The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by David Grimes for The Quill
As you travel along Illinois 94 north from Biggsville, there's a pleasant surprise about five miles up the road.
TeJai's Florist, owned by Cathy Burgdorf, offers everything you would expect in a floral shop and more - Burgdorf's award-winning personal touch.
Burgdorf opened for business in 1996, when she returned home to Henderson County from Los Angeles.
The business is named for her son, Aaron TeJai, a Union Elementary School third-grader.
"It was originally called TeJai's Garden and Florist because we used to have a vegetable garden where the shop is now. But that was a lot to get on a business card, so we shortened it to TeJai's Florist," Burgdorf said.
But the location had a history even before the vegetable garden.
"When I was little, I used to plant flowers where the shop is now," she said. "Now I arrange flowers here on the same spot."
Burgdorf's talent for flower arranging surfaced when she pursued the craft as a member of her 4-H club. Her skill in arranging garnered her not only local and state recognition and awards, but honors at a national competition in 1976 when she was chosen to present an arrangement at King of Prussia, Pa.
During those early years, Burgdorf polished and perfected her arranging talents when a Hancock County florist took her under his wing and showed her new ideas and techniques for achieving a professional look in flower design.
She seized the opportunity.
During her senior year at Union High School, Burgdorf also went to work at Das Blumenhaus in Burlington through the school's work/study program, where she attracted top designer honors.
Her next stop in the world of floral designing was at Tiedeman's Florist, where she ventured into plant care in the greenhouses and the ins and outs of the fresh floral business in the shop.
Burgdorf's attention-getting talent next found a home in the Quad Cities at Green Thumbers Florist, where she did a four-year stint as a professional designer.
Her next stop was Los Angeles, where she set up shop, managing and training others in the floral industry before returning home to settle into her home area.
TeJai's Florist offers what you'd expect in a floral business - seasonal arrangements and specialty gift items, bouquets and balloons.
One of the more unique avenues Burgdorf's creativity is in the wreaths and wall hangings she makes from outdoor materials - usually provided by her Milan, -based supplier, Bonnett Wholesale.
But if they don't have exactly what Burgdorf envisions in her mind's eye, she's not above taking a walk through the woods that surround the home place.
Wall hangings with a nature lover reflection are created from pieces of birch branches, dried moss and even mushrooms to adorn the shop's walls.
Awards received from the supplier, given out annually, also fill the walls in the shop.
"And I have a suitcase full of more," Burgdorf said.
But there's a special twist that attracts customers from Galesburg to Burlington and some points even farther.
A customer from Woodhull, recently requested a special piece because of Burgdorf's unique creativity, and asked that she deliver it in person.
Burgdorf said she spends the time needed to get inside each customer's mind in order to perfectly create what the person wants in the wall hanging or arrangement.
"I want to be able to see exactly what it is they want," she said.
FTD orders can also be sent from TeJai's Florist and Burgdorf can provide designed arrangements for special occasions, including weddings, anniversaries and graduations.
Burgdorf has been asked to work with high school students at the Lincoln Trail Conference Art Festival this month at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, where she will work with 15 students in helping them learn how to express their individual floral designs.
Of her own floral designs Burgdorf said, "They aren't really a reflection of me. They're just me."
TeJai's Florist is open weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information on the shop, contact Burgdorf (309) 627-2277 or (877) 283-5247.