How two friends are running a small business during pandemic
Kitchener partners opened new shop last month
When Jamie Cooper lost her job in the summer of 2020, her friend Kristy Skelton pulled her from the daze into the flower fields in Conn, near Orangeville.
After she took a liking to the work, the two created Talula Fields on a farm 15 minutes outside of Kitchener, where they nurture and harvest organic, spray-free flowers.
“It quite frankly, I think, saved my life working with the plants and being with a dear friend during that time,” said Cooper.
A year and a half after they started the farm, 34-year-old Cooper and 39-year-old Skelton, now run Talula Fields General Store after officially opening last month.
The store sits a door down from The Walper Hotel, on Kitchener’s downtown Queen Street South strip.
Walking into the general store, plants cover the walls and tables, with body oils and soaps speckled in between.
Since opening, the two have struggled to find funding. Skelton said they don’t qualify for many government grants because of their small team — they are the only employees — and how new it is.
Many locals have volunteered their time on the farm and in the shop, said Cooper, but they don’t want to take people on if they can’t pay them ethically and offer stability.
“It’s a strange time during the pandemic. We would hate to have to take someone on and lay them off,” said Cooper.
The two have operated the farm, pop-ups and flower sales, and their new business all during the pandemic.
Since they run a flower shop, they aren’t under the same restrictions as restaurants or gyms, but Cooper said feeling more disconnected from customers comes from not being able to see anyone’s face and having to stand further apart from each other.
“That said, it has been really nice to connect with community members,” she said.
The shop that Talula Fields General Store now fills was once another plant shop — until the pandemic hit.
“(Floral Fresh Flower Studio) Living Fresh moving to St. Jacobs had left kind of a hole in downtown Kitchener in terms of offering giftware, fresh botanicals, flowers. So it made sense to us,” said Cooper.
In the beginning of their farm journey, Cooper and Skelton were working full-time desk jobs, going to the flower farm before and after work, and on weekends. Everything on the farm is done by hand.
“(It) was really challenging, but it took us out of our day jobs in the non-profit sector, which were deskbound, into the field at the end of the day and every weekend and it was really great for our bodies, our minds and our mental health.”
Their vision for the store is a place that focuses on a less corporate, visually appealing experience for customers and a space that is queerfriendly. They plan on using the space to run plant-related events when possible.
“You have to give in to community what you want to get out of it,” said Skelton.
“We think it’s important to be able to create spaces everyone wants to go to.”
In a few weeks, seeding season will start in preparation for the spring, when Talula Fields General Store will have fresh, organic flowers available.
It has been really nice to connect with community members. JAMIE COOPER TALULA FIELDS GENERAL STORE