Norman, Okla. – The flowers are blooming and business is booming for a small business Poppy Lane Design.

If you were to ask any woman what she has been dreaming about for most of her life, the answer would be simple, her wedding day. They dream about every single detail all the way down to their flowers. Ready to help make every bride’s vision come to life, Kelly Long started a modern floral production styling and design company known today as Poppy Lane.

Poppy Lane Design Mother and Daughter Duo Madeline and Kelly Long.

“I did not want to go the traditional route with my florals and I knew that I wanted to have vibrant and colorful bouquets and florals with lots of wildflowers,” Poppy Lane Design customer Kennedy Gray said. “After meeting with Kelly I was confident she was the best choice and she would make my vision come to life and work with our budget.”

Starting out her business in her father’s clubhouse, Poppy Lane Design founder and owner Kelly Long met with her Brides, stored her flowers in a cooler, planned her floral installments, and put the floral installments together. Her business eventually outgrew the clubhouse and she started to rent a design room. Her daughter, Madeline Long joined the Poppy Lane team and helped her mother create floral arrangements and traveled with her to do floral installations

“I was meeting with these brides and they kept asking if I knew any florists, and I couldn’t find anybody,” Kelly Long said. “So I thought maybe I would just try and I loved it and finally I had to name my business, so I named it Poppy after my Grandfather and it’s also a flower.”

When the world shut down due to the pandemic and everyone was under a stay-at-home order, small businesses were cut the deepest. Fortunately for Poppy Lane Design, they were able to stay in business and continued to serve their customers. As COVID-19 continued to affect weddings, special events, and parties, the mother-daughter duo found ways to keep their business profitable and relevant. Dropping off flowers on doorsteps, taking online flower arrangement courses, and taking deposits for weddings were some of the many ways Poppy Lane remained afloat.

Much like the rest of the world, coming out of a pandemic it took time to adjust and get back up to speed. For Poppy Lane that needed to happen sooner rather than later. The calendar was booked with both weddings that were rescheduled pre-pandemic and new ones planned post-pandemic. Planning floral arrangements for weddings and installing those is more than a two-person job, so they needed reinforcements.

“Finding people to work was a challenge,” Madeline Long said. “ Fall is the wedding season and especially in a college town nobody wants to miss football game days, but weddings are still happening.”

After the pandemic calmed down, the duo decided to give Poppy Lane Design a headquarters. Opening up a brick-and-mortar studio and showroom, in Norman, Oklahoma was a step that was already in their playbook, however taking an even bigger risk, they decided to also open Poppy, a shopping boutique.

“I wish I would have done it (opened a shop) years ago,” Long said. “ We are here all the time, it is double the work but double the fun.”

Both Poppy Lane Design and Poppy opened their store doors April 1, 2023, and have been serving both brides and the Norman community since.

“My initial thoughts were “I hope this business stays open” because it’s so fun and very close to campus,” Poppy customer Caroline Wageman said. “I think the boutique is what Norman needs, our town needs more shops like this where women can shop and buy things instead of having to go to the city.

This story was completed in my capacity as a student journalist for a class in May 2023 . I intended for this to reach those who are residents in Norman and any who are interested in florals. I hoped to inform readers about a local business in Norman.