Petals & Pages will open this spring in Custer, S.Dak. The Rapid City Journal reported that Carrie Moore is in the process of moving, renaming, and expanding Jenny's Floral, which has been in business for nearly 38 years, into a flower shop/bookstore combination called Petals & Pages. An April 1 opening at its new location, 21 N. Fourth St., is anticipated.
"I am really excited for this next chapter!" Moore said. "Jenny's Floral started on March 17, 1987, so we're hoping March 17 will be our last day we're fully open (before the move). If there's a funeral or a certain occasion, we want to make sure we can help our customers with that."
Moore purchased Jenny's Floral in 2022, after working there for six years. "I never really thought I would own a flower shop, but looking back, my godmother's a florist and one of her friends owned a shop, so sometimes we'd go in and help them. I always liked picking out flowers when I was younger, so it kind of had a funny way of happening," she recalled.
With the help of a local realtor friend, she found a location that would give her more space. "I'm really excited to give my community a bookstore and something a little different," Moore said. "I've been on the city council and I'm very involved in the community, so it truly is for Custer. It's something I think we need. I'm excited to see how it goes and all the fun books we're going to have.... It will be a warm space. I want it to be very open and friendly and to feel like a safe space for people to come, whether they want to shop for flowers or books or gift items. It's also going to be bright and fun and funky disco balls and a little bit of quirky stuff."
The new location is about double the size of her current store, with at least half dedicated to the bookshop and room for book clubs and book-related events. The Journal noted that the additional space will allow Moore to continue and possibly expand the classes for making wreaths, centerpieces, and floral arrangements that were popular during the holiday season.