Osborne Florist

About Osborne Florist: From Banking to Blooms

Oriana didn't plan to become a florist.
Twelve years at a bank. Twelve years trying to figure out what she actually wanted to do with her life. Her father passed away when she was 33, and everything stopped.

At the funeral, surrounded by flowers she'd ordered from Angie Le Cherbo (this Italian florist she'd known forever), Oriana couldn't stop talking about how beautiful they were. Her best friend said: "Why don't you take a florist course?"

Click. The idea just lit something up.

So Oriana goes to Angie, asks where she could take classes. Angie's response? "Hang out with me. Pay me what you'd pay a course. I'll teach you everything." Done. Oriana quit her banking job, took leave, and started learning. Loved it immediately. The craft, the color, the problem-solving, all of it.

Angie rented her shop space for Oriana to start a gift basket business while learning floristry on the side. Free labor for mentorship. Years pass. Angie's husband has a health crisis. The family decides to sell. Oriana buys the shop. Buys the building too.

Thirty years later? Still following Angie's playbook: own the business, own the property. Make it last. The building now houses the flower shop, an Airbnb upstairs, and get this: Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's constituency office.

Inside the Shop

Walk in. Flowers painted on the garage out back, along the building's side. Inside? Usually 3 dogs and a cat wandering around. People literally come in just to see them. Oriana can't say no to a sad animal story, so the pack keeps growing.
The team runs 8-10 people depending on season. Every generation represented, twenties through fifties. "When I see them working together," Oriana says, "one's coming from experience, one's bringing fresh ideas. It's really cool."
Lauren Galdino manages the place. She's half-Italian (Oriana jokes this maintains Angie's legacy).

Eileen Frateros? Fifteen to twenty years' experience, American florist training. Eileen will work 7 AM to midnight during Christmas rushes. No complaints. Just gets it done.

Allison started as a volunteer. Fifteen years old, school program. Now she's 30+, becoming a psychologist, still works here once a week. Why? She loves it.

And Jasmine. Despite her extreme shyness Jasmine now organizes the team. Answers phones. Helps customers. Completely transformed.

How It Works

Morning: quality checks on anything time-sensitive. Most orders? Made the night before, then wrapped, boxed, triple-checked. Today's orders get built while the phones ring nonstop. Inventory management never ends. Lauren cleans obsessively (her therapy, she calls it). The shop stays spotless.

Funerals get special treatment. Flowers go out day-of only. Period. Freshness matters when people are grieving.
Weddings? Different energy entirely. The team's not huge on weddings, but when they commit to one, it's all-in. Hyperfocus mode. Triple-check everything. Early mistakes were the best teachers.

The Neighborhood Connection

South Osborne Legion member. They provide flowers, help with fundraising, pizza nights.
"Business of the Week" program delivers free flowers to shops along the strip. Keeps everyone connected.
Summer means Manitoba flower growers. Year-round means local products: honey, cookies, chocolate, tea. Signature move? Teacup arrangements paired with local tea. Flowers you enjoy, then a cup you keep.
Northern Manitoba's Indigenous communities often lack florists. Someone up north needs a funeral piece? Osborne makes it last-minute, ships it up. It's become this unique service rooted in understanding Manitoba's geography.

Why Choose Local?
Flexibility. That's Oriana's answer.
"We're open 7 days. Need an order at 7 AM? Done. Midnight? We'll make it happen." Oriana has delivered Christmas Day. Made wedding bouquets same-day when other florists bailed.
But here's what Oriana really believes: flower shops need young people. Need to be constantly shaken up. "You don't have people challenging you? You get stuck in 2005. You have to stay relevant or you'll die like a dinosaur."

Look for the building with flowers painted everywhere. Premier's office inside. Dogs and cat guaranteed. If it matters to you, it matters here.