Britt Decker has always been the most successful in creative careers where she got to see a final product. She used to be a milliner in Chicago, owning a company that produced women’s hats and bridal wear like crowns and tiaras, but when the pandemic hit she started to work in retail flowers. 

“I never thought I would like retail flowers, but I actually had. It’s really fun. You get to do something different every time someone comes in the door,” Decker said. 

When her family moved to Massachusetts, Decker worked at Sage in Gloucester. 

“I absolutely loved it there,” Decker said. “That’s when I kind of realized I needed to make a move and open my own shop closer to home.”

Now, she’s putting down roots and blooming in Swampscott with her passion for flowers. Decker opened the Salty Dogwood, at 224 Humphrey St., in December 2024. 

“I see a gap in the market where there are really old school florists and people go to them and have been going to them for generations, and they certainly have a place, and then there’s this florist who’s a little more modern but still kind of stuck in the past,” Decker said. “I feel like there’s a hole for this cool retail store for it to do something gardeny and asymmetrical and just a little more modern.”

The name is a portmanteau, where it’s created by blending the meaning of two other words. 

“Salty dog is like a sailor and dogwood is a flowering tree, so it’s kind of like nautical gifts and botanical flowers,” Decker said. 

In addition to the rainbow of flowers, Decker has little trinkets for sale like candles, dishes, vases, hand cream and cards. A lot of the giftware is made in the United States too.

Flowers are available for all occasions, from birthdays to baby showers, holidays, funerals and weddings. People are also able to walk in and buy bouquets the same day.

She adds her own twist to the bunches as well.

“I tend to go for more unusual and divisive flowers. Pink is an easy sell. Blue is an easy sell. Orange and yellow are more divisive, and I really like those,” Decker said. “I like the weird ones.”

Decker said she tends to go for more “unusual color combinations,” things that the average customer is not going to find at places like Whole Foods.

“I’m carrying different things, and I go out of my way to make sure that it’s quite different and that it’s still affordable,” Decker said.

This can sometimes push the limits in a New England town, though. Decker described the clientele in and around Swampscott as a bit more traditional, while people in Chicago were “more willing to go out on a limb.”

“Maybe it was just my age at the time. I was younger and maybe just the crowd I was running with had a different inclination, but people here are definitely more traditional,” Decker said. “I’m not doing anything super out of here. I still want it to be pretty.”

For the month of September, the Salty Dogwood is also participating in the Swampscott Library’s September Savings program, which rewards card holders with 10% off one vase arrangement.

The Salty Dogwood is open Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Delivery is available to Swampscott, Marblehead, Lynn, Nahant and Salem.