A popular florist has taken the heartbreaking decision to close her shop amid the cost of living crisis. Lavenders Grey Florist, in Westbury Park, Newcastle-under-Lyme, has shut with the business moving to online only. Owner Teresa Sinaguglia has run the store for five years. However, the 27-year-old said external factors such as rising costs and Brexit has forced her to leave the Westbury Road shop.
Teresa thanked her customers and stressed that the shop's quality produce would still be available online. Teresa, from Bucknall, said: "The decision was made within the current climate. Everything was going up, electricity, stock, cards, all the costs of the sale. They just went up too much.
"When the cost of everything goes up, I was unable to pass the price on. I was trying to take the hit myself. But there have been other issues, like with fresh flowers, Brexit, which has caused an issue with the ports. We have been short of funerals as funeral directors have started offering their own services and can swoop straight in. Supermarkets, and M&S, all of them sell their own flowers now. If you look at the price, people now see it as a luxury.
"I am a florist who is known for quality. I analyze all of my own stock. My hard work has paid off, and people know and use our service for everything. But it was about a month and a half ago that we made the final decision. There had been a couple of months of weighing things up."
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