At long last, fellow citizens, and after that tardy bit o’winter, spring is heavy and latent in the late March air. And nothing says spring like – what else? Flowers! Easter, Mother’s Day, showers of various and sundry lk – they are all on their merry way.
If your nose is itching to sniff out some floral beauty, there’s a new bloom in town: Christine’s Creations is now cozily ensconced where Captain Thomas Boulevard forks near Savin Avenue. When you step inside, you’ll be met by a truly local shop with a nautical flair.
Owner Christine Gonzalez, who opened the shop in January, worked previously for Myers’ florist in Branford: when looking for a job after getting a degree in art, Chuck at Myers’ loved the fact she had studied that particular discipline. “He took me under his wing,” she says. He advised her to “look at a flower arrangement like a blank canvas” and to simply make her art three dimensional. Gonzalez says that she loved it.
Gonzalez opened the store in West Haven because, like so many of our Hidden Gems profilees who love the city, she was born and raised here. “I am a Westie,” she proclaims with pride. She was doing arrangements for special events, and credits her husband with her new digs. The Captain Thomas building was for sale, and “after our mortgage was paid off, my husband surprised me with the idea of opening my own shop,” Gonzalez says. Even though she’s only been open for a few months, the shop is doing well.
Christine’s Creations is a full-service florist. Gonzalez does special events, weddings, funerals, birthdays, anniversaries etc. Gonzalez put together four beautiful arrangements while I was there, the last one a birth congratulation arrangement of pink roses, delphiniums, and alstromeria in a taupe ceramic elephant, trunk up of course, speckled with white polka dots. There’s a quaint corner table where you can peruse books to choose the perfect blossoms. The shop also has nicely potted houseplants ready to gift and will have palm crosses. FTD? Teleflora? Have no fear, Christine’s Creations has both.
Gonzalez prides herself on personalized customer service. Customers can, if they so desire, go into the cooler and choose their own flowers. The store always stocks roses, carnations, lilies, stock, snapdragons, monte and alstromeria, and will happily do special requests. Last week, a woman wanted ranunculus, which Gonzalez ordered for her.
The shop also delivers to most of New Haven County,
It’s obvious as she effortlessly puts together her designs that Gonzalez is the artist her degree prepared her to be. “My medium is flowers,” she smiles.