Blanc Slate Floral and Event Design opens first brick and mortar location in Valley City

LIVERPOOL TWP. — A Liverpool Township woman had tears in her eyes as she said she fulfilled her childhood dream of opening a floral design studio. Shannon Swank is the owner of Blanc Slate Floral and Event Design. She said her love of flowers started when she was a child, when she began floral designing, taking part in a garden club and making floral submissions to the fair. At 19, she became a certified floral designer. She then continued to design on the side as she raised her family. "Then in 2021, I decided to take it on full-time and invest in my business and invest in the dream and the passion that I've always had," Swank said. After investing in her company for the past three years, she decided it was finally time to open a brick-and-mortar location, she said. It is a design studio where she can meet with clients for consultations rather than a traditional flower shop. Swank designs florals for events like baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, celebrations of life, homecomings, proms and birthdays. All florals are custom ordered ahead of the event, and clients can set up an appointment by visiting blancslatefloral.com. "(Blanc Slate) means a white clean slate that you build from there," Swank said. "That also reflects in my weddings and events that I do. People come to me with their ideas and their dream, and we build that from the ground up and provide them with what they want." Blanc Slate is at 6677 Center Road in Valley City. Swank said she considers Valley City to be a great community with a lot of potential. "It's growing," she said. "There's a lot of things that are happening here right now, that I just feel like it's a great place to be." The Northern Medina County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate Blanc Slate's grand opening on Thursday. Executive Director Debbie Boehmke said the chamber is excited that Swank chose to have her business in Valley City. "I love that it's right in downtown Valley City," she said. "It helps bring economic growth to this area." When looking toward the future, Swank said she is interested in growing her company, but she also likes being a small-business owner. "I like keeping it small and manageable for me," she said. "I can oversee everything and be hands-on with all of it." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.