Latest news with #KristenBrown
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
K&B Plants blooming in Temperance for more than four decades
TEMPERANCE — Every year, from April 25 to Father's Day, the doors are open and flowers bloom at K&B Plants, and soon it'll have a new owner. Started in 1984 by Karen and Bill Albring, whose first initials contributed to the name, the business offers both home-grown flowers and vegetables. Bill was originally a farmer, following in his father's footsteps, growing tomatoes for canneries. However, when the canneries he sold to shut down, they had no one to grow for, according to Kristen Brown, the couple's daughter. "Then, my mom, Karen, had to convince my dad, 'Let's give the flowers a try,'" she explained. "And so, that's how we ended up in the flower retail business." Brown will take control of the business by 2026. Bill and Karen aren't interested in selling the business, as they've poured too much of themselves into it to just give it to someone else. "Agriculture is so much more than a job, it's a way of life," Brown explained. The couple are looking to reduce time spent on the business because of their age, but they still plan to remain involved with it. The family starts seasonal preparation at the end of February, with pre-planting and ordering flowers for special orders from their customers. The flower types and color combinations for baskets are an exercise in chance, according to Brown, since they can't 100% accurately predict what customers will want. "I think people are busy, they have busy, active schedules, and they don't necessarily have the time to plan or plant their own pots," Brown explained. They also have a customer-base of avid vegetable gardeners, to the point where they sold out of veggies in 2020 and 2021. More: Temperance artist turns ugly sweaters, game pieces and broken toys into works of art "Whatever's going on with the economy, it's really moving the vegetables," said Karen. "Because of the price of the grocers," Bill guessed. "At the grocery store they spend a lot of money and they're trying to grow their own." Each member of the family has their own favorite part of the business they attend to. Karen enjoys the flexibility of the work and is concerned with growing and especially watering the plants. Bill, since he grew up growing vegetables, continues to attend to the ones K&B Plants grows now. Brown loves handling the people aspect, hearing about her customers' successes and failures with different plants. "Really, our goal is to sell quality plants that are going to do well all summer that a customer wants to come back and tell me how well they did," she said. When asked about what community niche their business filled, the family agreed that it was their hanging basket combos, customizable baskets for special orders, and the Al's Flower Pouches. They also said they made it a point not to raise prices over the past year. They knew people would struggle so they, as Bill put it, "held the line." "We'll take a little less, so that people are a little more comfortable," Karen said. Brown's three children, Samantha, 18, Allison, 16, and Matthew, 13, also pitch in, working at the business. "This truly is a family business," Brown said. More: Find out why this floral shop in Dundee is 'unique, colorful and friendly' When asked about the future of the business, Brown replied that she's taking things "one year at a time." She wants to be able to run the business and still do her full time job and be involved with her kids' lives, so she said she may bring in more employees. Their retail space is located at 623 East Samaria Road, Temperance, and is open Monday-Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — You can reach Connor Veenstra at cveenstra@ This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Temperance family business offers hanging flowers for the summer KB
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Auto reviewer shreds 'dumb' car features nobody wanted... but they're stuck with them anyway
Car companies are spending billions to pack vehicles with more screens, sensors, and semi-intelligent assistants. Some of it works: adaptive cruise control, automatic child locks and phone mirroring have made driving safer and more family-friendly. But much of it is 'just dumb.' That's the opinion of Kristen Brown, who has driven hundreds of vehicles — from rugged off-roaders to bloated minivans — for outlets like A Girls Guide to Cars. As a mom of two toddlers, she often evaluates new features while wrangling car seats, dropped toys, and rambunctious kids. Her verdict: these million-dollar tech innovations are bloating car prices. Plus, many of the features are redundant and not built for real life — especially for mothers. 'I see cars from a different perspective than other reviewers,' she said. 'My goal is to speak to an underrepresented, underserved, and unappreciated audience.' Here are the features Brown says aren't worth the hype. In-cabin fridges Luxury SUVs and minivans have started offering built-in fridges, often as high-priced add-ons. Brown encountered one in a $59,869 Toyota Sienna priced at $735 — and found it almost completely useless. 'You can't take the fridge out of the car, like you can with a $35 cooler from REI,' she said. 'The fridge barely kept our drinks cool.' Worse, it became a cumbersome hazard. She tripped over it while securing her daughter's car seat. Built-in navigation systems Massive infotainment screens that mirror phone apps have become standard across the industry. That's fine — until automakers force in their own navigation systems. 'It's redundant to have its own dedicated navigation system,' Brown said. 'Why can't they just give us the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?' Brown said there is a bit of a distinction: EVs and plug-in hybrids can benefit from automaker-produced navigation settings. Built-in maps in electric vehicles can help plan charging stops and precondition the battery for faster fill-ups. But for gas cars, third-party apps are more reliable and easier to use. Voice Recognition Touchscreens are distracting, so automakers are turning to voice commands to keep eyes on the road. Brown's take: most don't work. 'Voice recognition is redundant to me,' she said. Recently, she test drove a Kia Carnival, and found its voice-command particularly egregious. 'Every time I tried to make it do basic stuff it misunderstood me or didn't work.' Sometimes, the cars have even misheard regular conversations with activation phrases, starting the voice recognition software in error without being prompted. Ventilated seats Some drivers love cooled seats, but Brown isn't sold. Unlike seat warmers, cooled seats only circulate a small amount of air through the seat and back panels. To Brown, they don't change a body's temperature enough to justify the often hundred-dollar add-on. The internal fans are also prone to breaking, she said — and replacing them isn't cheap. Brown praised Toyota's phone storage systems, which can turn off wireless charging pads Wireless phone charging New vehicles often include wireless charging pads inside center consoles. In theory, they encourage drivers to stash their phones. In practice, they overheat devices and wreck battery health, according to Brown. 'They're dumb,' she said. 'They always just make my phone really hot, and it's actually really bad for your phone's battery health.' But one automaker earns a pass: Toyota. Some of its models, including the GR Corolla and Sienna, include a power-off button for the pad — allowing phones to be stored safely without constant heat buildup. Leading car warnings Some new cars now alert drivers when the vehicle ahead starts to pull away at a red light. If the driver in the new car doesn't start to pull forward, the leading car warning will chime. Brown loves the feature, saying that it helps when she has to take her eyes off the road while stopped to retrieve fallen toys dropped by her children. But her in-laws hate the tech. They think its a reminder of how much cars monitor driving habits. 'It's definitely a generational thing,' she said.
