New blooms for florists as store is on the move
AFTER A DECADE AT THE STRAND IT IS AN EMOTIONAL FAREWELL TO THE SITE
A LONG-standing business in a city centre street has waved goodbye to the building it has called home for the past decade.
Paul and Linda Dhamrait opened their beloved store, Selena’s Contemporary Flowers, in the Strand in Derby back in November 2013.
Now, more than a decade later, the pair have bid an “emotional” farewell to the site.
Selena’s will be a familiar site to thousands of Derby locals, particularly those who used to hop off the bus on the street back when the Strand was a busy bus route.
Despite leaving the popular city centre store, Paul, 62, and Linda, 60, say they will continue operating out of a new workshop, focusing more on the online side of the businesses.
Back in April, a notice on the store window confirmed that the florist would be moving online, alongside a statement from the owners which read: “I can’t believe we are saying this, but we have now only just over two weeks until we close our shop on The Strand and our new venture can begin.
“After we close we shall continue to offer beautiful flowers from our studio.”
Speaking on the reason why the pair felt the need for a change, Linda said: “We’re so sad about leaving our beloved store but we know it is the right thing to do. Now we can completely focus on what we do best floristry. “We’ve worked tirelessly over the years to be the best we can be and we are confident that our loyal customers will continue to support us – albeit virtually.
“I cannot tell you how much we’ve enjoyed our time on the Strand – the amazing people we speak to everyday make the store a great place to be.”
“The pair raised a couple of glasses of fizz when they closed the store for good last Wednesday.
Paul admitted that it was an “emotional” farewell for all those involved, adding that customers and staff alike were both left in floods of tears at points.
Paul added: “We held a little closing down celebration last week and it was really nice to see some regulars. It was all quite emotional to be honest - we had a regular take our photo and they were in tears behind the camera.
“The community spirit has been fantastic over the years. We’d have regular customers who we’d speak to constantly - but we also loved speaking to those who were passing by.
“You didn’t need to buy anything all the time and people were more than welcome to pop in to say hello whenever they fancied - and I’m proud that we achieved this bond in our short time here, we had time for everybody.
“That’s what I put the success of our business down to. Linda and I both love speaking to people and it’s been our favourite thing about the last ten years.
“It’s sad to leave this brilliant street but we’ve decided to take this next step with hopes that we can continue to deliver a great service to people across the county.
All your usual products from Selena’s can still be found online by clicking here, or by calling 01332 293 543.
They will also be selling fresh blooms from Canopy Womenswear on Sadler Gate on Fridays and Saturdays to those who still fancy grabbing a bunch in person.
The community spirit has been fantastic over the years. We’d have regular customers who we’d speak to constantly