This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Clint Lewis and Shelly Huynh-Lewis look forward to another boisterous spring, but the season this year will be especially sweet for them.
They plan to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their Orchid Dynasty, the only store in Utah that caters to exotic orchids and the people beguiled by them.
"This was our destiny," said Clint, considered the methodical planner and resident perfectionist of the partnership. "I'm lucky I didn't know very much [about retailing a perishable product] or it wouldn't have happened.
"Shelly, on the other hand," he said, "tends to jump into things."
And it is this energetic blend of styles — creative and careful, Eastern and Western, old and new — that has helped keep their business growing despite a slew of challenges.
The 9/11 tragedy happened four months after the Granger High graduates opened their original store in the Foothill Village neighborhood. As they muddled through the nationwide recession that followed, the 20-somethings got married and became parents for the first time in the year that followed.
Then, after their second child was born, Shelly discovered she had a life-threatening blood disorder. By the time the illness was under control, the Great Recession had roared in. Undaunted, they moved forward with plans for a new location, a former music studio in the 9th and 9th neighborhood.
Huynh-Lewis says the formula to their success is simple: Offer a top-quality product and educate customers about it — with passion.
"Not only are we pretty, we're smart, too," she said. "We want you to be involved and to learn and grow."
The shop offers a floral service. On a recent afternoon, designers arranged snow-colored hydrangeas, white anemones and black callas for a wedding in Park City.
But orchids are what fill the showroom floor and lure visitors inside. Elegant blooms in white, orange, yellow and pink appear in store windows overlooking 900 South, as if in hopes of spotting someone to take them home.
Lewis insists orchids are not hard to grow. Most people just need a little guidance to be successful, which is why the store offers instructions with each plant, an informative blog and orchid therapy by phone. The most common mistake people make, he said, is not providing orchids with proper exposure.
"They are definitely no more fussy than other blooming plants," he said.
Lewis first became fascinated with orchids as a 20-year-old, thanks to a common orchid given to his roommate by a girlfriend. Intended to brighten up the place, the white-blooming Phalaenopsis seemed to endure neglect gracefully.
Lewis now qualifies as an orchid aficionado. He has one plant, a Lady's slipper, with a heritage traced by certificate back to the 1800s. He judges at orchid shows and maintains the store and an off-site greenhouse.
Behind the store, contractors are close to finishing a Dutch-design, solar greenhouse in what used to be a cinder block garage.
When it's done — hopefully in a matter of weeks — orchids will be stacked four levels high. And Huynh-Lewis will host live webcasts amid the orchids to add to her blog.
Huynh-Lewis, whose family immigrated to the United States from Vietnam when she was a toddler, said the hardships have been balanced over the years by the opportunity to provide a service that people appreciate.
"It comes down to passion," she said. "What we put into it, we get back."
More on orchids
The Utah Orchid Society's spring show is set for April 2 and 3 at the Red Butte Arboretum. It will feature a sampling of the 30,000 orchid varieties, including some from the Orchid Dynasty.
The Salt Lake City store's website, http://www.orchiddynasty.com, also has helpful how-to instructions on growing orchids, as well as a photo gallery and blog.