My Mary Way Boutique and Florals a hodgepodge of passions

GREENFIELD — About 10 years in the making, My Mary Way Boutique and Florals was born from owner and operator Mary Murphy’s hobby of making floral arrangements and upcycling.
Her business, at 44 Chapman St., is set to open next week. It features vintage furniture, crystal, silverware and photo frames, as well as custom floral arrangements.
“I’ve been collecting items for years, and my husband and I have owned the building for about four or five years,” Murphy said, noting that she used to rent out the space. “I’ve enjoyed repurposing furniture and doing crafts.”
Murphy’s been selling her vintage and upcycled items at craft fairs for about 30 years. Her interest in floral arrangements, though, started when she and her sisters adopted barrels on Main Street where they could plant flowers.
“There were these half-barrels you could adopt around town and I loved it,” Murphy said. “I liked to coordinate them. My sisters got involved and there were 15 barrels between all of us. I couldn’t wait to fill them with flowers.”
Murphy described herself as more of a custom florist with the ability to create live, dried and artificial floral arrangements. She’s also done wedding arrangements.
The lifelong Greenfield resident also works part-time as a nurse at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, where she’s worked for 38 years, and as a nursing instructor at Greenfield Community College. While she’s accustomed to working as a nurse full-time, Murphy is eager to put her extra energy into making her new business thrive.
“Now that I’m stepping away from nursing, I’m drawn to finding things and making them look nicer,” she said. “I like to give things another life instead of throwing them away.”
One goal she has while running her new business is to give back to her hometown.
“I’d like to partner with agencies to be able to get donations to Warm the Children, a diaper drive or give back to the schools,” she said.