Isabel Bloom will host a 60-Year Anniversary Celebration beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at the Isabel Bloom Tour Center and Showroom, 736 Federal St., Davenport.
The year 2023 marks the start of Isabel Bloom’s 60th year in business. In celebration, the company has plans to host several events throughout the year to honor this milestone, a news release says.
To kick things off and with February being Isabel’s birthday month, the company will host a four-day event Friday-Monday, Feb. 17-20, at the Isabel Bloom Tour Center and Showroom with door prizes, special promotions, free shipping as well as, a sneak peek at new 2023 designs. These in-store events will be held during regular store hours where customers can register to win daily giveaways and a $60 Isabel Bloom shopping spree.
The Quad City Chamber will host a short ceremony that Friday at 10 a.m., presenting the company with a special plaque followed by a free behind-the-scenes tour of the production process. Birthday cake will be served throughout the day that Monday, commemorating Isabel’s 115th birthday.
A limited edition “Anniversary Owl” will be introduced at the February event and available only this year. “Owls were one of Isabel’s favorite subjects to sculpt, maybe because their large eyes and feathers gave Isabel lots of opportunity to stylize,” says Donna Young, Isabel Bloom co-owner and artist. “My design was inspired by Isabel’s ‘Night Owl,’ which is no longer in our line.”
Isabel Bloom opened her first shop in a rented house located in the Village of East Davenport in 1963. Notably, it was the first gift shop in the village. A few years later, she purchased the house next door at 1109 Mound St. and, with the help of her father and her husband, John, converted the space into her sculpture studio and showroom.
It was there that Isabel devised the unique technique for casting her sculptures in concrete and finishing them with green-tinted cement to resemble weathered-bronze garden sculptures. Isabel has been described as a truly original woman who lived by her own advice: “Know what you want and follow it.” From there, the Isabel Bloom legacy flourished into one of the most successful woman-owned companies in the Quad Cities. Isabel Bloom passed away May 1, 2001, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Today, the handcrafted sculptures are designed by Isabel’s protégé, Donna Young and produced and sold at the Isabel Bloom Tour Facility and Showroom. A showroom/retail store is also located in the Historic Valley Junction in West Des Moines.
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