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Terry Robertson Smith - Terry is a native of Forest, IN in nearby Clinton County. She earned her degree in horticultural education from Purdue and has worked in many fields including plant leasing, flower arranging instruction, and flower importing and sales. Her goal is to bring beauty to life. Sounds corny, but it's true! Rubia Flower Market is the birth of a lifelong dream. Her favorite flower of the moment is the Tropical Amazon Rose. Her favorite color of the second is purple.
Terry's email is tsrsmith22@aol.com |
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Jennifer Johnson - Jennifer has over 18 years of experience in the floral world, so she understands all the inner-workings of making people happy. Stick around the store for long enough and you're sure to hear one of her famous puns! Aside from being humorous, she enjoys strumming her guitar and singing to anyone who will listen. Her favorite flower is alstromeria. |
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Sarah LaMar - Sarah has been at Rubia since (almost) the very beginning! A recent Purdue graduate, Sarah is always at the store working on arrangements, weddings, and the website & newsletter. We love Sarah's eye for art, and her calm and cool confidence. Sarah has also recently learned how to knit (thanks Kristen!) Sarah's favorite flower is Agapanthus and her favorite color is azure-- A true artist! |
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Kelly Vibber - Kelly is from "the middle of the mitten!" (We think that means somwhere in Michigan... or Canada?) She often reminisces of her time studying in Italy-- we all get jealous! If you ever can't read an order, Kelly probably wrote it. She claims her poor handwriting makes her a genius. In her spare time she teaches at Ivy Tech, karaokes and travels to destinations near and far! Her favorite flower is the tropical Ginger. |
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Leanne Miller - Leanne is studying Landscape Horticulture and
Design at Purdue. Leanne has a true love of flowers and excellent customer service skills! Leanne's natural design talents are a true asset to Rubia Flower Market! In her free time you may see her whizzing by on her racing bike. Leanne's favorite flower is the green fuji mum.
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Melissa Harber - A long time friend of Rubia Alum Joy Dangora, Melissa has been a great addition to the Rubia team! She has a true eye for style and her designs continue to amaze us! Melissa is not only a wonderful example of a new mom, we also happen to know she is an expert at all Nintendo Wii dance games! |
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Kate Warner- Shortly after graduating from Purdue with a degree in Mathematics, Kate found her way to Rubia. Her enthusiasm has been a great addition to Rubia! We also enjoy having Kate nearby when we don't have a calculator handy! She has been a fast learner and moved quickly from delivering flowers to designing them! Kate's favorite flower is the orchid. |
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Paulette Moody - a.k.a. "Momma P" as we know her around the store! This Texan lady is a force to be reckoned with! We love Paulette for her independent spirit! She is very active around the community but still finds time to help us out around the store about once a week. Paulette's favorite flower is the Wild One rose. |
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Brett Bryant - We recognized that Brett was a frequent visitor and that he had lots of flower knowledge! The stars finally aligned and he applied when we had an open position. Brett TA'd for the Floral Design class at Purdue before graduating in December 2011. You'll see him designing in the store and out on delivery until he figures out his next big move! |
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Pamela Locker - Pamela is one of the most enchanting people we've ever met! We knew she was a perfect fit for Rubia when she described her rock garden to us in her interview! We love Pamela for her funky style and many years of floral knowledge! Pamela's favorite flower is the cymbidium orchid. |
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Jeff Hagan - We were thrilled to learn that Jeff wanted to work with US! You may recognize him by name, but more likely you will recognize his unique paintings that can be found throughout the Midwest. We love Jeff for his wisdom and unique view of the world, and of course his creative mind fits right in! |
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Chloe Fivecoate - We guarantee you've never met a lady craftier than this one! We love Chloe's thirst for knowledge and her infectious laughter! When she's not busy learning new things at the store or staying up late at night crafting, she's probably tuning up her vocal chords for a round of karaoke! Chloe's favorite flower is the snapdragon. |
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RUBIA ALUMNI |
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Janet Schweikher - "Schweik" held down the fort at Rubia for a long time and is one of our favorite "Rubia Alums"! You go, girl! We will certainly miss her attention to detail and how precise she was in every area! Janet is a combination bean counter and people person, and we are eternally grateful for her multi-tasking abilities. Life is short, but sweet for certain! ...Janet can now be found tailgating the Dave Matthews tour bus around the country. |
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Randy Strickler - Randy is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, but we won't hold that against him! He has been employed in many fields, most recently taking him to bike ride throughout New Mexico. We miss his incredible sense of design, color, and space organization. Most importantly, he can still enjoy a Schlitz as much as a Chimay, the fine Belgian ale brewed by monks. |
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Suzie Kline - Suzie serenaded us many times at Rubia and we never stopped laughing at her quick wit! We miss her motherly instincts around the store-- she really made sure we picked up after ourselves! We wish Suzie the best of luck in the next American Idol competition! |
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Becky Winger - Becky burst upon the Rubia Flower Market scene after the Grand Opening and made many, many beautiful arrangements while working for Rubia. She is a seamstress, candy maker, and photographer... If you're lucky you might even see her caramels for sale in the store, they are quite the treat! |
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Sue Rankin Magnante - Sue was our resident Canadian for much of Rubia's existence! Sue is the Queen of Clean! This funny lady can still be seen around the Greater Lafayette area with sponge in hand! |
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Brittany Molter - Brittany will always have a place in our hearts here at Rubia as she is a big Dave Matthews fan. We always loved when Brittany was working because of her cheery demeanor! Although we miss her around the store we know she will make a great nurse! |
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Ben McLaughlin - Ben has a eye for style that we all love! We loved Ben's confidence and quirky sense of humor! Ben moved on to make the big bucks in Indianapolis, but we're glad we still hear from him every now and then! |
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Karen Woods - Karen worked with Terry and the Rubia gang from 2003 to 2006, holding things down in the office. Karen now resides in the wonderful town of Hudson, Ohio. We miss her a lot!! |
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Will Cabral- Will was with us while studying film at Purdue. Will was a great match for Rubia, he made quality arrangements and everyone smile! We can't wait for one of his movies to hit the big screen someday! |
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Cori Thimlar - Cori's absence will be forever noticed at Rubia! We miss her crazy ways and all of her cool music she played at the store. Our resident songstress moved back home after graduating from Purdue with her undergraduate degree. With aspirations to travel abroad, we may be paying an international Rubia visit to see this lass! |
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Erica Strickler - We know Erica has a promising future! She worked at Rubia while finishing her three degrees from Purdue. She has since gotten married and moved from the West Lafayette area, we know she has a bright future ahead of her! Her favorite flower is the starfighter lily. |
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Jacky Ralph- Jacky's friendly disposition and organization always come in handy when she has helped us out in the past! Jacky is one of Rubia's BFFs and is always sending people to the store so they can discover the Rubia magic for themselves! |
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Cailyn Smith - Cailyn worked with us after graduating from Purdue with a degree in Agricultural Communication. While her life took her to much more exotic places than Rubia, we still miss her optimism and encouragement!
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Jenn Zawisza - Jenn's peppy attitude and constant creativity will be forever remembered at Rubia Flower Market! After working at Rubia for years, Jenn moved to the big city of Indianapolis. Jenn is now a newlywed and still doing freelance floral design! |
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Kristen Morris - Kristen was the original Rubia employee! Kristen started working for Terry when Rubia was in it's original location-- Terry's garage! Since working for Rubia, Kristen graduated with honors from Indiana University with a degree in business. We were sad, but not surprised, when she got a great job in Chicago and moved out of town. Visit us anytime, Kristen! |
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Jacqui Bagley - Jacqui came to us from Kokomo, IN and worked at Rubia while she was a student at Purdue studying Elementary Education. Jacqui left Rubia when she had to return to Kokomo to student teach! We know she will do a great job as "Miss Bagley" and we will miss her fabulous floral stories!
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Kim Morris - Kim was a cornerstone of Rubia for many
years. We have Kim to thank for many of Rubia's "trademarks". For
example, when you visit Rubia,
check out the wonderful colors in the bathroom! The color combination is
Kim's inspiration. No one will fall asleep in there! We look forward to
spending time with Kim outside the store, especially if she's hosting
one of her famously creative parties!
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Denise Hilton - Denise worked "behind the scenes" with Terry. She
is an incredible problem solver and keeps us on-task! She loves McCord's
Coca Colas and Boilermaker tailgating... Her tailgates (and baked
goods) are legendary! |
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Amy Hawkins - Amy walked in to the store one day inquiring about wedding flowers, and her mom mentioned that Amy was also looking for a job! It wasn't too much longer after that that Amy was whipping out arrangements. Amy has an excellent eye for style and don't even get us started on her immaculate handwriting!! We miss her a lot since she moved away after getting married, but we're thrilled whenever she comes back for a visit or to help out around the store! |
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Jannah Armstrong- Jannah came to us while studying Psychology at Purdue. We appreciate Jannah's thirst for learning and can-do attitude! Jannah holds the title of the FIRST Rubia Wedding! We all had a blast but we miss her now that she has moved away so her husband can pursue his PhD. Hopefully we can steal her back for extra help at Valentine's Day! |
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Joy Dangora - Joy came to us from Boston, Mass ...And don't you forget it! Joy ended up in West Lafayette to study elementary education at Purdue. After getting married in the summer of 2011, Joy and her husband moved to Boston. We will miss Joy for her determination and speed! |
