Stemistry, a flower store and coffee lab founded by a Valley entrepreneur when he was only 15, is planning to open a second location in Heritage Square in downtown Phoenix this fall.
The new location will be in the Teeter-Carriage House at 618 E. Adams St., which was built in 1899. The space will be renovated to feature such elements as mushroom wood and a 3D immersive experience.
“I am so excited to expand Stemistry into a new location in downtown Phoenix,” Stemistry founder Dylan Capshaw, now 16, said. “The community has been incredibly supportive. We look forward to being able to offer new items at this store and welcome first-time guests in.”
Stemistry offers pre-made bouquets and features a build-your-own bouquet bar, where patrons can pick out flowers, pay by the stem, and craft their own floral masterpieces.
“We have a build-your-own bouquet bar, so we embrace customer creativity,” Capshaw said. “People can come in knowing nothing about flowers and walk out with an expert-looking arrangement that you made on your own, just with help from our team.”
Staying consistent with the company’s floral theme, the Coffee Lab infuses flowers into different ingredients used to make the drinks such as rose, lavender and sunflowers.
Capshaw said a popular drink among Stemistry customers has been the rose latte. The floral drink infuses pure rose extract into the coffee and has no sugars or added calories. Stemistry also released a Campfire Latte this Halloween season that features cinnamon cardamom and a marshmallow top, which is melted into the coffee with a blow torch.
In addition to coffee and tea drinks, Stemistry offers a full food menu that includes breakfast and lunch sandwiches, pastries and desserts.
Original Scottsdale location
The original Stemistry, at 9015 E. Vía Linda, Suite #106 in Scottsdale has six employees skilled in coffee-making and floral designs. Prices for lattes range from $3 to $7, and flowers can be bought by the stem for as little as $2. Capshaw hopes to open the new Phoenix location by mid-November.
Capshaw was previously a Time magazine's Kid of the Year nominee. At 11 years old, he started Capshaw Wildlife, an animal rescue business where he took care of various exotic animals. He noticed that each animal had a different plant-based diet and sought to do something with the leftover plants.
“Because I had all these exotic animals that I kept for rescue, I had a lot of weird and exotic plants,” Capshaw said. “So anything that they weren't eating I would start cutting, marketing, and selling online. I tried it out on Etsy, and things were selling.”
When he turned 14, Capshaw reached out to a floral wholesaler and added additional flowers to the Etsy shop. He would charge $12 for shipping and saw the business blow up. By the time he opened Stemistry, he had over 10,000 sales and has learned a lot more about flowers since.
Advice from Mark Cuban
Although Capshaw received advice from billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban to “not grow too quickly,” he believes he has found a special niche between flowers and coffee and expanded due to the support from the community.
“We opened in March, and the initial response has been fantastic. Just our grand opening in March, we had over 300 people show up, including the mayor of Scottsdale,” Capshaw said. “We had done very little marketing, and the community has been so supportive that we wanted to expand.”
Although the new location is smaller, at only 700 square feet, it has two stories and will be similar to the store in Scottsdale. The store will contain the same flower and drink selection and will be renovated by Capshaw and his family.
Capshaw hopes to continue expanding both in Arizona and out. He said his goal is to engage the community by creating a safe place where people can relax and meet new people. He was one of the youngest brick-and-mortar store owners in the country when he opened Stemistry and is a member of the Mayor’s Youth Council in Scottsdale, where he works closely with the mayor on ways to improve the city.
