Did you know that when someone receives flowers it improves their mood and alleviates stress! Is it the smell, the colors, or the fact that they come from nature? I think it’s all the above however let’s talk to an expert about how flowers made her bloom.
Lourdes Peralta, owner of Sarai Flower & Variety Shop was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to NY in 1993. I asked Lourdes how she got into the flower business she responded; “it was gift from the universe and I accepted it with open arms”.
When she first came from her country he started babysitting for a woman who owned a flower shop then she finished working at the shop. In a short time, she started working at another flower shop that she eventually ended up buying from the owner and operated for 17 years until she met her husband and moved to Reading in 2015. Some people have all the excuses in the world to not follow their calling yet the fact that Lourdes still struggles with her English today and doesn’t even drive hasn’t stopped her from pursuing and living her dream and that to me is very admirable.
Today Lourdes is the owner of several properties in Reading that include her shop on 12 N. 9th St., Reading, PA 19601. She also has a love for decorating but that comes second to her flowers, but if you have seen the Christmas trees at Tower Health in the last year or so you would not think decorating comes second in her heart.
I was told that a second storefront is coming real soon, I will say no more as I don’t want to ruin the where and when just stay tuned. When I met Lourdes she had low self-esteem and didn’t feel her work was good enough. Slowly with the support of many women, she is now super proud of her work and doesn’t let the language barrier be a problem. She came here with a dream of owning her own flower shop little did she know that she too would also bloom.
Rosa Julia Parra
