By Stevi Costa
Melissa Feveyear wants to bring the flower back. It’s not as though flowers have disappeared from the world, but Feveyear’s focus on sustainability in her floral designs strives to make sure that the flower never goes away.
Feveyear grew up around the floral industry, and eventually, after spending some time in the field of environmental studies and waste management, began selling flowers out of an airstream trailer on Phinney Ridge at 65th. When Phinney Ridge Florist came up for sale 6 years ago, Feveyear bought the business, with the intention of taking the conventional neighborhood florist green. In 2008, she created Terra Bella Flowers & Mercantile and moved into her current location at 8417 Greenwood Ave N.
Terra Bella prides itself on creating floral designs that feature organic, sustainable and locally grown flowers wherever possible, and Feveyear often heads down to Pike Place Market to purchase flowers herself from vendors. She also works with local suppliers to include Northwest greens, grains and branches to include in her designs, and purchases flowers directly from local farms when the growing season matches the demand.
The greenness of Feveyear’s business generally attracts clients who prefer to make their purchases based on what available locally and in-season, but sometimes clients want a floral arrangement that does not meet those demands. “If we source from other places, they have to have sustainability verification,” Feveyear said, explaining that any non-Northwest sources for her shop have VeriFlora certification, which ensures that whatever carries the seal was farmed using sustainable crop production practices, integrated waste management systems and fair labor practices, among other criteria.
In addition to sustainability, beauty is also an important element in the floral designs at Terra Bella. Feveyear spent some time studying floral design in England, and became enamored with European garden-style design. Her creations at Terra Bella reflect the way flowers might be clustered in nature, and integrate non-floral natural elements that give “movement” to the bouquets, like wild grasses and curvy willow branches.
Feveyear strongly believes in bringing floral beauty to her neighbors in Greenwood. While living in Europe, she saw how important it was for people to have fresh flowers in their homes. In the United States, she noticed that the everyday luxury of fresh flowers didn’t have the same cultural precedence, which she attributes to the generally cost-prohibitive nature of the high-end flower market in the U.S. Although choosing to purchase sustainable flowers can often be a little more expensive, Terra Bella’s signature bouquets are competitive with conventional flower shops, offering selections starting at $35.95.
“I don’t consider myself an exclusive high-end florist because I like the idea of being a neighborhood shop,” she said. “Anyone can come in with change in their pockets and walk out with flowers.”
As the only florist in Greenwood, Feveyear works hard to make Terra Bella a part of her community. The shop also features a mercantile that sells works from local artists, some of whom she found through community art shows and floral industry events. Featuring paintings, handcrafted jewelry, journals and notecards along with sustainable flowers was another way Feveyear could incorporate her unwavering support for those who work with their hands, the idea of every day beauty and a local focus further into Terra Bella’s structure.
Locals drop by to browse the rotation of merchandise and purchase flowers, but also to visit the shop pets. Terra Bella is home to Oscar, a shop dog so popular that he has fans that come by just to bring him snacks, as well as two doves, Little Witch and Bella, the latter of which can often be seen flying around the shop.
Terra Bella Flowers & Mercantile is focused on creating community in Greenwood, and hopes to return the support the shop has received from its neighbors to the local farmers it relies on for its chief product. Eventually, Feveyear hopes to create a community-supported agriculture program to sustain local flower growers. Ideally, the program would involve community members purchasing a subscription to the CSA, which would in turn get them weekly or bi-weekly flower deliveries from the local growers participating in the program, just like a traditional food-based CSA. For now, Feveyear focuses on supporting local farmers and her community from within Terra Bella, one flower at a time.
