MANSFIELD — Tara Beaire feels right at home in downtown Mansfield.
The owner of Tara’s Floral Expressions recently moved her flower shop from the West Park Shopping Center on Park Avenue West to 48 W. 4th St., near the Little Buckeye Children’s Museum.
“This is meant to be,” she said.
All the signs seem to indicate that’s the case, anyway.
Originally, the 101-year-old-building on West Fourth Street housed Stuhldreher Floral Company. Beaire used to work for that business in the 90s when Al Goodman was the owner. It was there that she learned the ins and outs of running a floral business, she said.
“I’m familiar with the building,” she said. “I mean, there are some changes that have happened since then.”
Beaire is not the only one returning to the establishment. Sandy Milum, one of Beaire’s employees, is also making the move to downtown. Milum worked for Stuhldreher’s for many years, starting in 1973.
Interestingly, Milum’s in-laws lived in the apartments above the floral shop when they were pregnant with her husband.
“This really is meant to be,” Beaire said. “There’s no way that these things could just happen if it wasn’t meant to be.
“I’m really blessed and just excited to be here.”
Beaire owns the entire 14,000-square-foot building, which includes the floral shop, a former ice cream shop and four apartment units.
A big supporter of the arts, Beaire hopes to make the space into a floral art gallery, with not just floral pieces and arrangements on display, but other art forms, such as sculptures, paintings, jewelry, etc.
One of her employees, Suzanne Shores, is the woman behind Sassy Girl Jewelry, which sells unique, handcrafted jewelry. Some of her items are showcased and available for purchase at Tara’s Floral Expressions.
Beaire intends to get the ice cream shop that Stuhldreher’s once operated up and running again in the future. The ice cream shop is located in the adjacent storefront at 46 W. 4th St.
She also has plans to renovate the second-and third-floor apartment units, which haven’t had tenants for 50-some years, she said.
Tara’s Floral Expressions opened for business Jan. 2, after about a month-and-half of renovations.
Beaire said there’s still work to do, but she’s happy to be a part of the downtown community.
“When I worked here in the 90s, nobody wanted to hang out after work,” she said. “But there’s lots of things going on now.”
Beaire, a Lexington High School graduate, studied horticulture at Pioneer Career and Technology Center and went on to earn an associate’s degree in floral design and marketing from The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute.
Tara’s Floral Expressions is a full-service floral business that offers fresh flowers, plants and planters for various occasions, as well as gourmet baskets and artificial arrangements.
The floral shop is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
