BLACKBURN AND SWEETZER

You could say that Orchid Wrangler David Stanley left his space at 8365 West 3rd Street because of the economy and lack of parking and foot traffic, and though it would be partially true, it would be misleading. He started his business in 1999 and moved onto the street in 2001, and explains how the retail world and his needs have changed:

For years now, 95% of our business has been gift delivery phone orders from our website. Yesterday, I took an order from Israel. While we don’t ship, we do deliver to all of Los Angeles, so if someone in London wants to send flowers to someone in LA, and wants something other than FTD, they Google and find us. The other 5% of our business comes from long-time clients. With parking on Third Street the way it is, ‘walk ins’ were few and far between. So we opted for a workspace three times larger than the retail, with tons of storage available for larger orders at holiday times.

Have to say, it’s nice to hear that Stanley was not run off by horrendous rents and slow business, as so many other West 3rd Street retailers have suffered lately. In fact, along with his bigger space, DVDs, and, of course, pretty orchids, Stanley may be expanding his oeuvre further, but more on that later.

» Orchid Wrangler Exits West 3rd Street, Relocates