Located next to the roundabout at the corner of 712 N Main Street is a gift and flower shop called D’Rose. They cater to many occasions and needs: gift baskets, weddings, graduations, birthdays, holidays, etc.Â
D’Rose is owned by Katyn, an alumni from Radford who bought the store from the previous owner, Bill. She went to Radford for art and grew up in Blacksburg, with her family being from there since before the Revolution. She and Bill had known each other for years, since she was a local. What led Katyn to work at D’Rose, was that her mother had sadly passed. Dealing with her grief, she thought of the good memories she had with her mother. Reminiscing about her mother, she thought about how they gardened together. Katy and her mother would work in the garden and make floral arrangements for the churches. This special time was a core memory for her. She wanted to do a hobby in order to remember her mother and her memory, gardening and flower arranging seemed like the natural choice. Katyn decided to reach out to Bill, the then-owner of D’Rose, and see if she could come to the store and help out, to feel that connection and do something that she did with her mother. As she was working there she found out that Bill had also been looking to sell the shop. It was like fate, the dominos falling in order to lead to this—the life of a new dream blossoming from the loss of a loved one. But not just that, you see, this was a new start for Katyn. She had gone to school for art but never really applied it, since she had fallen into working a tech job. When she was at art school, she specialized in working with sculpture and stained glass. Now that she has the shop, she can let her creativity flow because after all, flower arranging is really just making one beautiful sculpture.
Listening to Katy and her story was inspiring, as someone who is doing STEM but has a love for the arts this gives me hope. I have always felt conflicted about having to decide whether to give up the arts or go a more technical route, but Katy showed me you can have both. It took time but Katyn got to this point and if she can switch and do something new later in life then so can I. It’s never too late. The shop is just full of fresh new beginnings and I love it. As you walk in, you can genuinely see Katy’s passion and love as the walls and shelves are decorated with brushes of Blacksburg. You see, all the artwork she has around the shop is made by local artists, she premieres the work and helps sell it. Her main goal is to showcase the talented people in the area and see the beautiful creations that have been made. D’Rose is calling out to all kinds of crafters who want their art to be premiered and perhaps sold, you just have to call their shop’s number, (540) 552-8647, and there will be someone glad to assist you.Â
Another touch of Blacksburg I love is that at D’Rose all the gift baskets are made locally. Katy and her team connect with local businesses like Eats Natural Foods, Sugar Magnolia, and more, to make sure that you are getting the quality you know and love. The flowers as well are from local growers in Roanoke, Venton, and West Virginia. With the supplies and flowers being local, as Katy has described it, “It’s Blacksburg in a basket”, tied up with a pretty bow.Â
As D’Rose is like a flower in bloom, it’s constantly growing with new hope and joy. Katyn wants to have D’Rose be a place where when a woman is having a tragic moment, she can find peace in knowing that she can get something of high quality there. D’Rose is a place where women support women, since after all D’Rose is based on Katy’s mother’s memory. She also wants it a place to congregate, with tables and chairs around she invites you to sit down and take your time. You aren’t in a rush. You can take your time picking out the perfect something for your occasion.
I asked Katyn if she had anything specific she wanted to add and she had a message. To the people who say that the flowers will just die so what’s the point of buying them, Katy has a word for you. “Let the flowers live. Technically they are already dead the second they are cut. But let them live their life, let them go to prom. The only way they are going to prom is to go to your house and put them in a vase. Let them live to their full potential.” Honestly, she said it best. So go buy those flowers! And if you don’t want flowers, go buy some art or some stuffed animals or find something! I invite you to go to D’Rose and look around because you will find something you love. It’s a hidden gem, I didn’t expect it but I left the interview buying two plants, just because they were so unique and caught my eye. D’Rose is a treasure trove, and I can’t wait for your eyes to open to the beauty of this shop.