Vintage Rose Social Club offers flower arrangements and community
by Elie Aoun
Between constant family and career obligations, it can be difficult for adult women to find the time and place for community with other women. For those seeking such an opportunity, Dr. Samantha Almendras opened Vintage Rose Social Club, a flower shop advertising itself as a place where women can socialize while designing their own flower arrangements.
Almendras, an internist who works part time in Fairlawn, opened the shop at 854 Wye Rd. on Oct. 17.
The idea struck her earlier this year when she entered a flower shop to buy a funeral spray and found herself “fixed” and “uplifted” by the presence of beautiful flowers. After the florist did not let her volunteer there for free, she resolved to create a space where busy women could enjoy the company of flowers and each other.
The time commitment of medical school once stopped her from pursuing her artistic interests in painting and ballet, but Almendras has found a meaningful creative outlet in her floral work. “Creativity is the cure for anxiety,” she said, describing arrangement building as a therapeutic art form that can briefly take people away from their problems.
She leased the space on Wye Road, a century-old building that once served as a coaching inn, which she has since repainted and revamped. She is attracted to all things vintage – hence the name of her store – and she was inspired by the “old wood” and “soft colors” of France’s Provence region when creating a place that would edify people.
The store has both a paid membership and a retail side open to all. Members pay to partake in four “floral sessions” over a six-month period, where they are given complimentary food and drinks, a vase and flowers to create their own take-home arrangements, and a space to socialize with other members. They also receive several storewide benefits.
Almendras has not yet begun selling memberships, which will be limited to 40 people per six-month cycle to ensure all members can book their four sessions. Floral sessions will begin in January with seasonal and holiday themes.
Although there are subscription services in Northeast Ohio that regularly deliver flowers to people’s doors, Almendras sought to create a space where people could shape their arrangements to their own tastes. “Why take away the joy of making it yourself?” she asked.
Creating a beautiful display requires “a little more than dumping flowers in a vase,” she said. The process involves picking the right assortment of flowers, arranging them aesthetically with tools such as chicken wire and treating them gently as living creatures – all of which she hopes to teach her customers.
The retail side of the store is open from Friday to Sunday. Anyone can visit to create a bouquet, and members get a 10% discount on everything in the store.
Vintage Rose Social Club also has a “flower bar” for customers to make their own floral arrangements, often a young girl creating a bouquet with her mother. “During the opening, the little girls didn’t want to leave,” Almendras said. “They were like, ‘Mom, I don’t want to go.’ They just wanted to stay around the flowers.”
The second floor will host activities and workshops, and will soon be available to the public for parties and private event booking. Members get priority booking and can access it whenever it is available. Almendras said she would also like to use the floor to host classes for calligraphy and etiquette, believing that its decorated rooms would be well suited for other uplifting activities.
Unlike the membership program, the retail store and second floor rooms are not advertised as spaces exclusively for women.
Three teenagers help her run the store, but she is still looking for an adult with knowledge of flowers to guide people in floral arrangement lessons. She hopes to expand to Hudson if her idea takes off in Bath. More information can be found at vintagerosesocialclub.com.
Photo caption: Samantha Almendras is the owner of Vintage Rose Social Club on Wye Road. Photo submitted.