A business owner and artist who works in the medium of flowers, Terrie Vaught is renowned for nearly 50 years of dedication to the floral industry. Since 2018, she has excelled as the owner of Mrs. DeHaven’s Flower Shop, one of Tulsa’s oldest businesses and one of Oklahoma’s oldest florists, having served the community since 1905. Working alongside an excellent team of designers, who are also her friends, they have more than 150 years of combined experience in the floral industry. With their expertise, Tulsans turn to their flowers to enhance their lives’ sentimental and emotional moments, including births, christenings, proms, weddings, theme parties, charity events, benefit galas, holidays and funerals.
Deeply committed to her region and its history, Ms. Vaught feels very fortunate to have been able to purchase the shop and keep its legacy alive. First owned by Josephine DeHaven, who passed away in 1942, she bequeathed the business to her longtime employee, Trula Austin. When she passed away in 1978, Ms. Austin’s grandson, Jerry Parkhurst, inherited the shop but was unable to continue to own and operate it into the late-2010s. Ms. Vaught had admired the shop since she was 15 years old, so the opportunity to purchase it and maintain its legacy was a no-brainer. As stated on the shop’s website, “With our roots in the past and our eyes on the future, Tulsa has no equal in floral design.”
Finding great success in her endeavors, Ms. Vaught prides herself in successfully reviving Mrs. DeHaven’s Flower Shop to its former glory. She has restored the first-class customer services that made it well-loved by the Tulsa community since its heyday 117 years ago. Today, it boasts numerous positive reviews on Google and her website, including one praise-filled customer review thanking her, writing, “I’ve never had any human being treat me so well.” Ms. Vaught shares that receiving glowing reviews like this makes her efforts all worth it. She loves her work as a florist and remains committed to exploring her creativity and continuing to offer her customers the best and most beautiful quality of products.
A leader in her field, Ms. Vaught has won several floral competitions, including First Place in the Oklahoma State Floral Association Design Competition and Top Honors at a regional floral design competition that spanned the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. In addition, she has been a guest designer on panels for various conventions and taught classes at the shop, a local technical and trade college and at Conestoga College in Canada, where she also taught floral design classes in the beginning stages of her career. For her own personal development, Ms. Vaught participated in a four-week floral design course in Denver, Colorado, having acquired the scholarship to attend from a former employer.
To remain abreast of modern business tools, Ms. Vaught showcases the shop’s designs by posting pictures and videos on Mrs. DeHaven’s Flower Shop’s Instagram and TikTok channels, as well as at www.mrsdehavens.com. Outside of her primary work for the shop, Ms. Vaught is known for being a civic-minded individual, offering her time as a volunteer for a church studio in Tulsa. Likewise, she donates flowers to various businesses and organizations in the local community.
Looking toward the future, Ms. Vaught’s goal is simply to stay successful and keep her customers satisfied. She hopes she has made Josephine DeHaven, Trula Austin and Jerry Parkhurst proud. As she prepares for the years to come, it is her wish that her sister-in-law acquires the company when the time comes for her to retire. In her spare time, she enjoys crafting and learning about interior design.