Renato Gouveia and Marcelo Camillo, partners in life and in business, closed their Passion Flowers shop in Corte Madera in 2010 and transitioned to running a floral studio business out of their home in San Francisco for the years that followed, focusing on flowers for corporate events, weddings and longtime clients.
In late 2019, the duo sought to return to running a full-fledged retail shop again. “We were missing having our own shop,” Gouveia says, noting that they were ready to sign a lease but decided to hold off.
They later opened at 1 East Blithedale Ave. on the block that contains Stefano’s Pizza, Mill Valley Baking Co. and Modica.
“We’re glad we waited,” says Gouveia, who met Camillo on a vacation to Brazil and have been together for 23 years. “And we found this beautiful and fantastic space in Mill Valley. Our intention had always been to be in Marin because so many of our clients are here.”
Two years ago this week, Passion Flowers, founded and owned by Renato Gouveia and Marcelo Camillo, returned to Marin to open their new flower shop, this time in Mill Valley, just east and across the street from the Outdoor Art Club.
“I wanted to go back to retail because it’s in my blood,” says Gouveia, who learned the trade while working at the popular but now-closed flower shops Bloomers in Larkspur and Impressions in Orinda. “I love having clients coming in to the shop. My mother told me that my father, who had many businesses, had a retail flower shop in Rio, but I’m more of an artist. We’re passionate about flowers.”
With windows that take in the views of a fairly busy Mill Valley corner, the shop is smaller than the previous one and without a back room for flower arranging. That just means that the designers, who create their designs behind a counter on the shop floor, have more contact with their customers, Gouveia says.
“It’s a pleasant shop with music and good energy,” he says. “Customers choose their colors, bring in their dogs, watch us make their arrangements or go for walk while we work.”
The shop is filled with music and beautiful flowers and plants, hand-picked by Camillo during his trips to the San Francisco flower market several times a week.
• Details: Passion Flowers is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays at 1 East Blithedale Ave. in Mill Valley. While it’s normally closed Sundays and Mondays, the shop will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. Call 415-888-2624 or email info@passionflowersmarin.com. More information can be found on Instagram @passionflowersmarin.
MORE INFO ON PASSION FLOWERS AT 1 EAST BLITHEDALE IN MILL VALLEY. Call them at 415.888.2624.