101 Business Niches for Lovers of Roses & Vintage Shabby Chic
Do you love roses and the old fashioned charm of vintage florals? Would you like to start a business featuring the soft colors of Victorian roses or the shapes of your favorite blossoms? This article provides over a hundred business niche ideas featuring beautiful rose flowers, embellishments, images, and patterns. Many niches are craft businesses; some involve selling existing rose items of all kinds. A few involve using actual flowers. All offer ideas for creating unique business niches featuring the loveliest of flowers – the rose!
Rose & Dollar Bill Leis
Make unusual real dollar or play money bill leis to sell to corporations for recognition events. Pinch the bills in the center and tie with a ribbon or cord. String the dollar bill flowers, alternating with silk roses. Variation – make fancier leis for wedding showers, birthdays etc.
Vintage Playing Cards
Offer mixed lots of single playing cards with rose designs to collectors, collage and other paper artists. You can offer complete decks of new rose cards as well. Variation – Create collages made of playing cards only.
Miniature Bouquets & Flowers
Make rose arrangements, potted flowers or window boxes for dollhouses from polymer clay. Sell several styles and color combinations. Variation – Offer little framed rose pictures for dollhouse walls.
Valentines Day Custom Vintage Gift Wrap
Create unusual, romantic Valentine gifts for a customer service by offering keepsake gift-wrapped containers that feature roses. You can use old postcards, ads, sheet music etc., as part of your unique wraps. Completely cover boxes and tins with the paper to hold the gifts. Variation – Offer Christmas or Easter gift-wraps.
Collectible Gardening Magazines & Catalogs
Sell used rose gardening magazines and nursery catalogs to enthusiasts. Publications from the 1980s or earlier should be in demand. Variation – Frame and sell attractive ads or covers of magazines.
Decoupage Buttons
Create and sell unique buttons by decoupaging bits of unusual vintage papers featuring roses onto wooden forms. Variation – Make framed pictures from your decoupage buttons. Or make custom button sets from favorite paper belonging to customers.
Musical Rose Mobiles
Create unique musical mobiles by combining polymer clay crafted roses with silver or brass bells. You could also incorporate beads into your designs to add sparkle. Variation – make room dividers of strung roses, beads, and bells.
Shabby Chic Bed Linens
Sell vintage linens featuring the soft colors of Victorian roses. These can include pillowcases, sheets, pillow shams, bedspreads etc.
Garden Signs
Sell hand painted garden signs with rose designs in a variety of styles. Offer matching garden stakes. Variation – offer a service personalizing these garden or cottage welcome signs with phrases, names etc. of the customer’s choice.
Depression Glass
Sell all kinds of vintage “depression” glassware with rose patterns as a matching service. You can also offer new reproduction glassware if you’d like. Variation – Provide an exchange site for buyers and sellers charging a small fee for each transaction.
Rose Rugs
Carry all kinds of rose decorated rugs, new or antique – hooked, embroidered, woven etc. You can also carry rose patterned throw pillows. Variation – Provide a service painting floor cloths for customers offering several old-fashioned rose designs.
Miniature Rosebud Jewelry
Sell pretty and unusual pendants, pins, earrings etc., made from preserved real rosebuds. You may also offer the single rosebuds to craftsmen. Variation – make custom jewelry pieces to order for customers, offering a variety of styles and materials.
Rose Beads
Sell all kinds of rose shaped and decorated beads. These may be hand painted or embellished and made of glass, wood, metal, polymer, paper etc. Also sell beading supplies. Variation – make custom rose bead chokers for customers, using beads you carry in stock.
Vintage Photos
Offer antique photos to collectors and paper artists. The pictures can be of roses alone, women with bouquets, animals and rose bushes etc. Variation – Create nostalgic photo album covers or picture frames from the rose photos.
Vintage Letters & Rose Stationery
Make sentimental stationery and note cards to sell by reproducing original collage designs of interesting old hand-written letters and envelopes mixed with roses ephemera or real flowers. You may be able to find old postcards featuring letters or roses to include in the designs. Variation – Make matching desk accessories such as pen pots, paper caddies, bookends etc.
Napkin Rings
Make pretty rose napkin rings by hand painting designs onto wooden rings or attaching small dried rosebuds. Offer rose patterned or plain cloth napkins to coordinate. Variation – Sell matching coasters.
Holiday Decorations
Sell holiday decorations of any kind featuring roses. You can make special items yourself or search for unusual new and used Valentines, Christmas, Easter etc. decorations. Variation – Offer the complete package – games, food, decorations etc. for a Christmas roses theme or Valentines event.
Vintage Postcards
Sell antique postcards that feature roses. These may include greetings, birthday, Christmas or other holidays. Variation – offer special cards framed singly or in groupings.
Christmas Ornaments
Specialize in clear glass ornaments hand painted with rose designs. You can sell these individually or by sets. Variation – make mini painted ornaments to be used on miniature holiday trees or in dollhouses.
Tea Sets
Sell rose-decorated tea sets. These can be hand painted floral designs, figural rose shaped, etc. You can deal in new tea sets, antiques, or both. Variation – Host rose teas for local customers. Provide all tea service, cutlery, napkins, linens, table decorations, and pastry or bread accompaniments.
Children’s Tea Sets
Sell rose-decorated child’s tea sets. You may also wish to offer miniature sets sized for dollhouses. Variation – Provide a service hosting children’s tea parties with rose decorated dishes, tea, and little bread, decorations etc. Also provide simple games for the children at the party.
Perfume Bottles
Sell all kinds of rose-shaped and decorated perfume bottles, new or vintage. Offer other dresser items such as mirrors, trays, pin boxes, combs, and brushes. Variation – Carry rose-scented perfumes for customers’ bottles.
Rubber Stamps
Offer all types of rubber stamps with designs featuring roses. You can also offer used stamps for sale.
Rose Bath Linens
Offer all kinds of bath linens with printed or needlework rose designs – towels, shower curtains, rugs etc. you can also carry sink and counter accessories such as soap dishes and tissue holders. Variation – Sell roses art prints that coordinate well with your bath linens.
Decorated Tiles
Sell rose-decorated tiles. You may carry new, vintage tiles, or both. Variation – offer a service hand painting rose designs on sinks, mirror frames, and tile in customers’ homes.
Rose Petal Beads
Specialize in aromatic rose beads created from the flower petals themselves. You can offer these to beaders as well as made into pretty necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and pins. Variation – Sell fancy rose petal rosaries – great gift ideas for weddings, anniversaries, funerals etc.
Rose Paper Dolls
Create simple custom paper dolls using parts of photos provided by customers for the doll faces. Make the doll clothing from vintage rose patterned papers. Variation – make a matching framed picture featuring the custom paper doll and background formed from other customer supplied photos – pets, room, house etc.
Vintage Rose Cottage Dollhouses
Make folding, portable, one-room dollhouses from sturdy cardboard. Decorate the floors and walls of the house with rose-patterned paper rugs and wallpaper. Fill the windows with paper flower boxes or curtains. Variation – Sell simple dollhouse furniture decorated with roses.
Collage Supplies
Provide all kinds of rose-patterned paper and small objects to collage and other artists. Consider vintage greeting cards, catalogs, certificates, postcards, brochures, sheet music, photos, book pages, etc. Small objects and trims such as rose motif beads, buttons, ribbons, trims, lace, etc. are also good.
Vintage Rose Stamp Boxes
Decoupage small boxes with a roses design formed from vintage rose-decorated papers and postage stamps with rose designs. You may wish to make the word “STAMPS” part of your design. Include a roll of postage stamps if desired.
Papier Mache Easter Eggs
Make papier mache Easter eggs hand-painted with rose designs. Sell them to shops or to holiday enthusiasts. You could also offer centerpieces featuring special rose-decorated eggs in baskets. Variation – Create miniature rose Easter baskets for dollhouses.
Vintage Rose Hankies
Sell rose-decorated hankies to collectors. These can feature a spectacular single rose, bouquets, or other designs including roses, figures, etc. Variation – Frame special hankies individually or with other rose decorated personal items such as gloves, purses, etc.
Wallpaper Placemats
Make and sell unusual placemats from vintage rose-patterned wallpaper. Offer matching napkin rings.
Custom Valentines
Create romantic valentines from all kinds of beautiful rose papers and bits of trims. Add simple verses about roses you have written or other Valentine greetings. Variation – Write custom personalized verses for your valentines from information about the recipient provided by customers.
Vintage Hatboxes
Sell rose-decorated hatboxes. You can also offer vintage or new hats that feature roses in their fabric or decoration.
Roses Jewelry
Offer all kinds of rose shaped or decorated jewelry. These may include porcelain, glass, polymer clay, wooden, wire, beaded etc. Carry all types – necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, etc., or just one. Variation – Sell rose charms made from a variety of materials and rose charm bracelets.
Paper Fans
Sell unusual new or vintage rose paper fans of all kinds – advertising, Oriental etc., to collectors. Variation – make your own fans from rose-patterned vintage papers and trims.
Party Decorations
Sell all kinds of party decorations featuring roses – tablecloths, napkins, favors, centerpieces, streamers etc. These can be handcrafted or commercially made. Variation – Rent all decorations and materials needed for hosting a “roses” party. Used your imagination to come up with entertainment, food, etc. to create this special party.
Bookmarks
Sell bookmarks made of old rose motif paper of all kinds. Ideas include vintage wallpaper, old postcards, etc. You can add a tie ribbon, beads or other embellishments. Variation – Personalize bookmarks featuring names or astrological signs.
Decoupage Knobs & Handles
Make and sell decoupaged rose motif door, dresser, and cupboard knobs of many styles and designs. Variation – offer matching switch plate covers.
