Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
WORLAND – Cracking the clean glass door of Flower Exchange lets heavy floral scents out into the cold air on North Tenth Street. Happy pop music plays over the speakers and 360 degrees of gift displays run floor to ceiling. Behind the counter, leaves fall to the floor around owner Katie Tommerup's boots as she strips stems clean, the shop dog peacefully curled up in the corner.
Tommerup has owned Flower Exchange for 16 years – 16 Valentine's Days, she said.
Before she bought the business from former owner Val Busch, Flower Exchange was already one of her favorite places to visit around town. When Busch told Tommerup she was ready to sell her shop, Tommerup replied, "Well, you should sell it to me!"
"I was the crazy girl that just said, 'I can do that.' I never worked here before, I just kind of decided I could," Tommerup said. Busch and Tommerup worked together for five years, and Busch taught her everything she knew. As Tommerup's family business, her mother, husband and in-laws help her keep the place running smoothly.
A week before Valentine's Day, the shop is full of roses. "Every rose has a name," Tommerup said as she worked. Her favorite, Orange Crush, is a bright peachy flower.
"Every day it's really something different. You've got your Christmas stuff, then it turns to spring, then that bright summer stuff kind of switches to fall, so I just love the change," Tommerup said.
The change that hasn't been kind to the flower industry is the same as most other businesses right now – the price of goods going up. "I'm kind of proud of myself. It's a struggle every day to keep going, and I'm proud to still be here and still offer a great service to Worland, and I hope to continue that, definitely. I like being here, I like what I do," Tommerup said.
"I love sharing in that special moment: a new baby is born, somebody's birthday, somebody got a new job. I just think that it's special that they let us be a part of their lives."