White Barn is a beautiful store in Belfair for décor and floral arrangements. The local owner, Jimmi Cook, tries to make happiness and enjoyment the motivator of the business.
“I just do what feels good and brings me joy every day,” Cook says. He also explains that he wants White Barn to bring that kind of joy to others. One of his favorite aspects of the business is “customers making it their happy place.”
White Barn first began bringing joy to the West Sound community in 2018. Cook started off by creating metalwork with his father. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Cook was a fan of the arts since the beginning. That helped spark his interest in metalwork.
He and his father participated in the Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift Festival in 2018, and Cook says that it was a success for them. Therefore, he decided to move forward and moved into the Belfair building in 2019. “It expanded very quickly,” Cook says.
White Barn officially opened for business in March 2020, though it had to close almost immediately for three months due to COVID-19 stipulations. Thankfully, the shop reopened that summer, and Cook says that “the store just continued to grow.”
“Some days, I’m honestly surprised we made it,” he adds. However, nothing has stopped the White Barn’s success over the past few years.
Some of the White Barn’s accomplishments are due to its selection of goods and services. As far as products are concerned, Cook does a gorgeous job of merchandising the metalwork, flowers, lotion, candles, décor and much more.
“I love doing the displays,” he says.
Visiting the White Barn is almost like walking into a fairytale storybook. A larger-than-life aquatic display greeted clients recently as soon as they walked through the door, like a set from “The Little Mermaid,” and there were faux-wisteria chandeliers around the building reminiscent of an enchanted garden or forest.
The beautiful store showcases Cook’s decorative talent year-round. “I go kind of for the senses,” Cook says of his method of creating the displays. He wants to provide White Barn customers with things that are visually aesthetic and appealing to the other senses. The floral work proves that as well — Cook also takes care of the flowers that White Barn offers. “We are a full floral shop,” he explains.
Additionally, White Barn offers floral work and general décor. The shop can create floral work for a wedding or decorate an office for the holidays. When it comes to Christmas, Cook and his team pull out all the stops. “We specialize in seasonal décor,” Cook says. “Pretty much anything related to Christmas décor, we offer.”
The other part of White Barn’s success stems from how the business affects customers. Cook says he’s surprised by “the amount of joy that it brings” to those who come. He adds that some people even come from out of state to visit White Barn.
“It feels like they’re more friends than clients,” Cook says of his customers. That is likely due to the way that White Barn has a vision to provide happiness to people.
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