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REIDSVILLE — Since she was an infant, Misty Smith Felde has watched her mother, Pat, arrange flowers for weddings, funerals and other occasions.

She recalls that on one occasion she broke her finger while her mother was waiting on a customer.

Because her mother was working, Misty didn’t tell her. Instead, she put ice on her finger and sat quietly until Pat finished with the customer and could take her to the hospital.

She helped her mother for 11 years, she said, but she always was more interested in photography.

It was the birth of her youngest child, Jake, now 4, that led Misty to her chosen career. Misty had begun taking a lot of pictures of Jake with a “tiny 2-pixel camera.”

“Pete Witty, a friend of ours that worked for Mom, had ventured out doing photography and actually inspired me to see life through a lens,” Misty said, adding that she also received a lot of support from Donna and Tim Talley and other area photographers.

Mother and daughter decided to offer photography in addition to Pat’s floral services.

Misty shot her first wedding four months later and has been capturing those happy moments for bridal couples ever since. She also has branched out to portraits.

On Nov. 7, Pat and Misty held an open house for their new business, Images by Misty Photography, at 321 S.E. Market St.

Pat will be operating her floral business in a portion of the stately old mansion — once the home of Gov. David Settle Reid.

Reid’s daughter, Henrietta, lived at the mansion until her death, and it is now owned by the city of Reidsville.

Included in the rental contract is a clause specifying that three rooms filled with items that belonged to the Reid family remain open to the public. However, Misty can use them as backgrounds for some of her photos.

Pat and Misty also use their business to assist and support the Rockingham County Animal Shelter.

In April, they were involved in the organization’s fundraiser, creating a DVD featuring shelter animals. The DVD is being used to promote awareness of the shelter and its plans for a new facility.

They also were named official photographers for the Country and Rock Alliance, in which music artists hold concerts to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network and the Mason Lindley Foundation.

To date, they have shot two concerts in Burlington and Wilmington. Some of the work was done in Rockingham County.

Just recently, the studio has been the scene for a lot of student photos. Seniors bring several changes of clothes when they come for their pictures. They also bring something that’s important to them — “anything that shows their personality,” Misty said.

A 1996 graduate of Rockingham County High School, Misty took small-business classes at Rockingham Community College. She and Dustin Felde, a native of Davie County and a High Point police officer, were married in 1999. They have three boys, Austin, 9; Kyle, 7; and Jake, and live in Wentworth.

A native of Greensboro, Pat grew up in several Triad towns and Luray, Va., before her family finally settled next door to her grandmother in Stokesdale.

A 1971 graduate of Northwest Guilford High School, Pat studied business and art at Rockingham Community College and opened a floral business in Stokesdale just after finishing high school.

“It was the Flower Basket right next to Brooke Funeral Home,” she said.

When Bessie Bateman offered Pat her business on Second Street in Eden, Pat took the opportunity because she could use the building for her home and her business. “I could raise my family and have my home and do my work,” she said.

Although the floral business was in a separate part of the house, Pat said she often had flowers all over the place.

In fact, when her son, Grey, was about 6, he asked her not to put funeral flowers in his bedroom any more.

“I didn’t do it anymore,” Pat said.

An at-home business has many benefits but also some drawbacks, Pat said.

“Your kids miss out on a lot, but they gain a lot, too, because you can take off times other people can’t take off.

“You can go to ball games or school activities during the week.”

They actually stay with you, she said. “But, the disadvantage is when you’re busy, they get put on the back burner.”

In 1982, Pat married her second husband, Phillip Smith, and they and their children built a log cabin on N.C. 87 for their home.

About a year later, the family took on another construction project, a building on their property on N.C. 87 west of Reidsville.

This became Pat’s new business, Cabin Crafts. In addition to flowers, Pat offered a variety of craft and gift items in the new location.

Now, Pat specializes in wedding and event flowers through Misty’s business.

In addition to Misty and Grey, Phillip and Pat have two other children, William Patrick Smith, a sales representative, and Jessica Lynn, an internal auditor.

“I think the Gov. Reid house is full of history and tradition and that’s what my family is based on, too,” Pat said. “That’s why I felt so at home when I first walked in the door.”
 
Ann Fish is a Reidsville native but has lived in Eden since 1979. She is a retired newspaper editor and reporter. Contact her at annsomersfish@yahoo.com