Walker's Footwear and Apparel has launched a new, blooming new member in their store: A Flower Bar.

Walker's Footwear and Apparel no longer only sells clothes. The Uptown store now sells everything from plants and ceramics to, of course, shoes. 

The owner, Amy Longcamp, has been working hard to expand the inventory to accommodate all kinds of shoppers.

Last spring, Langkamp and her friend Jennifer Domenico opened a flower stand in the store.

"As long as I know what Jen and her create and how beautiful she makes, I think it will be a good match for [the store]," Longcamp said. 

Since 2017, Domenico has grown flowers on her farm, Cedar Hill. After seeing all the locally grown flowers at the farmers' market, she began to understand the regeneration of the local flower industry. 

Domenico's home-grown "Bloom Bar" features seasonal flowers that customers can buy through stems. 

"A lot of people think you have to be able to arrange a large bouquet, which is a little overwhelming for most people," Domenico said. "People need to realize that you can only grab one or two flowers."

The Bloom Bar in Walker's also offers pre-arranged bouquets and "eternal" bouquets. These bouquets are dry green plants that can be displayed longer than ordinary flowers. 

Seasonal flower stems range from US$1 to US$5, and larger mixed bouquets range from US$15 to US$35 depending on the size. 

The small pot is a small pot made with flowers and green plants in a Mason pot, allowing customers to take out a large bouquet of bouquets and a few loose stems. 

Faye Sawtelle, a second-year student at the University of Miami who works at Walker's, said she hopes Bloom Bar will attract new customers to the store. 

"We have a lot of inventory that appeals to college students in terms of clothing and room decoration," Sawtelle said. "I really like some of the new flower pots and Patagonia jackets we recently purchased."

Bloom Bar is just part of Walker's expansion project. Longcamp hopes to add more plants and household items, as well as other brands.

"I'm very happy to let Jen take as much as she wants," Longcamp said. "We now have flower pots and some plants, but I want more plants so that you have multiple choices." 

Longcamp stated that Walker's will continue to use brands such as Patagonia and Cotopaxi, but will now have more accessories and clothing from smaller brands to match it. 

"Most of the brands we own have feedback strategies," Longcamp said. "We have brought in many companies owned by women."

The new brands and accessories and Bloom Bar were also well received by Walker customers. 

“Once people find out that we have a flower bar, they will often come to buy bouquets,” Sawtelle said. 

Bloom Bar restocks once or twice a week, allowing customers to choose flowers. 

Cedar Hill of Domenico has also held events and bouquet orders in Miami in the past, and hopes to continue to collaborate with flowers outside the Bloom Bar. Walker's also hopes to hold events in the future, so that groups can make their own bouquets or wreaths according to the season. 

Domenico said that she hopes that Bloom Bar will allow more people to enter Walker's and maintain the development of the local flower business. 

"People need to realize that you only need to grab a few flowers," Domenico said. "If you just want to take a flower or two on the bedside table, this is a simple and cheap way to have flowers at all times." 

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