Anya Edwards on making the big leap from fashion to owning a small business

WEST ORANGE, N.J. - A West Orange small business owner says it's never too late to start a new chapter.

Anya Edwards considers herself to be a visual person.

"I started my career in the fashion industry," she said.

Eventually she wanted a change.

"It was time to find something to do that would be a little bit more independent, so we bought a flower shop. And did I know a lot about flowers before we bought a flower shop?  That would be 'no,'"  Edwards said. "I'm a smart person, I can figure this out."

For six years, Edwards has been the owner of A & K Floral Design in West Orange. She's navigated challenging times.

"It all looks like, 'Oh it's fun, and isn't it beautiful, and you come to work with the pretty flowers every day.' Yeah, that's true, but then there's the behind the scenes part that involves the logistics and making sure you order what you need and not what you don't need, that you're not wasting and throwing out product," she said.

She credits repeat customers with keeping her going.

"Some of them have been with me since six years ago. Some of them were with the company before I took over, but they continue to be pleased with the product that we put out," Edwards said. 

Celebrations, apologies, life's sorrows and joys, Edwards is part of it all.

"Their baby showers. Their weddings. Their birthdays. Their anniversaries.  I especially love it when the young men come in and they're giving flowers to their girlfriends. Oh, that's so sweet," she said. 

And when the unthinkable happened?

"During COVID, it was nice to be there to help people to reach out when they couldn't physically touch someone," she said.  "It's just nice to see that people are still giving. That's a beautiful thing."