Spring is in the air and flowers are in bloom, however, at Rathbone’s Flair Flowers, something is always blooming year round.
In 1958, Emmett and Imogene Rathbone opened several Ben Franklin shops in the Tulsa area. They had
a location at 51st and Lewis which received poor business because the shoppers wanted more higher-end products. Imogene began making small changes to the shop but by far the best change she made was when she purchased a shipment of artificial flowers. She began making samples with the flowers to show how they can be used at home. Shoppers kept buying the samples making it difficult for her to keep up with the demand. The Rathbone’s left the Ben Franklin name and opened their shop as Rathbone’s Flair Flowers. Rathbone’s became a destination in the Tulsa area and quickly grew to 20,000 square feet.
Rathbone’s Flair Flowers came to Jenks before the antiques district was in existence. The Rathbone’s had bought a building in Jenks for a Ben Franklin store. The shop was only open for two years before using the building as a work shop storage space for the shop on Lewis. In the 1970’s, the Jenks Rathbone’s location was built and has not changed locations since.
Today the store is ran by Becky Rathbone. Becky began working at the Lewis store at the age of 16 overseeing inventory. After school, she would then travel to the Jenks store and make wreaths and arrangements. Becky married her high school sweetheart, the son of Imogene and Emmett Rathbone. Becky and her husband took over the business in 1995. Becky continues to run the day to day operations in the flower shop and her husband continues to help when needed.
Becky loves being creative and interacting with customers each day. She recently attended an FTD bootcamp course which she hopes to incorporate what she learned in the class towards the upcoming year.
Rathbone’s Flair Flowers
622 E. Main St.
Jenks,OK 74037
918.299.2341