Yumiko Fletcher is in love with flowers. Like most florists who are passionate about what they do, her eyes light up when she talks about flowers and color and possibilities, ESPECIALLY when it comes to weddings and in particular the bride’s bouquet. Yumiko  says it all about the bride’s bouquet. If you look at her blog, you’ll understand why. That’s not to say that everything else isn’t front and center about a wedding, but in particular she comes alive when she gets to create that “moment” when a bride walks down the aisle carrying her flowers. Yumiko has been at this game for ten years and she has found her niche in the floral world. I have been around flowers all my life living vicariously thru my Aunt Martha who has done beautiful design work for most of her life, and her daughter Margaret who used to drive the flower van all over South Bend, Indiana where we grew up. My love for glitz and making things pretty and special started with Aunt Martha and her work place, Frepan’s Floral Shop (little background there for you all).

When you stop in to see Yumiko, you are charmed right away not only by her down-to-earth presence, but the space in which she creates her “moments.” Hana Floral Design and Boutique is on the water in picturesque Mystic, Connecticut, oh be still my heart I am a sucker for the water and New England.

Inside her shop there are ribbons and charming accents and all kinds of vessels from which to choose to put your flowers for a wedding or an event, or you can provide your own. Whatever you can imagine, Yumiko gets it. She’s the kind of gal that listens, takes notes and gets into the nitty gritty of what a bride wants. When she thinks she’s zeroed in on a look, she whips out a floral book and starts talking what I call “flowerese.” This is not your garden variety stylist, unless that’s what a bride wants and even then she’ll put her flair on it. Incidentally Yumiko and her team are known for the amazing intricate wraps they do around a bouquet of flowers. It might be braided with rhinestone pins in it, could be multiple colors of ribbons formed into a flower. The way in which she presents her bouquets is what sets her a part and the reason I was drawn to her, a difference, an artistry. As far as the boutonnieres and corsages, don’t even get me started…intricate too, and so different.

Being a knitter, I love the fact that she carries knitted, felted purses in her shop. They are usually donned with a vintage rhinestone pin, and yes, she can figure out a way for a Bride to carrying one of those with flowers. I think that would be off the charts fun to see.

When you open up her Hana Floral website, designed by her husband, you’re right away greeted with music and photos of her work. Yumiko works so hard at what she does and is concerned as well with charity. I have seen her at work designing a table for a gala event for the Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut. Born to a mother from Japan and an Irish father, this blend made for a fun-loving design original named Yumiko.

You will see her work on countless bridal web sites and floral blogs and in bridal magazines, it’s all about the detail for her and apparently a lot of folks have noticed, she’s part of the fabric of Connecticut and the talent that abounds here.

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