Mäkelän Kukka Oy Ltd. 7/09

The entrepreneur, Mrs. Katriina Mäkelä-Koski

Entering to Mäkelän Kukka (Mäkelä Flower Shop) one can’t avoid getting into good mood. The colourful ambient reach the visitors outside the shop and follows them inside, too. Entrepreneur Mrs. Katriina Mäkelä-Koski says, that their company has a long history. Her mother Mrs. Vuokko Mäkelä founded the shop in 1970 on her name day, 2nd of May. In the beginning the shop was situated in Sirvalahti and in Lempäälä centre it has been since the year 1986.

Katriina Mäkelä-Koski´s parents founded a garden in 1955. In the beginning they were cultivating cucumber and the first flower species were carnations. They were selling the products directly from the garden. Nowadays in the same garden they sell e.g. summer and christmas flowers and roses, but the sales happen basically in the shop. Their garden is for wholesale trading.

It was Mrs. Vuokko Mäkelä who founded the business

Good service is everything

The flower supply has been increasing nicely according to Mäkelä-Koski. Nowadays the flowers can be bought even in gas stations. On the other hand, professionality and good service keeps the shops in competition. Mäkelä Flower Shop is open during week days from 9am to 7pm, on Saturdays from 8.30am to 6pm and on Sundays from 10am to 5 pm. There are also bank holidays and festivity days when they are open even longer, such as confirmation days or mother’s day.

Flower business is for professionals. Even one can get buckéts from gas station and supermarkets; the bonding happens in flower shops. Flower bonding for wedding and funerals need truly professional work. This special work forms a big part from the company´s turnover.

Mrs. Katariina Mäkelä-Koski has studied and performed different courses throughout the years and she´s got many diplomas waiting to be set on her wall. She also attended a Guy Martin´s course in France and Gregor Lersch´s course in German, who is the most famous florist in Germany. She also did an art space course in order to reach the professionality to design bigger, public places with flowers.

The personnel is required professionality and luckily there have been true professionals, when needed. They have four people working in the shop, and in busiest times there can be seven people working. The high-season starts in spring and continues the whole summer. Christmas time means also long working days, but the season is remarkably shorter.

Trends and tradition

The flower professionals need to now the latest trends. The trends can be seen in decoration flower and wedding flower selections. The traditional buckets also have steady demand e.g. in funeral flowers. In decoration the latest fashion colour is white. This summer´s brides choose natural or very simple flowers.

Trendy or traditional flowers get to their customers also by flower delivery, Interflora, of which Mäkelä Flower Shop is part of. Very remarkable turnover the flower delivery doesn´t provide but it is an important form of service.

The product selection of the shop includes also gift items, such as porcelain and candles.
They also sell mold, seeds, pots and nutrition. They want to serve the clients in the best product selection possible.

The development of Lempäälä centre

Mrs. Katariina Mäkelä-Koski sees the centre of Lempäälä vivid and developing. The shops in Lempäälä centre were affected by the opening of the commercial city Ideapark, but it was soon calmed down.

There are new shops in the centre and they are heading for better. As Ideapark opened its doors, Mäkelä Flower Shop was also thinking about moving to the shopping centre. However, the shop in the centre was designed for their own purposes so they decided to stay. The location is really good for their business. The weddings and funerals bring lots of clients from the church opposite the road. It is also easy to get the flower for the graves from Mäkelä Flower Shop.

Their clientele has been forming throughout the years. They have clients also from Vesilahti, Akaa and other neighbour municipalities. It is not rare to see clients from Helsinki or Jyväskylä, either.

Garden makes happy

As I ask what makes this entrepreneur relax, I get a surprising answer: gardening!

I was sure that when one spends all days with flowers that is the last thing to do on spare time. However, this woman obviously loves her job and says it is always a pleasure to be in a garden.

Boating is also near Mäkelä-Koski´s heart and in winter the stress is relieved in downhill skiing. And when there is only little spare time, the family just being together is always special.

Unfortunately I have to leave this colourful environment and get back to the office. Luckily I have beautiful orchid pod as a souvenir to bring some joy and colour to my bureau. That’s what flowers do, in the end.

(Mäkelä flower shop was visited by contact manager Päivi Nahkola)