Stepping into Joanie Hall and Mary Anne McIntyre`s tiny shop at 1939 N. Lincoln Ave. is like stepping into spring in full bloom.
Hall and McIntyre have crammed floral-motif home accessories and personal items into Among the Flowers, a storefront in a 1920s apartment building. Most of the items were created by the two women or by sister artisans who consign work.
The gift items range from $15 wooden hand mirrors with hand-painted flowers to hand-painted Winnie the Pooh high chairs, $250. They also perform services such as matting wedding invitations with dried flowers, $40.
But they insist that their specialty is custom orders.
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”Special orders carry us,” says Hall, a bit paint-splattered from the high chair she is working on amid the merchandise. ”One-of-a-kind gifts for friends and relatives, or for themselves, are what most people want.
”We`ve done dining room sets and armoires to little, tiny boxes,” she adds. ”We sort of just keep experimenting.
”We do a lot of things to fit in with someone`s existing decor or to match, say, a Laura Ashley print,” Hall says. ”Some artists may not want to do that,” McIntyre adds, ”but we like to show what we can do.”
Custom work is $30 an hour. Among the Flowers is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.