Flower shop and custom frame shop share a roof as well as a passion for artistry

Two new businesses opened in a century-old home in Newton this past week, and while it is difficult to find similarities between a floral shop and a custom frame shop, it is clear the cohesiveness derives from the relationship these three women share, their passions for creativity and connections with customers.

Jennifer Zimmerman, owner of Blooms by Design, talks about her flower arrangements like works of art, and in a way they are. It takes a special kind of eye to do this line of work, to fulfill a customer’s wishes by reading their mind and knowing exactly which colors to use and how to balance the final piece.

“I’ve always been very meticulous with my arrangements,” Zimmerman said. “I like things to match. I like things to balance out. It takes an artistic eye.”

Pauli Zmolek Eades, owner of Cardinal Frame Shop, the second business in the 709 S. Second Ave. W. residence, knows a thing or two about having an artistic eye. As a longtime painter and former head decorative artist at the U.S. Capitol, she sees as much artistry in Zimmerman’s bouquets as her custom framing.

“I really enjoy it,” Zmolek said. “It’s like the craft part of art. You’re still making things. You’re putting together corners and cutting glass and making something look good, you’re working with colors all the time. I mean, really, everything comes back to basic design elements: Color, composition, weight balance.”

Blooms by Design is a full-service florist offering fresh flowers, plants and silk arrangements. The shop will also deliver its floral arrangements all throughout Jasper County. Floral designers have experience creating bouquets and providing flower services for events, weddings, funerals and proms.

Cardinal Frame Shop offers custom framing services of all kinds. Appointments are very much encouraged. Zmolek has been enjoying the one-on-one service with customers. By getting to know them and making those connections, she can better understand what customers want.

Zmolek was introduced to custom framing in Baltimore, Md., in the 1980s and 1990s. After that she pivoted into historic restoration of murals before moving back to Iowa to paint full-time. When preparing for art shows, she found herself constantly traveling to other nearby cities for frames.

“After the show I was like, ‘Newton needs a frame shop.’ People need stuff framed. They have piles of old family photos. We have this dry mount press so that you can take an old photograph and kind of iron it out so it’s not all wrinkled,” Zmolek said. “We needed something since Beckman Gallery isn’t here anymore.”

Both business owners worked together before joining under one roof. Zimmerman is a former manager at Hy-Vee Floral in Newton. She worked there with her daughter Jerrica Pietz, a full-time designer. Eventually, Zmolek joined the team in January 2022, and she noticed Zimmerman and Pietz had real talent.

“These two would always be designing. I would take a couple of flowers and make something that looked like you might have pulled it out of a ditch,” Zmolek said. “Those two would stand there chatting and they made things that looked like they came out of a Baroque painting. These beautiful arrangements.”

Zimmerman’s introduction to the floral industry started when she got married. She and her mom made her own silk flowers for the wedding. The next year her brother got married and she found herself making them for him, too. The following year her mom got remarried so Zimmerman was called upon again.

Pietz said, “She found she had a flare for it!”

“Yeah! I had a real eye for it. So then I started working at Altoona Flora in 1997. I had no experience but I was willing to learn, and then it kind of took off from there,” Zimmerman said. “I’ve held some sort of retail floral job ever since … Afterwards I went to the Methodist Hospital gift shop for a couple years.”

With about 30 years of floral experience under her belt, all Zimmerman needed was that extra push to start her own business and have full creative control. Having her daughter working beside her was an added bonus, and it harkened back to when Zimmerman first owned and operated a business with her mom.

For about four years in the early 2000s, Zimmerman worked alongside her mother at The Flower Patch in Prairie City, the town where she grew up.

“Twenty-one years later, I’m now with my daughter after my mom was with me the first time, so it runs in the family,” Zimmerman said. “It has always been my dream to have my own shop again. That’s how Pauli and I kind of started. She asked me if I was going to stay at Hy-Vee forever. No. I wanted my own shop.”

But some of those close to Zimmerman were quick to voice their concerns. Are you sure? Don’t you think it’s a scary time to open up a business? But the stubborn Zimmerman wouldn’t hear it. Is there really a perfect time to open a business? It’s always going to be a scary time to do that, she said.

“Once I set my mind to it and once Pauli came along, she was my final piece,” Zimmerman said. “It was just perfect. It was meant to be. Pauli came to work for us for a reason and we hit it off really well. My daughter and I had been talking about this for almost two years. This was something we really wanted to do.”

By a stroke of luck Pietz even lives down the street from the home-business, which took two excruciating months of work to spruce up the place — and some help from local business Elite Moving Services to move 500-pound floral display coolers — and get product ready in time for a December opening.

For Zimmerman, Pietz and Zmolek, the wait and the work was well worth it to be able to do something they are so passionate about.

“We may not get wealthy from it, but we all know what we’re doing so we don’t have any fear of I can’t do this,” Zmolek said. “We’ve got enough experience.”

Pietz said, “It was never really was about oh we’re going to do this to make a ton of money. This was just what we wanted to do.”

Zimmerman added, “I have another 15 years before I can retire. Do I want to stay at Hy-Vee for another 15 years? No. That was not going to be an option for me.”

She then points toward the flower arrangements and framed paintings by Zmolek. They’re surrounded by their unrushed, unyielding artwork.

“This is what we really want to do,” Zimmerman emphasized.

They have the space to do what they want. Zmolek is even playing with the idea of using flower arrangements made by Pietz and Zimmerman for a painting class held at the property. Or perhaps they could frame dried flowers for a decorative piece. Or host workshops for wreath making or other kinds of floral projects.

The possibilities are endless.

“We were all determined this was something we wanted to do and this was the place we wanted to do it at,” Zimmerman said.