Wellington West is moving. West that is. All the way to Stittsville.

Two Wellington West-area businesses are setting up shop in Capital Cabinetry, which is located on Stittsville’s Main Street. The renovated front of Paul Idone’s Capital Cabinetry is now home to Kat Kosk’s Blumenstudio café + floral and Thomas Johnson’s Steelwool Cycleworks. Kosk opened the original Blumenstudio on Parkdale five years ago and Johnson has been an owner at Tall Tree Cycles on Wellington Street West for the past decade.

(Above: Thomas Johnson, Kat Kosk, and Paul Idone. Photo: Katie Shapiro)

Kosk, who has been working in the industry for over 20 years (her mother owned florist shops in her native Germany), has fielded several requests to open a second location over the years, and she emphasizes that this was the first time that both the location and her business partners “felt right.” They had tossed around the idea of opening a shared space, but there were no concrete plans until Stittsville.

When Idone suggested turning the front of Capital Cabinetry into a showroom for furniture that he and Johnson collaborate on, his response was: “Why not a bike shop?” But that was only half the solution. The two then turned to Kosk to see what she thought about sharing the space. And while Idone jokes that Johnson “commandeered” his showroom, he is thrilled about the way plans took shape. For him, this is a perfect example of “small businesses working and grouping together” to complement each other and to succeed.

The location is on a slightly quieter spot on Main Street, but with Stittsville continuing to grow, and plenty of bike paths in the area, the three entrepreneurs felt this was good time and place to pursue their ventures together.

Idone and Johnson’s renovations feature rustic wood finishes and large windows set in concrete walls — it reflects the look and feel of their furniture line, Cala (short for Calabogie, where they source most of their wood). Barnwood encloses a pretty patio space, and a hefty chunk of live edge wood adorning the front stoop is an immediate eye-catcher. There are still some finishing touches to work on, but Johnson is excited about how the place will “flow” with Blumenstudio and Steelwool Cycleworks dividing the front neatly in half, and a showroom for his and Idone’s furniture in the back.

Kosk is replicating the style of floral shop and café that has become a popular oasis in Hintonburg. Blumenstudio West will serve up the same custom Rufino bean blend (that Kosk developed through a series of blind tasting and experimenting) from an Elektra espresso machine at the coffee bar, along with local pastries, snacks, and a small selection of curated goods. To go with her plant and flower selections, there are plans to feature a “terrarium station” where guests can work on developing their own green thumbs. As for the ‘shop manager’ — just as he is in the Hintonburg location of the cafe, Klaus the dog will make appearances in the West shop too.

For more info, visit, here.