Artha DeRuyter has been selling flowers for a long time now and opened up On the Water Floral in Wrangell about a year ago. She keeps the cut flowers cool in her handmade window cooler on Feb. 19, 2025. (Colette Czarnecki/KSTK)

Episode 47: Artha DeRuyter is the founder of On the Water Floral in Wrangell. It’s been a brick and mortar shop for about a year, but DeRuyter started it while living and arranging flowers on her boat. Once, she sold bouquets for a week out of her car. She thinks it was for Mother’s Day, a busy time of the year for a flower shop. But this isn’t DeRuyter’s first flower shop. She also owned a shop in Fairbanks, where she’s from.

DeRuyter stopped by KSTK to talk about her experience as a florist. She shares memorable moments and strange requests.