A Farewell Rose

Madelin Rose Floral has occupied a small storefront in Cliff Road strip mall for five years now. In just over a month, however, the floral shop will be on the move — either to Edina of Eden Prairie.

"It was a really hard decision because we love the area and we love, love our customers," said Owner Maria Satovich-Olson.

Satovich-Olson has come a long way since her opening day in 2006. The store is named after her grandmother, Rose, who ran a floral shop in the small town of Crosby, MN. Satovich-Olson, a Twin Cities native, relished visits to Rose's shop as a child.

Madelin Rose was conceived years later, during a time of trial. At the time, Satovich-Olson had recently been in a devastating car accident that severely injured her back, which needed to be bolted back together. She used the traumatic experience as a catalyst, however, which inspired her to give up an established career in Human Resources and look for a more meaningful path.

It was Rose who pointed Satovich-Olson in the right direction.

"I was thinking about becoming a pastry chef or a florist and my grandmother reminded me of how much I liked coming to her store as a kid," Satovich-Olson said.

Satovich-Olson  got a job in a floral shop, which closed shortly thereafter. She was faced with a decision: Strike out on her own or try to find work elsewhere. To complicate matters, she was about to get married. 

Undaunted, Satovich-Olson decided to go for it. She and her husband began laboring to set up the new shop as soon as they got back from their honeymoon in Hawaii.

"We hit the ground running," Satovich-Olson said.

She never looked back, even though the economy fell into disarray in late 2008. The recession isn't over for Satovich-Olson, who said that the fallout has taken a chunk of her business. Competition from grocery stores, which now often have in-house floral sections, has also cut into her bottom line. 

"Flowers are a luxury item right now," Satovich-Olson said. "We're a dying breed. I've known many friends who had to close their floral shops."

Nevertheless, she still loves running her own shop.

"I wouldn't change it for anything," Satovich-Olson said. "Your job is 80 percent of your life and if you don't enjoy it you need to find something else to do. I'll never be rich like the Bachman's of the world, but I love my job."

To make ends meet, Satovich-Olson said the store has become progressively more specialized. Madelin Rose now focuses heavily on weddings and proms, rather than walk-in customers. This change has been a source of joy for Satovich-Olson.

"I love being part of a person's life, from when they get married, and have babies until the end," Satovich-Olson said with a radiant smile as she arranged a bouquet of delicate pink blooms on Thursday. "It's very, very rewarding to get to know them so well."

Satovich-Olson said she will miss her faithful Burnsville customers but that she may be able to find a way to provide for them from afar, perhaps free deliveries or some other incentive. The shop will move at the end of June.