AMENIA — Creativity and enthusiasm are flourishing at The Little Flower Bar, which recently opened in Amenia and is now serving fresh floral arrangements alongside an array of gifts.
Owner Kelly Deneen keeps the flower bar stocked with seasonal, locally sourced blooms that can be arranged on site as grab-and-go bouquets or purchased as individual stems. A wide selection of gifts complements the floral offerings, making the shop a destination.
Since its soft opening Saturday, Nov. 29, at the 8 Old North Road plaza, Deneen said business has been steady, with a strong showing during the holiday season.
“It’s going to evolve,” Deneen said of the young enterprise.
The flower bar includes a wheeled, multi-shelf display of fresh-cut flowers. Deneen said the portable setup can be brought to hospitals, businesses or private events, where people can select individual stems to create their own arrangements or purchase flowers to go, making it an interactive and visually engaging feature.
A thriving new business in town, The Little Flower Bar created a fresh floral arrangement on the spot for Walter Irvine of Millbrook on Thursday, Jan. 8. Owner Kelly Deneen paused for a photo with the satisfied customer.Photo by Leila Hawken
Adding to the shop’s charm is a curated selection of affordable gifts, ranging from photo frames and wine glasses to themed trays for milestone occasions, as well as items for sports fans and holidays.
“Valentine’s Day is coming up next,” Deneen noted.
Flowers are offered by the stem, and arrangements can either be made for customers or created by customers themselves. Flower selections change weekly based on the season and availability from local gardens. During the winter months, flowers are sourced from area wholesalers.
“Carnations will always be on the bar,” Deneen said, “because most importantly they were my grandmother’s favorite, but also for their quiet beauty and long-lasting charm.”
Deneen grew up in Millerton and purchased her grandmother’s home following her death in 2021. Her grandmother had lived there since 1962, and her grandfather grew up on Belgo Road.
Before opening The Little Flower Bar, Deneen spent her career in the auto racing industry.
“I worked in the car racing industry my entire adult life. I started right here at Skip Barber Racing School when I was 21. In 2013, I moved to Indianapolis to work for Andretti Autosport. I spent the next 12 years in the IndyCar paddock,” summarizing her connections to the auto racing world and her experience in large-scale event planning.
A seasonal selection of fresh flowers will be offered at The Little Flower Bar, a new business at 8 Old North Road in Amenia combining creativity and small-town affordability to customers. Owner Kelly Deneen is poised to assist customers with arrangements to go, a varied selection of gifts, and event planning.Photo by Leila Hawken
Five years ago, she started working from home in Millerton, traveling to the races. That was when she nourished her love for flowers, purchasing flowers just to play with arranging.
“We have the best flower farmers right here in the Northwest Corner,” Deneen said.
“Every flower has a personality that can speak for you when words fall short,” Deneen said.
“This is so lovely, and that’s a man saying that,” said customer Walter Irvine of Millbrook on Thursday, Jan. 8, as he stopped in for a made-to-order custom floral arrangement. Irvine recalled that he and Deneen have known each other since the 1960s, having a common interest in the auto racing industry.
The Little Flower Bar is open Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m until 4 p.m. The phone is (845) 231-6341. For more information go toGardeners needed for native plant design business: March 15- December 1st. Must be physically fit and dependable. Call for interview 347-496-5168. Resume and references needed.
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PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity. All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or:rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
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Stephanie Haboush Plunkett
“The field of illustration is very close to my heart,” she said. Inspired by that example, she studied illustration at Pratt Institute and began her career as an illustrator before shifting toward museum work. An internship at the Brooklyn Museum proved pivotal. “It was inspiring to see the children come alive in front of art,” she recalled.
In addition to her curatorial work, Plunkett is the author of two children’s books, “Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Story from China” and “Sir Whong and the Golden Pig,” and has written or co-authored numerous books on illustration, including “Drawing Lessons from the Famous Artists School” and “Leo Lionni: Storyteller, Illustrator, Designer.” She earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and built a museum career that included positions at the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and the Heckscher Museum of Art before joining the Norman Rockwell Museum, where she has worked for 31 years.
But elevating illustration has meant challenging decades of critical skepticism.
“The goal has been to shine a light on this important American art form and to elevate public awareness of its artistic and cultural importance,”Plunkett said.
As a popular and widely circulated art, illustration is sometimes thought of as inferior to fine art, such as painting and sculpture. Plunkett considered why. She theorized that the 1913 New York Armory Show, the International Exhibition of Modern Art, with works by artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Duchamp, initially contributed to this evaluation. In the 1930s and ’40s, abstract expressionism became the art of the nation, and the rift widened further.
“Norman Rockwell became the antihero for many art critics of the time,” said Plunkett. “Illustration was viewed as too commercial and sentimental because of its emphasis on visual storytelling.”
Plunkett calls illustration “art with a job to do.” She explained, “Illustrators are adept at solving visual problems for their clients while expressing their own aesthetic and artistic vision.”
Visitors consider Norman Rockwell’s paintings on Civil Rights for Look Magazine, “New Kids in the Neighborhood” (1967) and “The Problem We All Live With” (1963.) L. Tomaino
She noted that the line between the fine and applied arts “is much more porous now, with many artists working across platforms and styles.” She cited late-20th-century illustrators like Marshall Arisman, Barbara Nessim, Robert Cunningham, Bernie Fuchs and Mark English as illustrators who forged unique approaches to working and seeing.
Plunkett commented that people want to see the original illustrations. “Generally, Rockwell exhibitions bring high attendance. Currently, our traveling exhibition, ‘Norman Rockwell: From Camera to Canvas,’ is at the New Britain Museum of American Art, but we’ve traveled Rockwell and illustration to 45 states and several countries, including Japan, France, Italy and Germany.”
Nowadays, illustrators take on subjects that are important to them. “The children’s book industry is committed to sharing the richness and diversity of people and cultures with young readers.” Plunkett cited the late illustrator Jerry Pinkney’s commitment to this goal. As a boy, Pinkney found no books portraying children like him, and “his life’s mission as an artist was to present inspiring, positive images of children of color.”
The Norman Rockwell Museum and Rockwell Center seeds were sown when “Rockwell placed the first 199 artworks in the care and collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum upon its founding in 1969, some of which he personally acquired for the fledgling collection,” said Plunkett. “The museum’s current Rockwell holdings include 865 original artworks, the artist’s Stockbridge studio and an archive of 400,000 photographs, letters, props and first uses of the artist’s work. We also hold about 25,000 illustrations by other artists, from the historical to the contemporary.”
“We call ourselves the home for American illustration. We have a real commitment to illustrators and what they’ve accomplished,” said Plunkett.
The Norman Rockwell Museum is located at 9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit
nrm.org
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