After launching County Line Flowers out of her home last year, owner Pami Monnette has taken a significant step forward by opening a physical storefront on Main Street in Philomath.
The expansion represents more than just additional square footage — it addresses both practical limitations and her desire to build deeper community connections.
“My physical workspace was just limited at my house and it was kind of like, ‘if you’re going to make a go at a real business, you’ve got to have the setup,'” Monnette explained. “There’s something about having a storefront that I think legitimizes you maybe to everyone but especially to the older generation.”
The brick-and-mortar presence at 1427 Main St. (next to Timber Towne Coffee) allows customers to meet Monnette face-to-face and see her work firsthand. It’s something she believes is particularly important for building trust with customers who may be unfamiliar with her business model of sourcing exclusively from local flower farms.
After considering three rental possibilities, Monnette came upon the Main Street location, which aligns with her goal of reducing her reliance on online marketing and digital promotion.
“I’m just really wanting to connect with people in person and not online as much,” she said. “I don’t want to sell myself constantly online because that’s what I was having to do. I want to start building real relationships and have people coming in.”
The new retail space extends County Line Flowers’ mission beyond floriculture. Monnette has dedicated a section of the store to locally sourced and locally made products, including pottery, soaps, teas, candles, wool products and more sourced through her connections with area farmers.
“I definitely wanted to have a site where folks could sell the awesome stuff that they’re making in this area — just one more spot where they could sell it and that I could market for them,” Monnette said. “Just having products that say, ‘Hey, this is what we grow here and showcase it a little bit in person.'”
The expansion into retail represents Monnette’s broader vision of supporting agricultural value-added products from the region to create what she hopes will become a hub for local businesses.
With the physical location established, Monnette is focusing on expanding her subscription service, which provides regular flower deliveries to businesses.
“I’m kind of pushing those where I just deliver like a vase arrangement every couple of weeks to a business — they just sign up and pay me monthly,” she said. “It’s easy and it’s straightforward, so that I’d like to grow a little bit.”
The storefront also opens possibilities for educational workshops, an area where Monnette has previous experience through partnerships with other local businesses. She’s particularly interested in connecting with students.
“I was thinking if a class wants to come in and learn about floriculture, I could be that resource for people and just teach about it a little bit,” she said. “Come learn about a local business that’s sourcing from ag products here.”
For Monnette, the expansion represents an opportunity to provide convenient access to products that might otherwise require a trip to Corvallis.
“If they don’t have to go to town for XYZ, it’s really nice as a small town to be self-sufficient in a way,” she said. “I know flowers aren’t essential but just those services that people will frequent in a town.”
As County Line Flowers continues to establish itself in its new location, Monnette’s goals remain rooted in community connection and supporting local agriculture.
“I just want to be established as a florist and have regular customers,” she said. “I’d like to grow the nonflower gift portion to highlight more local businesses that essentially make value out of products from farm products that are grown here. I’m really passionate about that, so I kind of want it to be a hub in that sense and just be a supportive business in Philomath.”
The Philomath Area Chamber of Commerce plans to hold a ribbon-cutting and grand-opening event for County Line Flowers from 4-7 p.m. on Oct. 23.
For more information, see County Line Flowers’ website, call 541-995-0885 or email countylineflowers@gmail.com.
