Michael’s Flowers & Antiques
Mike and Syd Nickels, owners of Michael’s Flowers and Antiques.
~story and photos by Paige Langenderfer
A
block from Van Buren Street, tucked in a small storybook shop, are two of Nashville’s beloved treasures. Whether they know it or not, Syd and Mike Nickels have brightened the lives of thousands of people. Syd taught preschool and kindergarten and Mike built custom log cabins. Together, they run and manage a summer camp, a garden center, the Farmhouse Café, an antique shop, and a flower shop. But, Michael’s Flowers and Antiques, bursting with color and memories, is the project they have nurtured the most together. Shortly after the two were married, Syd and Mike were on a road trip to visit Syd’s parents. On one of their stops to “stretch their legs” they walked into a shop that sold nothing but dried flowers.
16 Our Brown County • Nov./Dec. 2023
“It was full of color and unusual things,” Mike said. “And I looked at Syd and said, ‘I think this would go over well in Nashville.’” He tucked the idea away in the back of his mind and continued the road trip. A few years later, the idea was still turning in Mike’s head. “I can’t remember the year, but I asked Syd if we should go through with it,” he said. “I remember the year very well,” Syd said. “I had a baby at home and was pregnant with another. It was 1976. I just said, ‘Who is going to run it?’” Mike put an ad in the paper and soon hired someone to manage the shop. “We rented a little place on Washington Street and hung out a sign,” Mike said. “And we were in business.” “Near us, there was a leather shop, a potter, and a baker,” Syd said. “We called it ‘hippyville.’ It was a lot of fun.”
