An Elm Creek alumnus has won a Canadian Choice Award for their gift shop.
Jackie McLaughlin owns Butterfly Whispers Custom Silk Florals in Gladstone, a custom silk floral and handmade gift shop. After growing up in Elm Creek and graduating from high school in 2011, she moved to Virden, where she later met her husband. When the couple moved to Gladstone in 2019, McLaughlin didn’t plan on opening her own business, but just a few years later, she opened the gift shop.
“I honestly started this business as a hobby for close friends and family,” she said. “I had always had a love for florals growing up, as I watched my mom, grandma, and other family members make florals. I fell in love with it.”
With a nudge from her husband, family, and friends, McLaughlin decided to turn her hobby into a full-time affair, and three years later, she’s glad she did.
Butterfly Whispers Custom Silk Florals offers silk florals for any occasion—weddings, funerals, birthdays, and more — and handmade baby blankets, tote bags, sunglasses cases, keychains, gifts, and more. McLaughlin’s floral arrangement is unlike the next, making every item ordered a one-of-a-kind piece.
“I found out that I had been nominated through email and to say at the least, I was at a total loss for words,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it. I have never won anything, and to even be nominated was a huge honour for me. To actually think my florals meant that much to those who have had anything to do with them.”
Butterfly Whispers Custom Silk Florals won the Canadian Choice Award in the gift shop category. The Award honours Canada’s business world, shining a spotlight on small and medium-sized businesses across the country.
Customers nominate businesses for the award. The more nominations a business gets, the more likely it is to become an official nominee. A panel of judges then chooses three finalists in each category based on services, reviews, and credibility, and one winner is chosen in each category through a nominator survey, an independent analysis, and a finalist questionnaire.
“This award has humbled me to my core and makes me appreciate what I do so much more,” said McLaughlin. “It shows that not only am I making people’s florals come to life, it shows the love and dedication I put into each and every one of my orders. It shows that what I do matters, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
McLaughlin hopes to pass on her love and talent for florals to her daughter to keep her family’s tradition going. Until then, she’ll continue with what she’s been doing. The Canadian Choice Award will give her online advertising advantages along with a physical award.
