New businesses promote arts, crafts, photography, and flowers

May 19—Nearly halfway through 2022, Tahlequah has already opened its doors to new businesses that are making an impact in the community. From flower and garden shops to photography, Tahlequah has a little bit of everything.

Artra Flower Shop opened up in April and is located in the strip mall behind Ruby's Diner. The store provides flowers for every occasion, from weddings to funerals. During prom and homecoming seasons, Eric Osburn, owner, rents out tuxedos to school kids.

Osburn has been in the flower industry for 10 years. His family operates flower shops in the Sallisaw area. He moved to Tahlequah and decided to start one here.

He is an FTD florist, or a part of Florists' Transworld Delivery, a floral wire service that helps customers send flowers remotely on the same day.

Artra Flower Shop works with Green Country Funeral Home to provide flowers to grieving families.

"Flowers make people smile, and I love that I get to make people smile, especially when they are grieving. If they are sad, we try to make them happy, and if they are happy, we try to make them happier," said Osburn.

Elephant Rock Garden Supply is located less than a half a mile away from Elephant Rock, 22049 E. Elephant Rock Road and is a hydroponic and garden supply store.

William Morgan, owner and veteran, saw that there was a need for a supply store.

"One of the reasons why we started in Tahlequah is that there are more commercial growers here in Cherokee County, Adair County, Delaware County, and Sequoyah County than the rest of the state. Most of these local nurseries were going out of state or to Oklahoma City or Tulsa to buy supplies," said Morgan.

Elephant Rock is teaming up with Voodoo Hydro to increase its inventory offerings.

"We partner with Voodoo. That allows us a lot of opportunities to get good pricing and pass along savings to customers in the surrounding counties," said Morgan.

Currently, Elephant Rock does not sell plants, but Morgan is looking to acquire a shop in town to maintain a store presence in Tahlequah.

The store sells materials for making gardens, including soil, which is organic.

"When they are building above the ground gardens, the soil that we have is organic, and you get about twice as much as what you'd get in town. It is not petroleum based. It's safer for animals that eat the plants," he said.

Elephant Rock has also partnered with different nonprofits in the community and is donating garden supplies to local causes.

Tahlequah Habitat for Humanity ReStore Rack reopened, and it has changed its concept. The previous ReStore Rack, which stood in the same parking lot as the TAG Office, is now shut down. The new ReSore Rack on 198 W. First St. now sells clothing.

South 62 Home Goods and Furniture Company is located next to Del Rancho and sells furniture, decorations, candles, and other items. Stacy's Creations is located in the store, which sells handmade custom crafts, including personalized cutting boards, keychains, and other wood products.

Heather Crowell, owner of The Craft Addict, describes her store as a "mini Michael's or Hobby Lobby." She sells paint and resin supplies, as well as items for making T-shirts and tumblers. The store opened in February of this year.

Crowell opened an Etsy store in 2017 selling tumblers and laser art. Since then the store has grown.

"It got hard to receive orders in Tahlequah, so we ended up saying, 'why don't we offer that service?'" said Crowell.

Jae Ashten Photos opened shop recently. Jae McBride, owner, is a Tahlequah native who previously worked as a registered nurse. She now operates a studio full-time and shoots photography for weddings, couples, elopements, maternity, proms, birthdays, family reunions, or any other occasion.

Tahlequah Regional Development Authority is trying to wine and dine Provalus, an information technology services firm that offers a number of different IT jobs. Provalus has selected the City of Tahlequah as a finalist to build a new office. The Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce has announced a meet and greet with the company on May 19 at the Cherokee Community Building from 2-6 p.m. If Tahlequah is selected, Provalus will hire local talent to fill its positions.

"We are working to get them here. We just showed them the wonders of Tahlequah, and they loved it. That's why we got on the short list," said Jenn Garvin of the TACC. "

No IT experience is required for new hires. Provalus will provide a training school for all new employees.