The Ground Floor: Di Moda Boutique and Be Inspired share space

The city of Marion is the new home to two new shops - in one place.

Friends Tammy Cannavo and Jill Deklotz recently relocated their respective businesses, Di Moda Boutique and Be Inspired, from Dysart, to a combined space in Uptown Marion.

The move was one that Cannavo had contemplated for a long time.

'I like the energy here,” said the Marion resident. 'It's where I wanted to be.”

'She talked about it for years,” said Deklotz, a resident of Shellsburg.

Cannavo and Deklotz met in 2004 when Cannavo was hired as the floral designer at From the Heart, a home décor shop in Cedar Rapids where Deklotz worked and later would become part owner. That shop closed in 2008.

During From the Heart's closing sale, a customer from Dysart asked if Deklotz would be interested in running a similar home décor store for her there. That store, housed among other businesses in a historic brick building, eventually became Be Inspired after Deklotz purchased the business from the original owner.

As she had at From the Heart, Cannavo worked as the floral designer for Be Inspired. Then, in 2015, she decided to strike out on her own - while sticking close to home.

'I wanted to dabble in clothing, so Jill cleared out an eight-by-10 corner for me to start Di Moda Boutique,” she said.

The addition of women's clothing and accessories to the space proved to be so successful that Cannavo soon expanded into a larger space in the building and increased her inventory.

'Still, most of our customers were in the Cedar Rapids area,” Cannavo said. 'I was looking for quite a while to get back to Marion.”

The opportunity presented itself when the former Dreaming Bear space became available. Deklotz and Cannavo took possession in May and had about a month to renovate. Cannavo closed Di Moda Boutique in Dysart on June 15, and Deklotz shuttered Be Inspired's Dysart location on June 21.

They both opened in Marion on July 11.

Deklotz and Cannavo said their shared-space arrangement is beneficial not just because they split the rent.

'We complement each other,” Cannavo said. 'Customers will start out on one side and end up on the other.”

l Do you know a business that's been in business for less than a year that would make an interesting 'Ground Floor”? Contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com.

At a Glance

l Owner: Tammy Cannavo

l Business: Di Moda Boutique

l Owner: Jill Deklotz

l Business: Be Inspired

l Address: 720 11th St., Marion

l Telephone for both businesses: (319) 200-2383

l Facebook: www.facebook.com/Di-Moda-Boutique-820936974687697

l Website: www.beinspiredstudio.com