Blooming Businesses
By Lisa Arnett
June 2025 View more Discover
These three florists offer fresh, ready-to-impress arrangements
JMB Haute Floral Design
Naperville
For Jeanine Mesias, launching a floral design business in Naperville represents a return to her roots. She operated a floral shop in Mexico from 2001 to 2005 while also working in landscape design and construction. “In 2006, I got married and moved to Chicago, [and] I focused on my family and raising my kids,” she says. Years later, Mesias considered returning to landscape design but instead decided to nurture her passion for floral design by founding JHB in 2014. “I wanted to create a brand that elevated floristry beyond traditional arrangements into something sculptural, fashion-forward, [and] timeless.”
Mesias works out of a private studio in Naperville, and forgoing the overhead of a public-facing shop has allowed her to invest in designing her own vessels, vases, and urns in unique materials such as onyx and marble, all customized with her own distinctive branding. Because sustainable practices are also important to Mesias, she doesn’t do quick turnarounds. “By not offering same-day deliveries, we purchase fresh flowers daily, [which] minimizes waste as we don’t hold unsold inventory,” she says. “We have more time to be attentive to detail in every single piece. Some of our arrangements take two hours to make.”
Good to Know: Mesias has created lavish floral installations for brands such as Tiffany & Co. and Formula 1. For an event hosted by the latter, she was given total creative freedom as long as she used a set color palette and incorporated a variety of provided racing tires. “We integrated the tires into dynamic floral sculptures, capturing the essence of speed and elegance associated with the sport [of formula racing],” she says.
Farmdog Flowers
239 W. Wilson St., Batavia
The pandemic lockdowns of 2020 spurred a new business idea for St. Charles resident Gerrit Husar. “I decided to ditch my vegetable garden that year and instead I planted a very large cut-flower garden with the intention to sell flowers at farmers markets,” he says. He gained a following making arrangements for small events, and in 2021, started selling premade bouquets at the Batavia Boardwalk Shops, a local business incubator. In 2022 the business had grown enough to warrant a bigger space, so Husar moved to the current Wilson Street storefront, which is now stocked with giftable trinkets, live plants, kitchenware, and all things floral. “We can manage walk-ins if you’re looking for flowers right away, or we have premade arrangements if you want to grab and go,” he says. “You can also come in and shop the cooler and purchase by the stem.”
The shop delivers bouquets locally and designs arrangements for weddings and corporate events all over Chicagoland and neighboring states. “We do anything from small elopements to very, very large productions,” Husar says. “We’re known for our European garden style; it’s less traditional, a little more free-flowing. Flower choices are going to be leaning on the luxury side of things, and we tend to design what we call ‘low and lush.’ ” Husar prefers to source blooms—especially delicate varieties that don’t travel well, such as zinnias, dahlias, and lisianthus—from local farms such as Full Circle Flower Farm in Elburn and Teshuva Fields Flower Farm in Crystal Lake. “The quality is fantastic because you know it was harvested that morning or the previous evening,” he says.
Good to know: Visit the shop during Friday Flower Happy Hours (3 to 6 p.m.) to get 50 percent off fresh stems to assemble your own bouquet.
The Green Branch Florist
485 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn
This Main Street floral and gift shop has a deep history in Glen Ellyn. Third-generation florist Lona Prexler opened the original shop on Roosevelt Road in Wheaton in 1974. In 1988 daughter Noel Luchinski joined the business, and they later moved to this downtown location in 2009. In 2022, they sold the shop to Mike and Nancy Mauriello, whose daughter Kimberly worked at the shop as a florist. To make it a full family affair, they’ve brought son Joe on board as well.
With half a dozen churches within a mile of the shop, funerals make up the biggest percentage of business here. “Funerals are actually my favorite to do because…a funeral is a moment to say goodbye to someone and honor them in a way their family will remember,” says Kimberly Mauriello, head florist. “I love being able to translate the love they had for that person into floral pieces that they can be proud of.” They also create seasonal arrangements for holidays year round, from Christmas to Mother’s Day, and offer a designer’s choice option for walk-ins. “You can just come in with a price point in mind,” Mauriello says. The shop also offers floral design classes for $75 per person with refreshments included (think charcuterie from neighboring gourmet emporium Marché). “All the floral materials are provided, and you get to stand and work right here at the desks we use in the shop for all of our floral arrangements.”
Good to know: Mauriello noticed that her customers were looking for flowers for daddy-daughter dances at local schools, so she has started offering mini-corsages for kids 5 years old and younger ($20) and ages 6 to 14 ($25).
Photos: Jeanine Mesias (JHB Floral Design); The Green Branch Florist; Gerrit Husar (Farmdog Flowers)
