WORKING -- Mari Judge

-- Story by Danette Goulet, photo by XXX

SHE IS

All about flower power

NOT THE CORPORATE WORLD

Mari Judge can throw on sweats and sneakers before heading to work at

the Costa Mesa Florist.

She loves that while she may have corporate clients, their world is

not the environment she works in each day.

“You get to be like family here, because it’s generally such a small

business,” she said.

Up to her knees in dirty buckets and up to her elbows in greens, Judge

works side by side with just a few women in the back room of the floral

shop.

Each is dressed for comfort -- hair pulled back and feet clad in

sneakers -- because they stand all day. But, even more than being able to

“dress like a bum,” Judge said she loves how her job touches her

emotionally.

“You get on a very personal level with people,” she said. “You deal

with the joys of life and the sorrows.”

FEELING OUT THE CUSTOMER

Each arrangement is created based on the client. Judge always tries to

get a feel for the person the flowers are going to, she said.

“I ask how old the person is, what type of person are they,” Judge

said. “Some people are real artsy, some are more traditional.

“It makes me feel good,” added Judge, who turns 44 today. “You get to

see all this beauty.”

IT’S NOT ALL ROSY

Although she has been working at the shop on Broadway for just about

two weeks, fragrant blossoms and rich greens have surrounded her for 12

years.

“I’ve put a lot of smiles on faces,” she said.

Her surroundings are the obvious benefit of the job, which makes

others envious, she said. But it is not all roses.

“Everybody thinks it’s oh-so-nice. They don’t realize that it’s very

physical, long hours,” she said. “It’s a lot of hard hours, always

starting over each day with new customers.”