Colorful Floral & Glass Art in Downtown Fergus Falls

By Heather Rule, photos provided

The Flower Mill in downtown Fergus Falls specializes in a variety of fresh flowers, plants and unique gift ideas. Flowers change with the seasons and holidays, with deep oranges, reds and burgundy colors in the fall, Christmas pine and then tulips and iris in the spring. They also have local tulips grown in Minnesota which the shop receives weekly in-season.

“It’s never a boring job because it’s always changing,” said Leanne Meis, who’s owned The Flower Mill with her husband for 17 years.

Along with fresh flowers and plants, The Flower Mill carries a lot of local gifts like chocolates, essential oils and candles. Meis encourages customers to stop in and view everything they have to offer.

“We are predominantly a floral shop,” Meis said. “But we have so much more to offer in the store as far as giftware and different things as well.”

The Flower Mill is located at 205 W. Lincoln Ave. in Fergus Falls. Customers can place floral orders by phone, in person or online (https://www.fergusfallsflorist.com/). The Flower Mill delivers flowers in Fergus Falls and some surrounding cities.

Stained – A Glass Art Studio

Stained (https://www.stainedaglassartstudio.com/) is located on the lower level of the building at 205 W. Lincoln Ave. The work includes stained glass art and fused glass art, which is created using a glass kiln. Stained glass art is a similar process to fused glass art. The artist creates a pattern and cuts shapes out of glass, grinds down the pieces to fit them in a pattern. Then pieces are foiled and burnished around the edges and then soldered together.

Stained coordinates with The Flower Mill to include everlasting pieces with various floral arrangements to give them “more personal touches,” said Brittanni Smith, manager of Stained for the past four years.

Stained sells retail glass pieces and custom pieces. They also hold glass art classes. A suncatcher class is great for beginners, with pre-cut pieces.

It’s awesome to have this stained-glass art right in Fergus Falls, Smith said. Stained has welcomed groups of friends and families who share in the classes as special outings. A book suncatcher workshop is also extremely popular with customers.

“I know a lot of people think of stained glass as kind of a dying art,” Smith said. “In my opinion, it seems like it’s starting to resurface again and kind of thrive.”