Flowers by Beth Home Again
After zigzagging between the south and north sides of Main Street in Amagansett for at least 25 years, Beth Eckhardt, her flowers, and her home furnishings items have now alighted at what may be her most plum spot, at 248 Main Street in the building that used to house Decorum.
Given all her moves over the years, one can’t help but wonder if she ever unpacks. “We can move out and set up in a new place in three days,” she said the other day, a task made easier if the landlord lets her start moving things in before the official start of the lease. “Once I leave the old spot, the girls are in charge of the packing.” No mean feat either, given how much of Flowers by Beth’s merchandise is fragile — vintage glass and ceramic vases, glasses, antiques, and midcentury modern furniture and décor. She admitted that it is sometimes difficult at first to find things in the new venue.
In this particularly homey spot, Ms. Eckhardt has added many shelves and has lots of room to extend her creative reach. Going there is like walking into a shelter magazine, with many smallish areas, each of which is devoted to a particular activity, such as the plant potting room or the floral design area. She said the plants she has for sale are happy next to the window at the back of the shop that opens onto a back deck, where they can live in the warm weather.
The shop is a hotbed of ideas for gift giving and for decorating houses, apartments, weddings, or parties. Ms. Eckhardt has a good eye and chooses her merchandise well, importing table linens, lamps, candles, furniture, cache-pots, mirrors, and accessories from France and Portugal, as well as sourcing antiques and other merchandise from estate sales and other enterprises.
And let’s not forget the flowers: scented tuberose, herbal topiaries, peonies, hydrangeas, and orchids, which she mixes with herbs, grasses, trees, lighting, and more to set whatever mood a customer might be longing for.
Ms. Eckhardt is sought after especially for her wedding arrangements, and delivers seven days a week to Southampton, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton, Montauk, and beyond. Her shop is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.