T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Something to Share, the flower shop in Conrad currently owned by Sharon Dolphin, right, will become Black Dirt Blooms effective Dec. 2. The rebranded business will be run by Kortney King, left, and her husband Ben.

CONRAD — After 18 years as the proprietor of Something to Share flower and gift shop at 127 N. Main St. in Conrad, Sharon Dolphin is passing the torch, or in this case, the floral shears, to new owners Ben and Kortney King.

Effective Dec. 2, the business will change hands, becoming Black Dirt Blooms. For the month of November, Dolphin will be running sales until her retirement. Nov. 29 will be the last day open as Something to Share.

A native of Dyersville, growing up, she knew she wanted to pursue an art-related career.

“A teacher told me about floriculture — everybody needs florists,” Dolphin said. “Kirkwood had a program back then, but they no longer do.”

She then took work in flower shops for about six years, even managing one in Arlington, Texas before allergies forced her to change paths.

“I don’t even know what it was, but I’d be working with baby’s breath and my eyes would start swelling up,” she recalled. “They thought it was something sprayed on the baby’s breath, because other flowers weren’t really a problem.”

Dolphin moved back to Iowa and worked for 18 years in corporate travel as a travel agent for Maytag and Emerson. But the Internet, and the ease with which people can book accommodations nowadays, sent her back to her first love: flowers.

Friends in Conrad had a building coming up for sale. They even picked out the name: Something to Share, which she opened in 2006.

“I told my husband, I’ll give it three years and see how it goes, and here I am, 18 years later. It’s been great,” she said.

In the last two decades, she’s seen endless changes in wedding flower trends. Pinterest has made customers come in wanting her to recreate photos, some not always feasible for real flowers.

“Of course, once something is popular, everyone wants that,” she said.

Dolphin said what she’d miss most about running the business is the people she meets.

“Everybody’s been so supportive, and that’s the reason I made it this long,” she said.

Ben King is from Conrad originally. Wife Kortney is enrolled in an online florist course, learning flower basics, care, and how to design arrangements.

“I’ve been working a lot with Sharon over the past few months to get some hands on training,” she noted. “We’ve lived here the past five years.”

Kortney has worked as a nurse for nearly a decade.

“But I’ve been driving an hour to work, and so with little kids, that’s quite the drive,” she said.

After having a conversation with Sharon, the idea to take over the flower shop ignited a spark in her mind.

“And I’ve just always enjoyed creative outlets. My husband builds homes, and we do woodworking together. I’ve always done some creative things on the side. More recently, I’ve started doing custom apparel and laser engraving custom projects, and that will move down to the shop too,” Kortney said.

The name Black Dirt Blooms is a nod to Conrad being the black dirt capital of the world.

“My sister-in-law and I were just bouncing ideas off of each other, and I really liked the blooms part of it, and she said what about Black Dirt Blooms and it just kind of stuck,” she added.

Floral services include arrangements for weddings, funerals, birthdays, holidays and other special occasions, with area delivery available.

The business number will remain the same: 641-366-3870. Hours will remain the same, with the exception of Saturdays now by appointment. Kortney said her goal is to be in the shop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday during December, but renovations will be underway that will prevent in-person shopping.

“I’m still going to try and offer floral arrangements during the month of December so that people can still order those. But really, shopping in the store won’t probably start until January, just because we obviously can’t have inventory out in the space when we’re remodeling,” Kortney said.

They plan to have a grand opening/open house in January or February. The couple may be reached at: kingdesignco1@gmail.com.