Chill Your Sweat (It's Cooler Time!)

We all know that it is hot outside, but it is really really hot outside. The AC can barely keep up with the demands of the intense Texas sun and the massive high pressure system that will just not leave the state! Seriously, I was a little embarrassed at my electric bill this month. Anytime I walk into an air-conditioned space these days, it's like the long-forgotten chilled air washes away any haunting memories I have of this, the 40th something day of triple digit heat. Then, I open the door that leads me back into reality and I remember: the humidity of drought once again fills my lungs and I no longer breathe a sigh of relief.

But then I get to work and my spirits are lifted because she is there, in all her cold glory, this little (big) baby:

the entrance to the air (and flowers) of your dreams.

The walk-in cooler here at Ben White Florist is pretty awesome. She doesn't have a name, but I'm inclined to call her Big Bertha. Bertha was my van's name, and she was big, too (however, the cooler runs much better than my van ever did). She was installed several years ago during one fateful Valentine's Day week as I am told, and has really changed how a customer (that's you) gets to pick out his/her flowers. Instead of keeping the majority of our flowers in the back (like the olden days), out of sight, out of reach, we keep all of our flowers in the front cooler for everyone to see (and touch and smell and play).

A chill, 43 degrees of awesome.

An insider's view.

This cooler is the only cooler I have ever known, but I can only imagine (from stories and my brain) how it used to be, because it is still how many florists are. A small cooler with a few arrangements here or there, but not quite as customer-friendly. Perhaps a little something like this:

Having such a large cooler allows our customers to walk in, look around, and physically grab whatever flowers they want, with or without our help. It's definitely a more hands-on experience, which I think is pretty cool (and hopefully our customers do, too). Plus, it's 43 degrees inside, which is excellent in the summer and quite a relief for anyone who has just come in from the 100+ degree outside world. So, come visit us, if only to chill out in our cooler and buy a single stem of something or another. You'll be happy you did. She (the cooler) will thank you for it.

"Thank you!"