Meet Donna Matthias of Donna’s Custom Flowers in Mundelein

Today we’d like to introduce you to Donna Matthias.

Donna, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
At the age of 5 years old I would sit in church each Sunday and mentally redesign the Alter flower arrangements, I always felt they were not designed to my liking. This was the beginning of my love affair with flowers!

The 2nd thing that stands out in my memory is, I was walking through the halls of my high school and came across a girl carrying flowers in the hallway.

They were so beautiful, I asked her where she got them, she stated, “she had arranged them herself”

I found out the school offered horticulture classes that included floral design. I signed up to take the class right away the next year, this all happened my Junior year of H.S.

At the age of 17 I took 1st place in floral design for “Creative use of Foliage”. The 2nd contest I entered, was at Lake County Fair, here I was given the “Grand Champion” ribbon in the novice division. I was awarded the Top Blue Ribbon of the whole fair for the “Terrarium” I had designed and entered into the fair that year.

After several other jobs at the age of 23, I walked into a little flower shop in Wheeling, IL called Dreiske’s!

Erwin Dreiske interviewed me right then and there! During the interview when asked if I had any experience, I had to admit even though I had no formal flower shop experience, I had desired my whole life to become a florist! I was hired on the spot and started the next day. Thus, began my adventure as a florist. The 85-year-old flower shop owner took me under his wing and taught me everything I needed to know, concentrating on fundamentals of Funeral and Wedding design! I stayed in this shop for 5 plus years, moved on to several other florists, gaining experience, and knowledge.

I gathered all the best knowledge from each flower shop and put it all into one shop, creating Donna’s Custom Flowers. I opened my shop Mother’s Day 2007! Now 10 years, many, many hours of hard, dedicated work, I am still here servicing Mundelein and the surrounding communities.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a single mom, balancing and dividing time between children and work seems to be the biggest challenge I have faced.

Donna’s Custom Flowers – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Full Service Florist, specializing in Weddings, Parties, Funerals, and Prom Flowers.

At Donna’s we strive to do artistic, nontraditional designs. We go the extra step to ensure our customers receive their flowers in prime condition.

I have worked hard to build my business one day at a time, Our motto is “WE HAVE BUILT AN EXCELLENT REPUTATION ON BEAUTIFUL, LONG LASTING FLOWERS AND PROMPT SERVICE”.

Most of the floral designs on my web site are designed and created in my shop.

Most weekends you will find me setting up centerpieces at a Weddings, Anniversaries, Quinceanera, Bar/Bat Mitzvah and many other types of parties.

We can also be found decorating homes for Weddings, Anniversaries, Christmas or a simple football game!

I’m not just a florist, “I’m an Artist!”

Customer Service is #1 in our shop, because we care!

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being a single mom and finally achieving my lifelong goal of opening my own flower shop!

Besides opening my own shop, bringing a little joy to others people’s lives with my flowers. I like making people happy!

Contact Info:

• Address: 787 S. Midlothian Road,
  Mundelein, IL 60060
• Website: Donnascustomflowers.com
• Phone: 847-949-9555
• Email: 3306@att.net
• Facebook: donnascustomflowers
• Twitter: Donna@Donna96640329
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/donnas-custom-flowers-mundelein?osq=florist

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