"The virus got us."

Tom Thompson flowers is a pandemic casualty.

by Micheline Maynard

From the November, 2020 issue

In August, Tom Thompson Flowers launched a GoFundMe campaign. "The virus got us. We are desperate," Thompson posted. "Please help to keep us going until this pandemic is over."

The campaign raised $6,169, but it wasn't enough. Both the GoFundMe and the shop shut down at the end of September.

"We are closed for business," reads a sign on the door. Inside, a studio that was once filled with orchid plants and bunches of colorful flowers is now bare, save for a single tree in the front room.

Thompson, who studied ikebana in Japan, specialized in graceful modern designs that looked more natural than stiff arrangements from national chains. His daughter-in-law, Djami, worked with him for more than fifteen years.    

[Originally published in November, 2020.]