Jennifer Coon began working with flowers more than two decades ago, a passion she now shares with Fountain Hills at her new shop, Gatsby’s Florist.

Moving back to the community last year, Coon originally came to Fountain Hills with her family in 1995. She graduated from Fountain Hills High School as part of the class of 1999 before heading to Arizona State University to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts. It was during her college years that Coon first got into the floral business.

“There was a classified ad for somebody to work part-time at a flower shop in Old Town Scottsdale,” Coon said. “So, I’ve been in the floral industry since I was 17.”

That first flower shop she worked at was Gatsby’s Creative Floral Design, which focused on weddings and special events. Coon notes that the shop’s name, which she later adopted for her own business, comes from the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, “The Great Gatsby.” On her website (gatsbysflorist.com), Coon notes that the book “depicted lavish affairs she envisioned to be dressed in a bounty of flowers.” Coon said the original Gatsby’s focused on creating tailored and creative floral arrangements regardless of budget, a philosophy she maintains in her new shop.

While her career has taken a few twists and turns, Coon has always returned to flowers as a way to express herself artistically.

Coon stayed on when the original Gatsby’s changed hands, working on projects that included everything from the Phoenix Open to the Fiesta Bowl. The business became the official florist for the Arizona Diamondbacks and picked up jobs for companies including Marriott Scottsdale Suites and Southern Wine & Spirits.

Shortly after graduating from ASU in 2003, Coon’s career shifted to retail management.

“I’ve worked for Abercrombie, Victoria’s Secret and just stepped down from a seven-year manager role at Trader Joe’s,” Coon said. “Opening my own floral business gave me the chance to combine my love of working with flowers with my managerial experience.”

Coon said she’s worked for other floral shops over the years and was the regional sales manager for the vendor that handles Costco’s flower program nationally.

“So, I got to see big box, business to business, mass production of flowers and had the opportunity to visit farms to see flower production and understand how the other half works,” Coon added. “That experience was invaluable.”

When Coon and her family moved back to Fountain Hills last year, she said she learned that the town was without a flower shop.

“I know how to run a business and I know how to do floral…So I got the space in October, did a soft opening in November and it’s been wonderful.”

When Coon learned that the floral business where she laid down her roots had changed its name, she decided to adopt the moniker for her own shop.

“The original owner, Reese [Hanifin], said she just wanted to create lavish, beautiful affairs, but within people’s budgets,” Coon said. “The idea is you don’t need to spend a lot of money to create beautiful arrangements. I’ve always felt that’s exactly how it should be, and that’s the philosophy I want to continue here. I don’t care if the budget is $40 or hundreds or thousands of dollars, everybody should still get artisan product with great value and quality.”

Coon said her drive when creating arrangements is that she never wants to send an arrangement she wouldn’t want to receive herself.

“That’s a core value of mine and really important to me,” she said. “Everybody, no matter what they are able to spend, should get that artistic touch.”

Gatsby’s Florist offers “everything floral culture needs,” according to Coons, including basic everyday arrangements on up to weddings and special events.

The business is located at 17007 E. Colony Dr., Ste. 106, and can be reached at 480-703-0799. Additional details can be found online at gatsbysflorist.com. Gatsby’s covers Fountain Hills, the Verdes, Fort McDowell and the Shea corridor.

“I can’t express in words just how supportive this community has been,” Coon said. “It’s just been a wonderful experience. I’ve met so many interesting new people and I’ve loved working with them…If there’s one thing I’ve learned in retail, it’s that the customer needs to be happy. And that’s my goal here.”