Shop Groundswell to close down after five years in business

Vibrant laughter and fresh scents emanating from the shop on Lynch Street let visitors know this wasn't just a place for cookie-cutter souvenirs and run-of-the-mill art prints.

For five and a half years, Shop Groundswell provided residents and tourists with fresh floral arrangements, locally sourced foods and Southeast artistry. Now, the shop and social hub is closing its doors.

Though it will be a loss to many in the community, it is a chance for owner Mya DeLong to finish the chapter on what she considers a successful five-year plan and begin the chapter on retirement.

DeLong opened Shop Groundswell in March 2017. She owned a home in Wrangell before that but only came here to fish commercially. When she made the decision to start the business, it was the first time she'd spent the entire year in the town.

"I saw a niche there with fresh florals - The town needed some color," she said. "I was going into my first winter here, and seasonal depression hit. I needed an outlet to be creative and I saw a need in the community to offer the service of flowers."

Growing up, DeLong's mother had a flower shop, and she saw the joy fresh flowers could bring to people. "I needed color."

Shop Groundswell wasn't to be a normal flower shop filled with stuffed animals, balloons and greeting cards found in other floral shops. DeLong wanted to offer art created in the community. In turn, that led her to offering local foods.

"There's so much rich culture here within Southeast," DeLong said. "As I travel ... I usually pick up chocolate, coffee, honey, some of the staples, so I wanted to be able to offer rounded-out Alaskan-themed foods. I'm a foodie myself. It seemed like a natural progression from the art to the food sector."

DeLong would often host parties to celebrate the artisans who sold their wares in the shop, bringing a social atmosphere to the space. That atmosphere expanded beyond the walls of the shop to the community, as she would provide floral arrangements for various functions or just to beautify little areas around town.

"It's somewhere they're going to have local goods, but it also always smells nice and there's fresh flowers around," said Valerie Massie, who has shopped there since it opened. "It felt like a spa almost, which is not a common feeling in Wrangell. It was nice."

Massie said part of the appeal of Shop Groundswell is the comfortable social aspect and the access to local goods on a regular basis. "You can get stuff from the community market once a month, but it's once a month."

Janell Privett, another longtime patron of the shop, said its closing is bittersweet because DeLong is getting to do one of the things she loves, but the community is also losing another business. Before DeLong, Privett said people would either have to create their own floral arrangements or work with someone out of town. Arrangements weren't guaranteed to be delivered on time or could sometimes arrive frozen.

"I just happened to be (in Washington state) and went into Fred Meyer yesterday, and (Mya's) prices are cheaper than Fred Meyer's," Privett said. "The other awesome thing she did was recycle vases. Which, before she opened, I had them from weddings. I had them from this, I had them from that. You just kind of coveted them."

Privett, who also shopped with DeLong from the beginning, said she would buy flowers on a regular basis just to be perked up. Flowers can be purchased through the grocery stores, but Privett said it's more personal to be able to pick and choose which stems go into an arrangement.

Shop Groundswell will close on Sept. 25. On Sept. 16 and 17, DeLong will throw a goodbye party, inviting the community to come by on those days. The remaining days will be spent wrapping up orders and clearing the shelves, DeLong said.

It has been a dream fulfilled for her, and she wants the community to know how appreciative she is for its support over the years.

"My gratitude to Wrangell for supporting my dream," DeLong said. "This was a great way to get to know the community and for the community to get to know me."