‘A leap of faith’ Columbus native returns home to open flower shop. See inside

Flowers always have been interesting to Lexiee Campbell.

She started her floral designer career six years ago — as a delivery runner for a local flower shop. Campbell said she was so curious about flower arranging that she would stay behind at the shop after her deliveries.

“[The owners] were very confused as to why I was sweeping our floors for free, but I just loved it,” she told the Ledger-Enquirer.

From that first job, Campbell was inspired. In 2022, she created her first company, The Flower Girl, renamed to Campbell Creative Floral Co.,. She turned her garage into a studio, teaching herself the process of floral arranging from making small bouquets to setting up massive floral installations.

“I’ve been doing this for six years now, and I’m still learning every day,” Campbell said. “I’m still learning new designs, new techniques and learning to manipulate flowers into a way to make it look different. Your average rose won’t look like a rose when you leave the store.”

Now, after moving her business to Auburn, Alabama, Campbell has returned home to set up her first brick-and-mortar store in the heart of downtown Columbus.

Situated across from the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, Campbell’s Flowers on Tenth, 7 10th St., had its grand opening May 15. The event featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony, light refreshments, music and free gifts.

“My dreams are gonna come true,” Campbell said. “This specific place could not have been better.”

Campbell hopes that her store’s location will make it a prime destination for bouquets, arrangements and installations, especially for events at the RiverCenter or other downtown venues.

“Doing luxury, large-scale weddings and events, it’s gonna help me bring that over here into Georgia,” Campbell said. “With me being directly across the street, it’s gonna be easy [to say] ‘Hey, we need some flowers.’ or ‘We need this really large-scale installation.’ I got it. I’m right here.”

The journey to creating Flowers on Tenth in Columbus

Campbell said she had a specific vision for her store. She wanted an “Italian” feel to the boutique with a green exterior and a floral installation in the front. The pieces began to fall together naturally, she said.

She found out about the vacant storefront in an unconventional way.

Campbell stumbled upon the available storefront through an advertisement on Facebook Marketplace. The previous owner was selling a cooler, and after Campbell asked about purchasing it, the previous owner told her that she is moving out from the space, which happened to be a former flower shop with a green exterior.

“I wanted a green flower shop with an old, vintage feel, and it was just perfect,” Campbell said. “The timing of seeing her, seeing her post on social media that she was selling [the cooler]. It was in a matter of weeks, maybe even a month, before I was able to get this place.”

Campbell credits her family, specifically her mother, for helping with her business. She comes from “three generations” of entrepreneurship, with her grandmother and mother owning multiple companies. Being a business owner, she said, is “in her blood.”

“It was not easy getting started,” Campbell said. “It was definitely a leap of faith because I didn’t know what was gonna happen, you know? I mean, it could all fail. I just have faith that God got me this far.”

Campbell plans to host floral arrangement classes and expand her staff.

“I want to stay floral focused,” she said. “I don’t want to be a gift shop.”