The Village Petaler seeks to serve the Cedarville Community

By Julia Swain

From the early days of her childhood, Jaklyn Cato was always interested in all things creative. She immersed herself in every form of expression she could find, constantly exploring new ways to bring her imagination to life, from books to singing to art.

Cato’s love for these things led her to a desire to work in a creative field despite studying Intercultural Communications in college. So, in 2015, following a brief introduction to the world of floral design at her sister’s wedding, she and her sister started Silver City Florists in Greenville, South Carolina. 

After COVID, Cato and her husband, Grayson, moved back to Ohio to be closer to family. Her shop with her sister closed, but the desire to create lingered.

“I still loved that world and what we had created in Greenville, so while I didn’t continue with the same company that we had there, we started the Village Petaler because I knew that I wanted to keep doing it,” Cato said. 

In February of 2021, Cato began plans to open the Village Petaler, located in downtown Cedarville. Though it was a long process turning her vision into a physical storefront, Cato is thankful for God’s timing and His hand in these plans. 

“I had been looking into a store for probably a year to a year and a half, and it was just a really slow moving process and then renovation took a really long time, but it was definitely God’s timing because it lined up with my youngest starting kindergarten which has been really helpful,” Cato said. 

In the past three months since the official opening, Cato has already experienced some of the challenges with being a small business owner. 

“I think the biggest challenge for me is figuring out a good work-life balance,” Cato said. “I feel like when you’re starting a small business it’s just trying to find the balance between working ahead and getting all the things done needed on the marketing and advertising side too.” 

Through these challenges, she found immense joy in the process of growing her business from the ground up. 

“One of the top highlights has been the interaction with the customers and getting to know people in a different way and getting to serve them,” Cato said. “I feel like the more you see people in different phases for different reasons you get to be there for some of the most amazing moments and some of the most intense ones.”

At the Village Petaler, Cato provides a wide variety of services. From holidays to online and call-in orders to weddings to classes, Cato seeks to serve every corner of Cedarville village and all of its needs. 

“I feel like I’m always trying to plan three or four months in advance for classes I want to offer or holidays coming up,” Cato said. “It’s a lot of backend work, just trying to be prepared for what’s coming. It all looks different based on the season and what’s happening in the town and then also what’s on my own calendar.” 

Cato also has begun to formulate plans for the future of her shop. 

“I have really enjoyed the events that I have done already but I would love to do more of these and I’m really excited about some of the things that I’ve got in the works in terms of inviting people into the studio and doing things with them,” Cato said.

Facing the challenges  of starting one’s own small business can be daunting, but leaning on others for support can make all the difference. That’s something Cato has learned firsthand.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions or to ask for help,” Cato said. “Especially these last three months I have relied a lot on friends and family and business mentors to give me advice and help me in times where I was getting really overwhelmed.”

Through these challenges, she found immense joy in the process of growing her business from the ground up. 

“One of the top highlights has been the interaction with the customers and getting to know people in a different way and getting to serve them,” Cato said. “I feel like the more you see people in different phases for different reasons you get to be there for some of the most amazing moments and some of the most intense ones.”

Julia Swain is a junior journalism student and the off-campus news editor for Cedars. She enjoys concerts, coffee, and watching and analyzing any Cleveland sports team.