BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Oak & Olive Flowers

DECORAH — Oak & Olive Flowers is branching out with a brand new flower shop in downtown Decorah. This "shop within a shop" is located inside Driftless Botanicals at 104 E. Water Street with generous store hours of Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Oak & Olive Flowers is a specialty-cut flower farm and floral design studio, finishing up their seventh season growing sustainable, high quality flowers for the community. Offerings include bouquet subscriptions, weddings and events, and a flower shop—both online and in their new retail space on Water Street. The in-shop experience includes build-your-own bouquets, grab-and-go bouquets, a custom floral menu and merchandise, while online offerings include a variety of bouquet options for pick-up and delivery. Clara Muggli-Toyloy, owner and operator of Oak & Olive Flowers, began growing cut flowers as a business in 2018 and began doing it full-time in 2022. DN: What inspired you to start this business? CMT: My background and interests are in environmental studies, organic farming/horticulture, and landscape design. Growing and designing with flowers allows me to combine all of these passions. I love that I get to be outside, work with plants, use sustainable methods in my growing and designing, and share the beauty of nature with my community. DN: What was your first job ever? CMT: A server at Country Kitchen in Decorah. DN: What is your background and how did you develop your skill set? CMT: I started propagating my mom's houseplants when I was maybe 10. I was always fascinated with and drawn to plants. Starting in my last year at Decorah High School, I worked on farms, then went on to study environmental studies with a focus on geology at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. I couldn't find the right career, and did a lot of waiting tables and bartending, nannying and working for nonprofits. I found the landscape horticulture program at Merritt College in Oakland, Calif., where I earned my AA and certificates in landscape design, landscape architecture, and horticulture, and fell in love with learning about and designing with plants. I practiced landscape design for about 5 years before moving back to Decorah and rediscovering farming. DN: Tell us how you market your business to grow sales. CMT: I primarily use social media and email marketing to grow sales. I also find that word-of-mouth marketing is powerful here in this small community. DN: What has been your biggest success to date? CMT: I am proud of our slow and steady growth over the years. In 2023, we built a walk-in cooler, which was a game-changer for scaling up a bit. In 2024, we received a "Choose Iowa" grant to build a small bouquet production space and scale up evergreen wreath production. We recently opened a small retail shop in downtown Decorah, which is an exciting new step. DN: What is the best thing a customer ever said about your business? CMT: Most recently, someone told me that my flowers were the highlight of her summer. It's so rewarding to be able to spread joy and evoke memories with flowers. DN: If you believe you've embraced technology well in running your business, tell us what you did or how you did it. CMT: My biggest technology win was figuring out how to use AirTable to build a really amazing database for crop planning, sales and harvest data. DN: What inspires you to get out of bed every morning? CMT: The plants inspire me with their resilience and beauty. My wonderful and supportive customers inspire me also. DN: What is the best business advice you've ever received? CMT: To take a business retreat every year—somewhere away from your farm/business—to reflect on the past year and plan for the next. DN: What are the one or two things within your business that you need to improve upon over the next 12 months? CMT: Finding more rest time to avoid burnout, as well as more efficient data-tracking systems DN: What interesting fact about your business don't most people know? CMT: I don't own land! My farm has grown on a variety of lands over the past 7 years. We now rent land at Humble Hands Harvest, an organic vegetable farm north of Decorah. Also, we don't grow on a lot of land. My farm is less than 1/4 acre. We produce a lot of flowers in that very limited space. DN: Of all the places to which you've traveled, what has been your favorite and why? CMT: Solo-walking 200 miles across England from coast-to-coast. DN: What civic causes do you belong to, or how do you give back to the community? CMT: I work with CARE (Collective Action for Racial Equity), and volunteer for candidates (Cheryl Wieseler's campaign for Board of Supervisors, currently). DN: When you're not working, what is your favorite thing to do? CMT: I love reading fiction and walking or hiking. DN: What one bit of advice would you give to a young person looking to get started in operating their own business? CMT: Are you sure you want to own your own business? Kidding! (kind of). But in all seriousness, know what it takes to run your own business. It takes a very wide-ranging skill set, flexibility, energy, and a whole lot of sacrifice to make it work. It also takes a strong support network. I still think it's worth it, but you just should know what you're getting into. Editor's note: Business Spotlight is produced by the newsroom of DecorahNews.com and is not a paid advertisement. The goal is to recognize area businesses by telling their stories. It is challenging to be an entrepreneur, regardless of the type or age of the business. DecorahNews.com recognizes the huge role that businesses play in our rural communities. If you own a business in Decorah or Winneshiek county and would like to be considered for an upcoming Business Spotlight, tell us about your business here.