Karin Schneiders has been in the florist business in Naperville for 28 years. She operated out of her home until one Christmas season, when she had 200 poinsettias filling the house. (Steve Metsch / Naperville Sun) What does your business do? Make floral arrangements for weddings and funerals, and “every-day events like birthdays, ‘just because’ bouquets, things like that,” Schneiders said. “I still love it after all these years. It gives me satisfaction to make beautiful things and make people happy. Funerals are such a sad time. If we do beautiful arrangements, they may come back and say, ‘It gave me so much comfort to see how beautiful it was.’ … I love weddings. Ninety-eight percent of the brides are happy.” Why flowers? “My parents had a hotel and a restaurant in Germany. My mom liked fresh flowers on all the tables. So, I used to help. My dad was a gardener, who loved it. I went to College of DuPage for horticulture and business classes after I came here.” When did you come to America? “The end of ’67. I was very young.” She met her future, and now former, husband in Germany, where he was stationed with the Air Force. “Things happened. The next thing I knew, I was here. I was 19.” Why did you start this business? “I did a lot of weddings or holiday parties for friends. … I did it out of my house for a while. It was crazy. One year for Christmas, I had 200 poinsettias in my living room and dining room to be delivered. We couldn’t walk in the house. I said, ‘OK, we need to open up a shop.’” Why Celidan? “ When I started, two friends went in with me, and we used our middle names. Cecilia. […]