Flowers have always been an
essential component of the Martha Stewart ethos. From her first catering
business to her books and magazines, flowers (both growing and arranging them) are
central to the Martha Stewart way of life. As a caterer during the late 1970s and early 1980s, on the morning of an
event, Martha and her team would head out before dawn to the flower markets,
ensuring they had access to the best and most plentiful selection to help
supplement those she had already picked from her own garden at Turkey Hill
Road. In her books on gardening and entertaining, too, she frequently espoused
the allure of arrangements of flowers throughout the house when hosting guests.
It was in January of 2000 when
Martha finally brought a flower business into the Omnimedia fold, allowing her readers and viewers - many of whom did not have gardens - to partake in the enjoyment of Martha's favourite varieties and arrangements. She had
already launched a catalog business, which at that point was functioning online
as well: Marthasflowers.com was born.
In her letter to readers in the
February, 2000, issue of Martha Stewart Living, Martha explains the concept:
“Using the knowledge that I
gained during those years of catering, and the experience that we have garnered
editing this magazine and Weddings, we have started an online flower business,
marthasflowers.com, so that you, too, can have access to the most beautiful,
freshest flowers obtainable anywhere. Our flowers staff, headed by crafts
editor Hannah Milman, meticulously tests myriad varieties before we make our
selections. The finest growers in the United States, South America and Europe
have been visited and consulted and studied so that what we are sending you
meets our standards.”
Consumers had the option of
ordering online from either the marthasflowers.com, marthabymail.com or the
marthastewart.com websites. They would receive what are known as ‘grower’s
bunches’ – flowers that have been picked and wrapped by the growers themselves,
shipped directly to the Martha Stewart warehouses where they were packaged in
specially branded boxes with printed care instructions, and then sent
immediately to the purchaser – all within hours of the stems having been cut.
They were never unwrapped or excessively handled and were not picked over.
Flower subscription services were
also available; consumers could subscribe to receive weekly deliveries of
flowers for a three-month, six-moth or one-year period: three months was $148,
six months was $278, and a year was $528 - a steal, by today's standards!
The flowers were shipped by FedEx
Priority Overnight to ensure a timely delivery. Delivery could also be made on
Saturdays with a $10 surcharge, but there was no delivery on Sunday or Monday,
as per FedEx guidelines at the time.
The flowers and bouquets on offer
depended on availability and seasonality. Martha and her team took care to
ensure seasonal and celebratory themes for the choices of flowers available.
There were hydrangeas and delphiniums in summer, hyacinths and daffodils in
winter, tulips, lilies, and ranunculus in spring and many more varieties that
were available at different times of year. The most popular of all, of course,
were the roses. There was a special rose-delivery service within the
MarthasFlowers business that specialized in monthly selections of roses chosen
by Martha herself, based primarily on colour.
When the catalog shut down in 2004,
so did Marthasflowers.com. It wasn’t until 2008 when Martha partnered with
1-800-Flowers (the largest flower-delivery service in the United States) to
bring the flower service back. Martha’s team, headed up by stylist Tom Borgese,
designed the bouquets while 1-800-Flowers handled the deliveries. Vases and
vessels chosen by Martha were also on offer. As with the original flower
business, a subscription service was available. This partnership lapsed in
2014.
In 2018, with Martha’s company now
being handled by Sequential Brands, Martha partnered with Bloomsybox.com, a
Dutch-based flower delivery company, to once again continue the flower-delivery
business. Repeating the model, Martha’s team came up with the arrangement types
while Bloomsybox handled the deliveries. Subscription service was also
available. This partnership lapsed in 2022.
In each business model described, Martha
and her team were central to the selection and arrangement of the flowers. MarthasFlowers.com,
the first incarnation of the flower business, handled the distribution of the flowers that were ordered from the growers. This was at a time when Martha’s company was at
its most robust, with nearly one thousand employees working with Omnimedia. As
Martha’s company downsized, the deliveries of the grower's bunches and bouquets were outsourced to a
flower delivery company: 1-800-Flowers and BloomsyBox.com. In every instance, however, Martha ensured
that the flowers came from reputable growers from around the world and always
selected the best varietals available.
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