Under new ownership, Rayven’s Flowers and Gifts becomes Hillside Floral

Posted 9/21/21

Earlier this month, Shelley and Jeff Hill took over Rayven’s Flowers and Gifts, renaming it Hillside Floral. It was a case of things just falling into place. 

Former owner Rayven Moore …

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Under new ownership, Rayven’s Flowers and Gifts becomes Hillside Floral

Posted

Earlier this month, Shelley and Jeff Hill took over Rayven’s Flowers and Gifts, renaming it Hillside Floral. It was a case of things just falling into place. 

Former owner Rayven Moore got married this year and was looking to start a family. But as a business owner, she didn’t have the kind of set schedule that lends itself to raising kids; she was thinking it was time to close down the shop.

Meanwhile, the Hills had recently moved back to Powell.

Shelley and Jeff met while attending Powell High School. They went to Homecoming together, graduated and moved away when Jeff joined the Navy. 

The couple eventually ended up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where Jeff was a machinist and Shelley was an elementary school principal. 

Last year was a tough one for everyone, and the challenges of living in a big city really began to weigh on the couple. They finally decided to return to Powell, after being away nearly 10 years. 

“Having grown up here, you always have that thing pulling you back,” Shelley said. 

Before family planning considerations began to become a priority, Moore was looking to expand her services into event planning. She mentioned it to Shelley, who had been Moore’s preschool teacher. Shelley was well suited to help with the new endeavor, and so she began working at the store.

When Moore began talking about giving up the store to raise a family, it put an idea in Shelley’s head: On Sept. 1, the Hills took over the store, now known as Hillside Floral.  

“I’m passing on the bouquet,” Moore said.

The store is in good hands, Moore said, and her highly skilled designers, Kerri Kolb and Ashtin Decker, will remain on staff.

“They will take great care of you from here on out,” Moore added. 

Shelley said she and her husband probably wouldn’t have taken over the ownership of the store if Kolb and Decker weren’t staying on; the two designers’ expertise will be important to the Hills’ success. 

“We never would have thought in a million years we’d do this. The other day I asked Jeff, ‘Are we really doing this?’ It’s really worked out, and I think it’s going to be great,” Shelley said. 

It was good news for downtown Powell as well. If Moore would have moved on without a buyer, it would have meant another empty storefront and one less local shopping option.

“I think it would have been awful for Powell if Rayven’s would have closed,” Shelley said. “There’s nowhere else to get gifts like this. I think it’s a real benefit for downtown and the community as a whole.” 

Hillside Floral will offer all the same products and services, including event planning. With a larger staff, Hillside will be offering delivery services to Cody as well. 

Additionally, they will be launching a new “forget me not” service, which will be sort of an automated reminder service for holidays, anniversaries, birthdays and other important dates people tend to let slip. 

Shelley has been conducting an ad hoc focus group for the service, asking customers if they’d use it and what features it should have. She said it’s men who seem most interested. 

“I had a plumber come in and said he was going to let the guys in the shop know about it. He said they always have to remind each other,” Shelley said.  

Customers will be notified via text and email when there’s an important date coming up, which means there should be far fewer guys in the dog house on anniversaries. Hillside will also offer different packages for holidays, such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, and it will include “just because” options. 

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