Martha's Flower Businesses

Flowers have always been an essential component of the Martha Stewart ethos. From her first catering business to her books and magazines, flowers (both growing and arranging them) are central to the Martha Stewart way of life. As a caterer during the late 1970s and early 1980s, on the morning of an event, Martha and her team would head out before dawn to the flower markets, ensuring they had access to the best and most plentiful selection to help supplement those she had already picked from her own garden at Turkey Hill Road. In her books on gardening and entertaining, too, she frequently espoused the allure of arrangements of flowers throughout the house when hosting guests.

It was in January of 2000 when Martha finally brought a flower business into the Omnimedia fold, allowing her readers and viewers - many of whom did not have gardens - to partake in the enjoyment of Martha's favourite varieties and arrangements. She had already launched a catalog business, which at that point was functioning online as well: Marthasflowers.com was born.

In her letter to readers in the February, 2000, issue of Martha Stewart Living, Martha explains the concept:

“Using the knowledge that I gained during those years of catering, and the experience that we have garnered editing this magazine and Weddings, we have started an online flower business, marthasflowers.com, so that you, too, can have access to the most beautiful, freshest flowers obtainable anywhere. Our flowers staff, headed by crafts editor Hannah Milman, meticulously tests myriad varieties before we make our selections. The finest growers in the United States, South America and Europe have been visited and consulted and studied so that what we are sending you meets our standards.”

Consumers had the option of ordering online from either the marthasflowers.com, marthabymail.com or the marthastewart.com websites. They would receive what are known as ‘grower’s bunches’ – flowers that have been picked and wrapped by the growers themselves, shipped directly to the Martha Stewart warehouses where they were packaged in specially branded boxes with printed care instructions, and then sent immediately to the purchaser – all within hours of the stems having been cut. They were never unwrapped or excessively handled and were not picked over.

Flower subscription services were also available; consumers could subscribe to receive weekly deliveries of flowers for a three-month, six-moth or one-year period: three months was $148, six months was $278, and a year was $528 - a steal, by today's standards!

The flowers were shipped by FedEx Priority Overnight to ensure a timely delivery. Delivery could also be made on Saturdays with a $10 surcharge, but there was no delivery on Sunday or Monday, as per FedEx guidelines at the time.

The flowers and bouquets on offer depended on availability and seasonality. Martha and her team took care to ensure seasonal and celebratory themes for the choices of flowers available. There were hydrangeas and delphiniums in summer, hyacinths and daffodils in winter, tulips, lilies, and ranunculus in spring and many more varieties that were available at different times of year. The most popular of all, of course, were the roses. There was a special rose-delivery service within the MarthasFlowers business that specialized in monthly selections of roses chosen by Martha herself, based primarily on colour.

When the catalog shut down in 2004, so did Marthasflowers.com. It wasn’t until 2008 when Martha partnered with 1-800-Flowers (the largest flower-delivery service in the United States) to bring the flower service back. Martha’s team, headed up by stylist Tom Borgese, designed the bouquets while 1-800-Flowers handled the deliveries. Vases and vessels chosen by Martha were also on offer. As with the original flower business, a subscription service was available. This partnership lapsed in 2014.

In 2018, with Martha’s company now being handled by Sequential Brands, Martha partnered with Bloomsybox.com, a Dutch-based flower delivery company, to once again continue the flower-delivery business. Repeating the model, Martha’s team came up with the arrangement types while Bloomsybox handled the deliveries. Subscription service was also available. This partnership lapsed in 2022.

In each business model described, Martha and her team were central to the selection and arrangement of the flowers. MarthasFlowers.com, the first incarnation of the flower business, handled the distribution of the flowers that were ordered from the growers. This was at a time when Martha’s company was at its most robust, with nearly one thousand employees working with Omnimedia. As Martha’s company downsized, the deliveries of the grower's bunches and bouquets were outsourced to a flower delivery company: 1-800-Flowers and BloomsyBox.com.  In every instance, however, Martha ensured that the flowers came from reputable growers from around the world and always selected the best varietals available.