Stem is in Full Bloom
Posted on 25. Aug, 2010 by Suzanne McCaffrey in Hill Top Reviews
As you turn away from the bustle of Fulton Street on to the relative quiet of South Oxford, just past the tire-changing station, your olfactory senses may catch you by surprise, as the scent of peonies and garden roses waft under your nose. An anomaly for city dwellers, these beautiful country smells would draw any passerby to the open door of an eclectic flower shop appropriately named Stem.
After leaving the West Village because “it didn’t feel like the neighborhood they knew anymore,” owners Delgis Canahuate and Rado Bomba chose Fort Greene to call their home five years ago. After all, they had been playing tennis at Fort Greene Park most weekends for about nine or ten years. It wasn’t long before they decided their business should be based here too. Delgis and Rado had always known they wanted to open a shop, though they weren’t sure what they wanted to sell. The idea of flowers came to mind; it was the one thing they both felt drawn to. They also both knew it was important to choose something that naturally inspired them.
Delgis is originally from the Dominican Republic and works as a freelance graphic designer. Rado is originally from Slovakia and manages the shop full-time, spending mornings with their adorable three-year old son Didier. Rado recalls growing up surrounded by fields of flowers and vegetable gardens with his mother, spontaneously preparing bouquets for their home. When Delgis and Rado saw their current space on South Oxford after having searched for a location for three years, they knew it was perfect! They wanted something small and manageable for their first business. [ On June 6th, Stem celebrated the one-year anniversary of having opened the shop, and they are still going strong!]
The owners did not have a specific design plan for the store’s interior other than everything had to be sourced locally as much as possible. The deco mirror hanging above their work table was found above a closet in their apartment, the porcelain 1920’s British sink is from Eddie’s Salvage on 222 Greene Avenue in Clinton Hill, and the wide plank floor boards are from a barn upstate.
They also love to troll neighborhood vintage spots and stoop sales, where they employ their keen style sense and vintage-inspired aesthetic to find cool objects, unique potting containers, or just the right piece of furniture— like their luckiest find, a walnut haberdashery glass front cabinet from the furniture warehouse at on Grand Street near Flushing for their shop. Neighbors are also known to unload unused items from their basements. Their motto is, “if we like it, we’ll make it work.”
Delgis emphasized that this shop feels to them like an ever-changing neighborhood-centric art project. A neighbor and friend who is a stylist designs their changing window displays. The non-flower items on sale, such as precious one-of-a-kind stuffed animals made by a neighbor and a friend’s original watercolor and ink drawings, are expertly curated and primarily made by Fort Greene artists. Everything is hand-chosen and unique.
Discovering Stem feels like a petite shop one would come across meandering down a winding cobble-stoned Parisian street. Just beyond the door, a vintage table holds fresh-cut posies in varied containers. They also carry a variety of uniquely potted plants, herbs and succulents. Take warning: it is impossible to decide what to choose to take home for yourself or to a friend.
That’s where Rado and Delgis come in. They are gentle in their suggestions but have such fabulous taste, it’s easy to trust they will make the perfect arrangement for any occasion. Rely on Stem to do exquisite flower arrangements for your workplace, café or restaurant, boutique, wedding, at-home dinner party, birthday soiree, or simply a take-away bouquet to give to your sweetie.
When asked where they find inspiration, Delgis said, ‘by everyone around them, old books, classic paintings, in-season local flowers and plants, beautiful colors, and history; how people used to arrange flowers way back when.’
Stem is located on 112 S Oxford St (between Fulton St and Lafayette Ave) and is open from Monday-Friday 11:30-7:30, Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 12-5. To place orders call the owners at: 718-722-4767.
