By Jill Draper
Two moms become friends through their preschool children. Years later both are operating out of their homes with work centered around art and flowers. Over a cup of coffee the conversation turns to “blue sky” ambitions—what would make life ideal? Not long afterward they’re leasing twin shops in Waldo and welcoming customers during Small Business Saturday while a light snowfall dusts the sidewalk outside.
Sounds almost like the setup for a Hallmark movie or a light rom-com. Except both moms are happily married with families supporting their new ventures.
Blue Sky Art + Home is an art studio, gallery and boutique owned by Leslie Beck, while Bramble & Stem is a floral shop owned by Katherine Taylor. The owners are not in business together, but do share rent. An inside door that connects their shops is often open.
“I had no idea I was going to have a shop,” says Beck, who describes her space as bright, art-filled and approachable, “a little bit like an arty hug.”
“It really has been a dream come true,” adds Taylor. “Some mornings when I walk in the door I think, ‘Oh my gosh! I actually did this.’”
The adjacent shops opened in November 2024 at 408 E. Gregory Blvd., near the Front Range Café at the corner of Oak Street. In early May, Taylor and a couple of assistants were scrambling to make flower crowns for a first communion class, plus bouquets and corsages for Rockhurst High’s junior ring ceremony and senior prom. Meanwhile, Mother’s Day is coming up fast.
Sometimes the pair collaborate on workshops, like when they put together a fundraiser for Visitation School. Taylor led a session on arranging flowers, and Beck helped participants take the feeling, energy and colors into a painting.
Other times, the proximity of a friend is enough. “It’s nice to have a fellow business owner to bounce ideas off of,” says Taylor. “We get to celebrate wins and frustrations. Right now we’re just trying to get our groove together.”
Both cite the influence of their entrepreneurial fathers who died in the last 10 years. Beck’s father ran a local advertising firm and Taylor’s father had a door and window company in Tulsa, where she worked for five years.
Taylor went to business school and earned an MBA with the thought that she would one day take over the family business. She worked in sales, marketing and advertising in Chicago, but later moved to Kansas City for her husband’s job. She started Studio 421 Floral Design out of her Brookside garage before opening Bramble & Stem.
Beck grew up in Brookside and earned a bachelor of arts in graphic design, working as a designer, art director and freelancer for local firms including Hallmark, Children’s Mercy, the Kansas City Ballet and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. She now lives south of Martin City near Jerry Smith Park.
At Blue Sky, Beck sells candles, ceramics, fragrances, hand-blocked and quilted textiles and her own artwork. But her favorite thing is to offer creativity workshops—hands-on sessions where no art experience is required.
“My workshops are very different from paint and sip classes or paint-by-number pictures. They’re all about getting messy, feeling free and surrounding yourself with people who are doing the same thing,” she says. “I love providing a space for people to surprise themselves. It’s so important for your mental health.”
In addition to activities at her shop, she hopes to book more private events like an upcoming wedding shower where guests will collaborate on a painting, probably an abstract landscape, for a bridal gift.
This summer Beck is offering art workshops for kids ages 12 and up, and Taylor is planning a summer entertaining workshop for adults focusing on easy appetizers and floral arrangements. She describes her work as merging fresh, organic blooms with a modern garden aesthetic. Last December she led classes on holiday centerpieces and wreaths.
“We’ve both taken a big risk,” Taylor says. “But the community support has been great, and it seems like the need is out there for someone to fill.”
“Why not us?”
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