Tina Edwards opened Elements Design Studio in her hometown of Arnolds Park five years ago Memorial Day.

Note: Featured story in series of Women Entrepreneurs in the Corridor.

ARNOLDS PARK - Tina Edwards opened Elements Design Studio in her hometown of Arnolds Park five years ago on Memorial Day weekend. Her creativity and knack for floral arranging, not to mention two decades of experience, make her store one-of-a-kind. The store also gives her the opportunity for home decoration.

 "I really enjoy my shop and coming to work," said Edwards. "What we do is so individualized, and that's what's fun - creating things unique to a person or event." Edwards explains that there are three main divisions for her store: floral design, home décor, and retail.

Before Edwards opened Elements Design Studio, she was a florist for 22 years, managing various stores and doing private contracting and freelance. There was enough freelance work for her, doing the flowers for weddings and other events, that she made the decision to open a store. Knowing she didn't want a full-fledged floral shop, she opened Elements Design Studio as a specialty floral shop for weddings and special events.

March through November keeps Edwards busy with weddings: 35 to 40 are scheduled for this year. She purchases her flowers from wholesalers around the world, including Ecuador, Holland and Thailand. "We do whatever it takes to get what we need," said Edwards. She enjoys meeting with the bride and groom, to pull ideas from their personality on what types of flowers to use and how to arrange them.

During the winter months, Edwards finds that people are more apt to decorate their homes. For home décor, she goes into people's homes to pick up on their taste and style. She has traveled as far as Sioux City and Sioux Falls for home decorating. While the store may look small, Edwards is able to special order just about anything, from tables and chairs to bookshelves and beds. Decorating services also include holiday decorating, home and office staging, and office decorating.

For the retail portion of Elements, Edwards attends two trade shows each year looking for new and unique products. "There's enough uniqueness in the area, so I try hard to get things other stores don't have," said Edwards. The retail store consists of artwork, accent pieces, gifts, books, jewelry, and permanent and fresh florals.

Elements Design Studio is located at 36 S Highway 71 in Arnolds Park, just south of Mrs. Lady's Restaurant. The store is open year-round, and the hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 12-4 p.m. Sunday or by appointment. Contact Elements at 712-332-2602. Element's website is currently being built, and will be available soon. 

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The Iowa Lakes Corridor is proud to launch the Women in Business Club. To join, a woman must own her own business and want to meet with other women in business to share ideas, challenges, successes and grow professional relationships. Those interested in joining should contact Pat McGill, at 712-332-2965, or Jean Tennant at 712-490-5165. Women from throughout the Corridor region are encouraged to attend these meetings. 

The session will take place at the Spencer Campus of Iowa Lakes Community College, room 108A, and is open to the public.

In the last 10 years, 66 of our state's 99 counties have seen a population decline. While rural communities and areas are home to 1.7 million Iowans, more than half of Iowa's nearly 950 cities now have fewer than 500 residents.

USDA Rural Development currently administers and manages more than 40 housing, business and community infrastructure and facility loan and grant programs designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America.

During the past year the agency helped a record number of Iowans receive funding for economic development projects and quality of life improvements. The agency's investment in Iowa helped create or retain more than 2,200 jobs, aided 2,500 families in buying their own homes and assisted more than 250 communities as they made improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure.

For more information about finance programs through USDA Rural Development, please call the office located in Storm Lake at 712-732-1851 ext. 4. This office serves communities, businesses and residents in Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Greene, Palo Alto, Pocahontas and Sac counties.

Further information on programs available through USDA Rural Development is available by visiting the agency's website at www.rurdev.usda.gov/ia.

USDA Rural Development is an equal opportunity lender with a variety of grant and direct and guaranteed loan programs for single and multi-family housing, community facilities, water and sewer development and business and industry programs. 

Courtney Tifft of Spirit Lake participated in the Entrepreneurship Academy in 2010, and earned second place during the business plan presentations for her card making business.

Entrepreneurship Academy offered July 11-15

SPENCER - Students who have completed grades six through eight 

are invited to attend the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation's fourth annual Entrepreneurship Academy, held July 11-15 at Iowa Lakes Community College in Spencer. Students from Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties can come and learn from local entrepreneurs about how to turn a hobby into a business.

During the week, students will focus on the basics of starting a business. They will learn how to write a business plan and create their own business cards and flyers. Students will have the chance to learn from real entrepreneurs during the week. They will put a power point presentation together to present to a panel of judges, and compete for cash prizes at the end of the week.

Students will gain knowledge that they can use in years to come, even if they don't start their own business. It is never too early to start teaching students the entrepreneurial mindset that they will be able to apply to their future careers. 

"Last year I had the opportunity to participate in the Middle School Entrepreneurship Academy hosted by the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation," said Courtney Tifft of Spirit Lake. "Through the experience I learned how to start and maintain a business. I applied what I learned by creating a card making business. Now I am selling my cards at The Inn Resort gift shop. I would recommend the Entrepreneurship Academy to anyone who is interested in starting a business. There are endless opportunities out there, but it is up to you to find them." Tifft earned second place when she presented to the judging panel.

Cost for the event is $49, and transportation will be provided from for students outside of Spencer. Scholarships are available for those in need. Classes will be held from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. each day.

If you know a student who has completed grades six through eight, encourage them to sign up for the academy. To enroll a student in the Entrepreneurship Academy, contact the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation at hpearson@lakescorridor.com or 712-264-3474 for an application. Application Forms and Nomination Forms can also be downloaded, and hard copies are available at the Corridor office. Applications will be accepted until the camp is full.

The Corridor has partnered with Iowa Association of Business & Industry to bring you a Business Succession Workshop. It will be held in conjunction with the Grocery Industry Association Conference at Arrowwood Resort in Okoboji on Thursday, July 7.