Tina D’Agostino, owner of Blooms Flower Truck, which opens a retail shop at the Mill at Crane Pond on Nov. 5. (SUBMITTED/HANNAH JOSEPHINE PHOTOGRAPHY)
WESTFIELD — Tina D’Agostino has always enjoyed planning events and parties … and arranging flowers.
After working at CityStage and the Springfield Symphony Hall for nearly two decades, D’Agostino turned to her love of event planning as a career after COVID-19 closed the Hall, but it wasn’t easy.
“I struggled to find my place and then the pandemic hit,” she said. “While spending so much time at home, I started to build an event consulting website, which included florals for small events. But as the pandemic progressed, I became more and more focused on the floral part of the business and started following mobile businesses and flower trucks in other parts of the country. After a test run on Mother’s Day, I just decided to go for it.”
What she went for was her mobile flower business, Blooms Flower Truck.
While she was never directly in the flower business, she has always incorporated flowers in her events and realized that was where she wanted to focus her next career move.
Since May, Blooms has, well, blossomed, and on Friday, D’Agostino will open a brick-and-mortar shop at 77 Mill St., Westfield.
At first, she just wanted a storage space.
“The new space has taken on a life of its own,” she said. “Originally, I was planning on using it strictly as studio space, but the Mill at Crane Pond really has a great vibe and there is a lot of foot traffic, so I will be open for limited retail hours and I will host workshops soon. The truck was designed to bring the ‘show on the road,’ and I will continue to offer retail and special event pop-ups and use it as my delivery vehicle.”
An arrangement of flowers includes Blooms’ owner Tina D’Agostino’s signature Gerbera daisy. (SUBMITTED)
D’Agostino, a Southwick resident who lived previously in Longmeadow and Springfield, said she is a “one-woman operation right now,” but she has a big support system “with lots of help and encouragement from family and friends.”
Her love of flowers began early and began with her grandmother.
“My Babci had a green thumb and a passion for flowers and my mom is also very talented with floral design and has also worked in flower shops, so I was bit by the bug early on,” she said, adding that while she has many favorite flowers, “it’s very hard for me not to include a Gerbera daisy in one of my bouquets.”
Blooms will be open on Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in November. December hours will be Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. D’Agostino said she will offer a variety of plants and succulents, fresh bouquets and arrangements, as well as gift items for the holidays.
