Deshara Bohanna of Design Fetish builds a Des Moines floral business

Coils of ribbon in a rainbow of colors cling to spacious shelves at Design Fetish, the luxury floral design space on the third floor of Mainframe Studios in Des Moines.

The budding business, located in room 313 in the artist collective, comes from local creative Deshara Thomas Bohanna, who first opened in September 2016.

The former Ankeny School Board member stepped away to refocus her personal commitments to her artificial flower shop and raising three daughters as a single mom.

The Arkansas native attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, an historically Black university, before she moved to Iowa in 2004 to attend Iowa State University in Ames.

After having her 9-year-old twin girls and 7-year-old daughter, Bohanna decided to stay in the Hawkeye state because of the safe environment for her family.

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“I had such a strong network and community here that I just didn’t want to start over anywhere else,” Bohanna said. “When you have children and all these crazy stories you see that are happening, you build your decisions around a different base.”

Following a career in corporate America, Bohanna left her day job at a major company during her divorce in October 2017 to pursue her budding passion.

“I started picnicking in front of our house and noticed how many houses didn’t have wreaths,” she said.

The lack of wreaths would not leave her alone, she said, so she ordered fabric and started making her own creations. Then, she toted the luxury arrangements around in a wagon, selling them for $100 each.

Design Fetish offers wreaths crafted from artificial flowers for holidays, graduations and housewarming gifts for real-estate agents to give during closings. She only uses fresh flowers for outdoor planters.

The 42 year old finds inspiration from elements in nature, which helps form the beauty of her aspirational wreaths.

Bohanna offers collections that celebrate sports-themed team spirit as well as holidays.

At first, she did not start her metro area business to build a new life. It was simply to find inner peace.

“I didn’t intentionally start off making wreaths. I started off trying to find joy,” Bohanna added.

In February, it is common for friends and neighbors to support Black businesses in commemoration of Black History Month, but Bohanna said it is necessary for their survival to support Black and brown businesses all the time.

"It is important to support Black and brown businesses year-round because they are such a vital part of our communities, our economies, and our survival is based on consistency and intentionality," Bohanna said.

Through life's petals and pointy thorns, as a business owner and single mom, Bohanna has arranged a beautiful story.

“I do feel like superwoman because at the end of the day, I’m doing it,” Bohanna said.

Jay Stahl is an entertainment reporter at the Des Moines Register who owns no wreaths but will be in touch with Design Fetish. Follow him on Instagram or reach out at [email protected].

Our Des Moines is a weekly feature on an interesting person, place or happening in the Des Moines metro, the kind of gems that make central Iowa a special place. Have an idea for this series? Contact [email protected].