall, at Birches Bridge, has been a staple in the community for seven decades.

As a thank you to loyal customers and the community, the shop has been hosting a week of complimentary activities to appeal to people of all ages and interests including macramé plant holder and skeleton workshops, free facials in collaboration with local business Tropic, and pumpkin decorating sessions planned for Saturday October 24.

The shop has also been giving away free floral-inspired cakes, supplied by a local baker, to mark the milestone anniversary.

Current owner Louise Roberts-Rose, who has run the shop since 2004, said: “We’ve had a whole week of doing different things for people with different interests to give something back to the community. They’ve supported us along the way - we thought we’d put on some treats for everybody. It’s been nice, we’ve had some banners outside and people have been coming in.”

The business was originally started in 1956 by Jean Rudge who ran it until 1985, then it was taken over by Eileen Beards until 1998 when Jane Egan took the reigns, with Louise taking it on in 2004.

Despite her suitably floral-sounding surname, she said she initially had no inclination to pursue floristry as a career. She trained as an accountant, but ‘got the bug’ for flowers after helping out in her sister’s shop in Sutton Coldfield on Saturdays.

“I used to work Monday to Friday just wishing to get to Saturday so I could play with flowers,” she told the Express & Star.

A conversation with a Dutch wholesaler, who mentioned the established Codsall floristry shop was coming up for sale, resulted in her taking on her own business and she hasn’t looked back since.

“I was really lucky. I think I’ve always had someone looking down and looking after me,” she said.

Reflecting on the shop’s enduring success, she said when asked why it has stood the test of time: “We care about our job. We actually love our job and we listen.”

She said the business - which employs three full-time staff - keeps up to date with new trends and she likes to innovate with new offerings and sourcing different flowers to provide a service customers want and appreciate.

For Louise, a mum-of-three, the daily work remains as rewarding as ever.

"It's the best job in the world," she said.

“I can’t think of anything else that would give me the satisfaction and rewards, and I’ve got a great team.”