Bell & Trunk Flowers

Specialties

We specialize in custom floral arrangments and carry a variety of gifts for babies and big people in our Potrero Hill store.

Whether it’s a special last-​minute bouquet, a centerpeice for the dinner table, or customized floral arrangements for your next big event, Bell and Trunk will provide you with beautiful, whimsical arrangements using only the freshest flowers directly from the San Francisco Flower Mart. We also make it easy to set up a weekly account for your home or business.

Many of our gifts are one-​of-​a-​kind and handmade by my mom, Karen Blyth, grandma, Dorothy Osland, and 11-​year-​old daughter, Elise. You can find also find felted balls, purses and booties from Nepal, all-​natural scented candles, handmade cards, shadow puppets and other eclectic gifts. We like to shop locally and carry hip lables like Yellow Label Kids, Hipbubs (Myhood), Jasper Hearts Wren, Amano Trading Company and Too Cuties.

History

Established in 1992.

Bell and Trunk Flowers started with a few buckets of flowers on a Potrero Hill sidewalk more than 16 years ago. It has changed hands a few of times since then and is now a storefront on Potrero Hill’s bustling 18^th street. Nesled between Baked Treats and Sweets and Chez Papa Bistrot, Bell and Trunk Flowers still carries fresh cut flowers but has added a variety of ecclectic gifts for babies and big people.

Meet the Business Owner

Vanessa M.

Business Owner

Vanessa Marlin is the proud new owner of Bell and Trunk Flowers. After a couple of years as a journalist at The San Francisco Chronicle, she, along with many of her fine colleagues, were given the boot. Vanessa mulled anxiously over her next career move until the day she saw a sign in Bell and Trunk’s window: For Sale.

Vanessa grew up tending her mother’s extensive flower beds in Western Pennsylvania and the idea of owning a business in her very own neighborhood appealed to her. With the support of friends and family (particularly her business-​savvy dad), and at her young daughter’s urging, Vanessa embarked upon sole proprietorship.

A rollercoaster year and an economic slump later, Vanessa realized that what she learned at Mills College was spot on: if you put your mind to it, you can do anything – especially with the support of a strong community.

She now gladly finds herself as one of the latest additions to the cast of characters along Potrero Hill’s colorful 18^th St.