Marcia Collettes
42 Calne Road
Lyneham
SN15 4PR
A few yards from the Old War Memorial in Church End Lyneham is the home of village florist Marcia Collettes. A seductive whiff of seasonal flowers, roses bouquets are elegantly displayed on the forecourt to the shop leading you to the front door. Of the countless people that have visited Lyneham, either to stay with acquaintances and relatives or indeed decide to live in the peaceful North Wiltshire village, a very small percentage will have not had the pleasure of the hospitality and friendly welcome Marcia Collettes provides. She is an active community player and recalls the pleasure she has providing a very reputable floristry service in the local community.

Six years into the 21st Century, marks Marcia’s 15th anniversary as the village florist and she has not looked back.

Marcia recalls, “When I took on the shop everyone thought I was mad transforming a butchers shop in to a florist? But I always believed it was the right location with lots of parking outside, a captive audience and surrounding villages for deliveries.”

“One day whilst Jim (my husband) was away I noticed the shop was up for sale. After a lot of sleepless nights decided it was for me and phoned him to tell him I had put in an offer ... yes he thought I was mad too!” So after all the paperwork and building renovation was complete, Marcia started business at Potters former village butchers on the 29th May 1991.

Prior to buying the flower shop Marcia trained at Lackham College, passing her City and Guilds in floristry which took three years to complete. Her painstaking efforts during the lengthy course paid dividends as she qualified with distinctions. Within two years she was manageress in Cavendish House, Cheltenham, running the flower department. After moving to the area and marrying Jim she managed a large Interflora shop in Swindon with six staff to organise.

To begin with, we opened all hours, even Sunday mornings and soon we built up a good customer base with a reputation for quality flowers, good service and excellent floristry, a tradition that has not tarnished over the fifteen exemplary service to Lyneham.

During the years we have made many friends, with lots of loyal customers. People ask me “What is my favourite area of floristry?" Without hesitation, I always say "Funeral work" At a time when people are bereaved, I feel honoured to design flowers to express their feelings."

Personal tributes come in many designs, sizes and shapes. I have made a horse's head, Concorde, an artist's palette, motorbike, a spade, a pink pig and even a 3d pigeon for a local pigeon fancier, which is still talked about to this day.

I like to suggest something different to give the flowers a personal touch, whether it's including an ornament, symbol, favourite flowers or colours. Out of sadness we have made many friends with families who still keep in touch and remember our kindness and beautiful flowers.

The majestic accolades voiced of Marcia’s dedication to floristry is unmatched; customers value the attention to detail, care and advice. Marcia proudly reflects “We are pleased to design and provide the flowers for Maslin Funeral Service in Wootton Bassett, which is a high recommendation considering all the flowers they see. We offer a home visit service to discuss arrangements in the comfort of the family's home.”

Marcia Collettes decided to speculate within the business, to sell and deliver champagne and wine with flowers, an ideal gift for men when flowers aren't appropriate or to make that special occasion complete. After being granted an off-licence status in 2005 the supplementary alcohol delivery has been a success. Recently we even delivered a slab of Boddingtons for a 40th birthday! We have a flower stand at Londis supermarket so customers can buy our flowers after hours when we are closed.

Marcia Collettes provides the perfect service for businesses, major events, organisations or individuals. Her quality of service has been noted and has gained unequalled reputation to provide table centres for visiting dignitaries, flowers for royalty on many occasions and proved displays for many formal banquets and military dining. They are delivered with a matching corporate message perfectly communicated, emphasising the professionalism and status.

Over the years the RAF Lyneham airbase has experienced many memorable occasions with hostages being returned to the station and Marcia has provided the fitting floral tributes. Sadly, we have also witnessed sadder times, the tragedies associated with such a busy military base, repatriations following major crisis and incident result in the unenviable task of providing the floral tributes, this is where Marcia excels in her passion to provide a compassionate and sensitive service during these uneasy and grieving times.

Other unusual occasions are always catered for with the same spirit, even short notice weddings when a brides walks in on a Monday for a wedding that week and more recently the same day! `Your professional training takes over in a crisis and you are able to deal with last minute requests"

All our staff are qualified and we keep up to date with new styles, colours and trends. Our top quality flowers are delivered direct to our door from Holland four times a week to ensure our stock is fresh and ever changing.

So what's next for 'Marcia Collettes"? Well I wont be retiring just yet as I already have three weddings booked for next year and one for 2008!

Marcia says “I love my job as every day is different, different occasions and changing emotions, one minute you are dealing with an excited first time dad who has just had a new baby and the next arranging a funeral offering advice and compassion.”

A new website has been launched in 2006 www.marciacollettes.co.uk to enable our customers new and regular, to order flowers 24/7. Even the armed forces personnel from Lyneham, that are tasked to be away from home for lengthy periods in demanding scenarios encompassing the four corners of the globe, can order 'from a single red rose to a classic bouquet'™. The demanding tasks placed on our forces, sometimes people do forget those special occasions, anniversaries, birthday’s or simply to say a “I Love You”. The forgetting people occasionally call Marcia all hours, the time difference when they are away is often forgotten, However, this excellent new service will rectify the problem"