This is Laura Logan. Most of you know her as Laura, who used to work at The Blossom Shop on Bridge Street in Carleton Place. Now she works at Acanthus a custom floral shop located in the historical downtown of Almonte, Ontario
Laura told me she had no idea what career path she was going to take when she graduated, but an evil ex-boyfriend said their relationship might spring a few thorns if she did not consider college. She wasn’t sure she was going to take that 8 month floral course at Algonquin College, but her Mother suggested she view it as working in 3 D art.
She interned at Keepsakes in Almonte, and then worked at the Carleton Place Independent Grocery Store until she was offered full time employment at The Blossom Shop. She admits she was nervous when she began working for Yvonne, our iconic local florist, but she was accepted as part of the floral family immediately.
Two years ago she noticed that her derriere had blossomed. Laura admitted she had not given a second thought to what she looked like in High School. When she weighed herself on the scale, an ugly 180 pounds stared her back in the face. At first, she considered a gym, but the memories of a bad experience at 16 kept her away. It wasn’t until she joined the former gym in Almonte that she began to get the courage to melt off those pounds.
But, she soon realized working out and eating a couple of Big Macs don’t mix. Because Herbal Weight Loss was next door, she felt comfortable having Sandy help her on her journey to a slimmer self. She found it easy with this particular program. Like she said, she can still eat a small piece of birthday cake, but she doesn’t need the ice cream on Tuesday nights.
Six months later she found herself weighing 138 pounds, but says she finds herself taunted by some of the locals. One woman approached her at Starbucks and asked Laura if she should really consider eating anything there. As Laura told me,
“I am careful, but I am going to have a Chai Latte if I am having a bad day. I don’t want to be in trouble for enjoying my life.”
She still admits she looks in the mirror and sees her old self, but losing weight encouraged her husband Matt who works at Valley Granite and Tile to also lose 50 pounds. But she cautions anyone that wants to lose weight to do it for the right reasons, and not the wrong ones.
If Laura had a magic wand she would like to have a steady stream of customers come to downtown Carleton Place. As she said,
“We need people!”
She also laments about the lack of stores for people her age. She loves the community of Carleton Place, and believes that a small town mentality is a positive mantra. She likes the fact she can be herself and wants the public to know that she is passionate about what she does at Acanthus.
She gave me an example that one day a high school student asked for a $20 bouquet. As she made the arrangement she asked him what it was for. He replied that he was going to use it to ask a girl to prom. Laura told me she didn’t know him, but immediately wanted him to succeed in his mission. She took the bouquet all apart and asked him what she thought this girl might like. He was so thrilled with the final result he took a picture and posted it on Facebook thanking Laura. As she said, it doesn’t matter how much you have to spend, she can create anything. The students of today will become her wedding customers down the road.
It was easy to see that Laura loves life, and loves what she does. I will remember one thing she told me today for the rest of my life.
“I like to make pretty things!”
As Luther Burbank once said:
And that’s our Laura.
Find her at Acanthus in Almonte
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