Heavenly Designs Plants and Gifts
4902 Holly Road #102
Corpus Christi, TX 78411
(361) 994-7673
Heavenly Designs Plants and Gifts is a family-owned and operated full-service floral shop located on the Southside of Corpus Christi.
The shop specializes in floral arrangements, plants, gift baskets and bouquets. They can also decorate for weddings and Quinceneras, host small bridal and baby showers and provide linens, chairs and toppers for event renting. They will also tackle everything from decorating your home for a party to decking out your Christmas tree. Their wire service, TeleFlora allows for easy delivery anywhere.
“We take pride in all our services. We make all floral designs with the freshest flowers and our customers are very special to us,” Dennis said.
They are seeing a boom in business since its doors opened a mere nine months ago. “Business has been great,” owner Minnie Dennis said. “Word of mouth has been very good to us,” she added.
The Heavenly Designs team likes to take the extra step, offering services and flowers that other shops may not. “We get flowers from all over the world,” master designer Chris Escarzaga said, from Leis from Hawaii to hydrangeas from Holland and roses from Colombia.
One special service that Heavenly Designs offers is floral recycling. When purchasing a bouquet or arrangement, you can take it home in your favorite case or container. You can also bring in special live or silk flowers to be arranged.
“One customer saved the silk flowers from the centerpieces at her daughter’s wedding,” Dennis said. “When her daughter became pregnant, she brought them in and had them re-arranged for her baby shower as a special surprise.” This kind of attention to detail and special service makes Heavenly Design stand out among floral shops and their customers don’t soon forget.
“We like to allow creativity,” Minnie said. “No two arrangements are exactly the same,” she said, unless the customer asks for them to be as in the case of a wedding or shower.
Heavenly Designs owner Minnie Dennis ended her career as a registered nurse last year when her asthma made it impossible for her to continue work. At that point, opening a floral shop had already been in the back of her head for some time. She had volunteered in the floral shops of friends for four years and loved the experience, but she was always too busy with work to pursue that passion. So it was perfect timing when she found the building that would become Heavenly Designs Plants and Gifts at right about the same time that the doctors said she could no longer work in the medical field. She had been looking at several locations before settling on Holly Road, on Corpus Christi’s booming south side. “It was a nice new empty shell,” she said of the building, adding that it was the perfect fit.
Coming from a background in nursing and working in clinics and hospital ICU’s, you would think running a floral shop would be a piece of cake for Dennis. You would be wrong. “It’s stressful,” she laughed. “Meeting overhead, managing a staff, you’re never really your own boss,” she said. “You work for your customers.”
Dennis is the first to say that she is blessed with the help of a great staff. She recruited master designer Chris Escarzaga with 30 years of floral design experience, and her daughter, designer Kayla Marie Lozano to work full-time in the shop creating bouquets, floral arrangements and more. Ron Berglund was hired as accountant, and handles the books for Dennis. Vanessa Moreno was hired to help run the shop part-time, and quickly stepped up to help out in all areas, including special projects of her own.
“They each have their own talents and therefore work on different projects,” Minnie said, adding that her staff operates like a family.
“Treat everyone like family and you’ll never have a problem,” Dennis said.
Dennis’s own family has been instrumental in shaping and supporting her new career. “It’s a family affair,” she said. She earned her passion for flowers from her grandfather and her work ethic from her parents. Dennis came from a family of migrant workers, and so she is no stranger to hard work. “It is something my parents instilled in me,” she said. “Working long hours is something I’m used to.” Her husband and children have also been tremendously supportive.
Dennis attributes her success to her faith in God, strong morals and her family. “If you put God first, everything else falls into place,” she said.
“Everyday is a new experience. You just have to take it one day at a time.”
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