Florist's second store in Darley Street Market will be like 'cave of flowers'
THE owners of a flower shop in Bradford city centre have revealed plans to open a second site and transform their current premises.
Blossoms & Co on Market Street has become a blooming business since it was opened by John Varey and Lisa Brealey in January.
Their floral creations are crafted by florist duo Kim Farrar and Debs Scott.
It has become one of the most eye-catching sights on the recently pedestrianised road - bringing colourful, floral displays to the streets of Bradford.
Now it has announced plans to open a second shop at the new Darley Street Market when it opens this July.
Its original premises will remain and be turned into a destination for wreath, bouquet and cooking workshops as well as botanical and plant-based cakes.
Little details at Blossoms & Co (Image: Newsquest) It is also hoped that people will be able to sit outside and enjoy their purchases al fresco.
The shop also hopes to introduce a 'posy takeaway' deal - a growing trend where customers can get a hot drink and a small, hand-tied bouquet of flowers.
'It's come from Italy,' said John, who also works on the shop's unique wreaths for funerals.
'You can put it on your desk when you go back to work.
Blossoms & Co's John Varey (Image: Newsquest) 'We're expanding downstairs of the flower shop to become a design studio. We're doing the graphic design studio to support local businesses with affordable graphics.
'The shop is going to be at the entrance of Darley Street Market.
'It's going to be plants, gifts, and designed like you're walking into a cave of flowers.
'We're going to support with floral workshops, plants-based cooking workshops.'
Sign for Blossoms & Co (Image: Newsquest) Reflecting on the journey so far, John said: 'We opened with an amazing team of florists - one being a Harrogate Flower Show award-winning stylist.
'I have the best florists you can imagine. We took over a florist that was there.
'We're very lucky because we've hit Bradford in 2025, the year of the City of Culture. That's helped massively.
'My job's always been creating - marketing, design. Being invited to take on that shop and make it our own has been one of the best projects of my life. I absolutely love it. I love the Bradford people and diversity.
'The customer base is growing. People are coming into the shop and chatting with us.'
John, who has worked in the creative industries and marketing for many years, has just returned from five years of travel around the world.
His work alongside Heather Mills saw him teach people how to make delicious plant-based dishes in places like Hollywood, Palm Springs, and Switzerland.
He is now learning the art of Japanese floristry.
Speaking about how business is going in Bradford, the 56-year-old said: 'I can feel a vibe at last. I can see the light. I've worked in Bradford for 30 years.
'There's a stigma from the past that's been built over many years. With the King coming to the city, that's huge. You can't get better than that.
'With all the support from Bradford BID they've been amazing.
'Business is growing.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Aldi fight on 2 fronts in bid to build store close to congested roundabout
Supermarket chain Aldi has launched a bid to overturn a council's rejection of its £10m plan for a new store. In November 2024, proposals for a 1,800 sq/ft store at Paragon business park in Chorley New Road, Horwich, were rejected by the council amid concerns about traffic, road safety, flooding and biodiversity. Now Aldi has appealed that decision, and suggested that the process be settled via a four-day public hearing. Representatives at the discount supermarket chain said the council's reasons for refusal should be "tested through formal questioning by an advocate". In April this year, Aldi also submitted a fresh planning application for the scheme, which is currently awaiting a decision by the council. Aldi said the resubmission of the plans would "seek to address the previous reasons for refusal through expanded and updated technical evidence". The appeal means the German based discount retailer is pursuing its wish to build the store on two fronts. The proposed site is next to the Beehive roundabout, which members of the planning committee said when refusing permission, is often the location of traffic congestion. It is also close to Bolton Wanderers' Toughsheet Stadium. Aldi said access to the new store would be via a new slip road entrance in Chorley New Road, near the roundabout. Vehicles would exit from a different junction onto De Havilland Way. The supermarket giant said approval of the plans would mean the creation of 40 to 50 full and part-time local jobs on the site and various other indirect jobs in construction, supply chain and support. Aldi added that they would target construction within 18-months of obtaining planning permission. Documents supporting Aldi's appeal said "there are no highways issues as a result of the proposed development". The statement added: 'A transport assessment was prepared and submitted in support of the planning application. 'Significantly, the traffic impact section concluded that the proposal would not have an adverse impact upon the safe and efficient operation of the existing local highway network both now and in the future. 'This was based on operational capacity assessments of various surrounding junctions.' The appeal justification also refuted the council's stated refusal reasons of "a significant loss of biodiversity from the site" and that the "development would result in an increase in flood risk in the local area". Documents in support of the revised planning application said: 'Aldi's very presence is also anticipated to raise the profile of the site, investor confidence, and market interest in the business park during a challenging economic period.' Aldi already operate a store in Horwich, less than a mile away from the proposed new location at Mason Street but have said the proposed store had no implications for the retailer's ongoing operation in Horwich town centre, which they consider serves a different catchment area. The scheme would provide 131 car parking spaces at the site. Council planners will decide on the resubmitted proposals in the coming weeks and will also deliberate on whether to contest the planning appeal.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Stock Movers: Inditex, UK Home Builders, Demant (podcast)
Inditex Tumbles, UK Home Builders Higher, Demant Gains On this episode of Stock Movers: - Zara-owner Inditex SA reported a muted start to the second quarter and warned that foreign-exchange headwinds could have a greater impact on results this year than anticipated. Shares tumbled. - Homebuilders more broadly are being bathed in a more positive sentiment thanks to UK government plans to spend more on affordable homes. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is today expected to detail plans to direct £39 billion of public money over 10 years to an affordable homes plan. - Demant shares rise as much as 4%, to the highest since Jan. 31, after the Danish company agreed to acquire hearing-aid retailer KIND Group for €700m, or around DKK5.2b, on a cash and debt-free basis. Analysts say the deal is a good fit.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Is this the most confusing car brand of all time?
Percy Lambert became the first person to do 100mph in this 1913 Talbot What is the most confusing car brand of all time? It's an intriguing question – and we reckon the answer might well be Talbot. The story started all the way back in 1888, when Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, the 20th Earl of Shrewsbury, founded a London taxi firm with the competitive advantage of using newfangled pneumatic tyres. Eight years later, the Earl entered business with one Adolphe Clément, who had made a fortune from said invention, to sell the Frenchman's tyres, bicycles and cars in London. In 1902, the pair strengthened their partnership, rebranding the cars Clément-Talbot. But after just a year they bisected their business: the Earl would sell cars badged Talbot in Britain, his partner cars badged Clément-Bayard in France. Amusingly in hindsight, adverts in Autocar stated that this change was being made 'in order to prevent confusion in the mind of the public'. In 1906, the Earl's London factory began making cars of its own design, separating the two firms yet further. Talbot soon started succeeding in races and reliability trials, earning it the nickname 'Invincible Talbot'. Its biggest coup came in 1913, when Percy Lambert became the first person to do 100 miles in an hour, lapping Brooklands in a 25hp special – even though 'he could hardly see for several laps' due to thick fog. Enjoy full access to the complete Autocar archive at the The Great War badly disrupted the London firm and literally gutted the Paris firm, and both struggled to recover afterwards. So in late 1919 the Earl sold up to Darracq, a British-owned French car maker; and in 1921 Clément sold his factory to local upstart André Citroën. The new owners of the Earl's old firm kept the Talbot brand for London-made cars and started using Talbot-Darracq for Paris-made cars. In short order, they bought Wolverhampton's Sunbeam and put the lot under the unfortunately named umbrella of STD Motors. Real excitement came in 1930 as Talbot ventured to Le Mans for the famous 24-hour race and upset the big players. Bentley scored a one-two with its 6.6-litre monsters, but Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes and MG were all outclassed by Talbot's 2.3-litre 90s – 'really remarkable', said Autocar. It then twice repeated this impressive feat in the following years with its enhanced 105s. However, all was not well, as the Western world had plunged into a terrible economic depression and Sunbeam had long been unable to replicate Talbot's prosperity, eventually dragging STD under. Rootes, owner of Britain's Hillman and Humber car brands, came to the rescue of Sunbeam and Talbot, leading Autocar to proclaim: 'Under this energetic new management, there is no doubt that the Talbot name will continue to rank high in automobile circles.' It looked as though the Talbot-Darracq business would vanish – until an unexpected buyout by its managing director, the 'large and determined' Italian Antonio Lago. Henceforth two separate firms would use the Talbot brand, but to avoid confusion Lago's cars were usually referred to in Britain as Darracqs or Talbot-Lagos. The two firms trod diverging paths: Talbot built restyled humble Hillmans while Talbot-Lago went upmarket with its cars, provided chassis for coachbuilt stunners and competed in grands prix. In 1938, Rootes decided to merge Talbot and Sunbeam, introducing yet another hyphenated name to this already muddled lineage. Both Talbots enjoyed the 1950s: Talbot-Lago won grands prix and Le Mans with its T26 and crafted some beautiful luxury and sporting cars for the road, while Sunbeam-Talbot attracted envy for its saloons and convertibles – one of which also won the Coupes des Alpes in the hands of Stirling Moss. However, confusion persisted, leading Rootes to shorten Sunbeam-Talbot to just Sunbeam in 1954 – 'a short life but a merry one', we said. And five years later, Talbot-Lago's prolonged suffocation by postwar austerity and heavy taxation on luxury cars finally killed it, its assets being bought by Simca. But that was not the end of the story. Simca and Rootes both later became part of Chrysler Europe, and when that rotten business was dumped at PSA's door in 1979, guess which of its defunct brands – Alvis, Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Panhard, Simca, Sunbeam and Talbot – was deemed ripest for revival? 'It has the best image of strength with the European public,' president François Perrin-Pelletier explained to Autocar. 'Most of all, however, it is perceived by 80% of the British public as an English make and 80% of the French as a French make.' It didn't last long. Talbots either overlapped with other PSA models or were duds, so the next-generation models were redirected to Peugeot and the brand was consigned to die again with the Express van in 1994. Honestly, what a mess. ]]>
