My columns usually focus on the tangible arts of painting, fibers, photography, or ceramics though occasionally I’ve written about the work of authors, choirs, and theaters. This column focuses on the artistry of Michele Mikulec, an entrepreneur and floral designer I have long admired. Our mutual friend, realtor Shelley S. Smith, says, “Michele has been a self-sufficient business owner for the past 18 years, a one-woman show until recently. As a single mother she has managed to nurture and grow her business with her own unique style that marries floral design with pure art."
“She is quirky for sure, working a bit on an ‘outsider’ level. She admits to being no good at self-promotion yet has worked for multiple movies and is the go-to florist for major events. I’m always pressing her to be ‘louder’ about her accomplishments, but that isn’t really her M.O. Long overdue for the accolades due to one of Savannah’s longstanding florists, she’s not one to rub shoulders with the elite by diving into Savannah’s social scene—things often necessary to thrive. But she has managed, despite that, to be one of the most respected florists in this town. Those that know, know.”
I recently met Mikulec in Madame Chrysanthemum, her cozy flower shop and store situated on the corner of West Taylor and Whitaker streets in the Downtown Design District. She tells me she grew up in Levittown, New York, the daughter of a hardworking and emotionally distant Czech father and Cuban mother. “My dad was a police officer in the city and back in the ’80s he and all his cop friends wanted to move to Florida. I graduated high school in 1990 during the New York punk rock/Goth music and art scene and we moved to Tampa. I was traumatized and cried for two years straight. I loved the [New York] City and wanted to go to NYU or FIT, but my family was super Catholic, super strict, and blue collar, and didn’t want me to go.”
Instead, she attended community college in Tampa—at $500 a semester!—excelling in such innovative art classes as printmaking, cast bronzing, painting, and 3-D design. Eventually she applied to SCAD, moved to Savannah in 1995, and earned her degree in Historic Preservation. Interestingly, her childhood in Levittown inspired her choice of major: her hometown was the first planned, mass-produced housing community for returning World War II veterans.
After graduation Mikulec briefly moved to New Mexico to work in historic preservation before working independently as a consultant in Savannah. Growing increasingly frustrated by the misogynistic way she was treated in the male-dominated profession, she eventually made the decision to open her own business.
“I had thought historic preservation would be more of a ‘righteous, real job.’ But it just wasn’t creative enough and I always wanted to have my own business.” She continues, “I remember forever wanting to do something creative. I felt it in my soul. Even now, I’m not making gobs of money, but I need to do this.”
But why a flower shop? “Growing up in New York, my parents instilled an insane work ethic in me. I got my first job at age 14 at this landscaping /greenhouse/craft store called Flower Time. Working in the craft section, I made silk flower arrangements (this was the ’80s!) for everyone in my family.” Mikulec continues, “There weren’t any good flower shops in Savannah back then—just old-school, traditional ones, and I wanted something fresh and contemporary and more European.
“My mother’s side of the family did a lot of dressmaking for Broadway and ateliers; my grandmother was a master pattern maker for Carolina Herrera. Growing up, we were always going into the city to Bloomingdale’s or Macy’s or Saks: it was a religious experience to go to those stores!” Researching and laying the groundwork for her dream of her own store, she moved back to New York, took a job designing windows for Macy’s, and attended a two-year floral design certificate program at the New York Botanical Gardens.
Finally, in 2006 she found her current garden apartment space that was zoned both commercial and residential, allowing her to initially save rent by also living there. She named it 'Madam Chrysanthemum' despite her great Savannah friends (the Kevins, who she refers to as her ‘gay parents’ for all their help and support) thinking the name was dumb and telling her no one’s every going to be able to spell it!
Mikulec’s concept was to combine flowers with a top-notch gift shop with unique and beautiful eye-catching merchandise. She sells exquisite ornaments, home décor pieces, stationary lines, and gardening knick-knacks that you simply can’t resist! She buys her flowers from local farms as often as she can, and endeavors to support other independent, women-owned businesses and artists whenever possible.
Mikulec built up her floral business by word of mouth. She laughs about providing flowers for the hair salon where one of the Kevins worked, and how clients would inquire about them and start ordering arrangements for their homes and parties. “I love to make creative, sculptural pieces when I get the chance. My strong suit is my use of color and texture.”
She says, “It is a hard business. It probably ruined my marriage because I was here all the time and didn’t have employees.” Today, the single mom has six staff members, and is constantly busy. When we met in May, she had just finished a busy Mother’s Day weekend and was getting ready for graduation season, and then more weddings in June. She does “a huge amount of work” for SCAD: “Paula [Wallace] supports me because I’m a SCAD alum, but also because I’m good and I bend over backwards to provide what’s needed and make people happy!”
One referral leads to another for Mikulec. “I’m so fortunate that after 18 years of doing this, I have a fabulous clientele." She has gotten calls from famous fashion designers like the now deceased Andre Leon Talley, and has worked on “tons of movies” filmed in Savannah. She says, “The film industry is all about trust and word of mouth and being flexible to work with. We had to do 120 arrangements for Ava DuVernay’s 2023 film Origin!” In May December, filmed here in 2022 and released last year, there is a scene where Julianne Moore is in a flower class. “I had to work on set, and Julianne came to my store to learn how to make arrangements,” says Mikulec.
Mikulec regularly gets calls from the staff of wealthy clients, “and I’m never allowed to know who they are.” One of the more notable calls she received was from the City of Savannah asking for arrangements—to be ready by the end of the day—for Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to Savannah. With a future goal of a second shop so her current space can be only flowers, the hardworking entrepreneur says, “I devote my life to this store. This is my baby. (My son is my second baby!) I just want people to understand my store is unlike any other. When you get my flowers, it’s like a part of my soul.”
Madame Chrysanthemum is located at 101 W. Taylor St. Find out more at www.madamechrysanthemum.com and follow on Instagram @madamechrysanthemum.
