Creating a spark through floral arrangements

Phil-Amy Florist celebrates 73 years

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Franklin Square-based Phil-Amy's Florist is all ready for Valentine's Day and beyond.

The store, having just celebrated its 73rd birthday, has seen many customers and trends change throughout the years. It opened in 1944 when Phil and Amy Graham, a husband and wife team, decided to start a business together. They loved working with flowers and plants, and saw a need in their community at the time, so they opened their flower shop, starting out in Valley Stream and relocating to Franklin Square 15 years ago.

They passed the business on to their children, who passed it on to their children, and now Michael "Mike" Graham and his cousin, Brian Jones, have taken over the family business.

"We chose to relocate to Franklin Square because it's centrally-located," Graham said. "Many of our customers are local, but we do serve a lot of people across Long Island, and especially Queens. Brooklyn and the rest of New York City are also places we serve, but generally Long Island and Queens."

Graham has always had a hand in helping out at the shop. "When I was a kid, I would go on deliveries or help out in the back of the store," he said. "I've always known this was what I wanted to do."

Valentine's Day is a popular time for their customers, and the floral arrangements always reflect customer tastes and trends. The store's focus is on the customer, with an emphasis on creativity and innovation.

"This year, we are seeing these colors as popular, along with the usual reds for Valentine's Day," Graham said. "Colors such as greens, purples and pinks are the trend this year. We also see a lot of people buying cubes and cluster arrangements, which are placed into vases and bowls and boxes this year. Our arrangements are on the contemporary side of trends. Clean lines, nothing fussy."

One Valentine's Day story Graham likes to recall is from a few years ago, when a customer had an interesting request.

"He came in and really wanted to impress his wife," he said. "He paid for us to send his wife at work a dozen red, long-stem roses every hour for seven hours to her while she was at work. She was so surprised! She loved it."

Phil-Amy is popular during Valentine's Day, but also at other times of the year too, according to Graham.

"The early part of the year and the late spring are the busy season for us," he said. "Mother's Day is the only other time of the year where we see more of our customers coming in to buy floral arrangements. Of course, we also serve weddings and funerals all through the year, but our busiest times are Valentine's Day and Mother's Day."

They see all types of customers from the surrounding area. "We did the floral arrangements for Nicki Minaj's brother's wedding," Graham said. "We've had some New York Islanders as customers, and local leaders such as Brian Curran."

One big change through the years has been involving technology. "Our business has changed with the Internet," Graham said. "Technology has been a big factor involved in our moving forward. Not only do we do our own photography, we also created our own website for selling out flowers. We receive notifications about deliveries via email. When our drivers make deliveries, we know about it immediately when they click on an email notification on-site. We update our website weekly and don't use stock photography."

Edward Grasso of Oceanside has been a Phil-Amy customer for over 20 years. "They have always done great work for every occasion's need, whether it be a holiday, big party, funeral or just an everyday arrangement," he said. "The friendly staff is always willing to help if you don't really know what you want and have a specific budget you need to stay within. I've recommended them to many friends and family and never heard anyone have a bad experience with them."

Rich Francone of Massapequa chose Phil-Amy for his wedding. "When my fiancée and I needed to select a florist, Phil-Amy didn't disappoint," he said. "The centerpieces and bouquets were absolutely beautiful. There is no substitute for quality, which makes selecting Phil-Amy a simple choice. The fact that they are a friendly, local business makes supporting them an even easier decision."

Graham takes pride in Phil-Amy. "We are always creating new items and unique ways to arrange our flowers," he said. "We never stop looking for ways to create a spark."