When Jenny Kim bought J Flowers, the name meant very little. It was practical. Simple. Years later, it would come to represent something more personal: a mother and daughter working side by side, bound not just by a shared initial, but by trust, sacrifice, and a business they would build together.
Jenny was born in Korea and moved with her husband and two young daughters, Rina and Jane, to the United States in 1999, settling in South Torrance. “Flowers were my hobby in Korea,” Jenny said. When the family relocated, Jenny wanted to pursue her passion and find a job at a flower shop, but working in the U.S. came with quiet fears. “I wasn’t good at English. I didn't have any experience in the U.S.”
Flowers became the place where she felt fluent. She began volunteering at local shops, determined to build her skills. One shop owner in Carson recognized her talent: “He said I was such a good designer, so he hired me.”
Jenny’s background in Ikebana and European-style floral design shaped her approach—minimal, intentional, and rooted in balance. Ikebana taught restraint, the power of negative space, and respect for natural form, while European design encouraged movement and softness. Together, they created a philosophy that values intention over excess—an aesthetic that would quietly define J Flowers long before it had a following.
It was Valentine’s Day that revealed to Jenny the true scale of the floral business in America. “I was shocked on Valentine's Day. All day, the customers lined up for blocks and blocks,” Jenny said. “In Korea, Valentine’s Day is not too big… But here, it’s more ‘party’ culture… They love flowers.”
That realization led Jenny and her husband to take a leap in 2001, taking over a flower shop for sale in Playa del Rey. “The store was totally our income,” she explained. “My husband and me, it was a very hard time.” With orders sparse, they aligned with FTD to increase volume, expanding deliveries from a single zip code to 63. The reach helped sustain the business, but margins were tight and family life carefully choreographed. “We tried to deliver before 3 o'clock so we could pick up our two daughters from school. It was crazy.”
After 10 years at the flower shop in Playa del Rey, Jenny worked out of her house before taking over a flower shop named J Flowers in 2013, at the corner of Artesia and Inglewood in Redondo Beach. At the time, the name felt like little more than a practical detail. It wasn’t until later that it took on deeper meaning.
Meanwhile Jane, Jenny's youngest daughter, was carving her own path. “It was never even an option in my mind that I could do something with [my mom] for the flower shop,” she said. Jenny felt the same. “I never, ever thought about her.” Jane was more athletic growing up, while her older sister pursued art. After college and several years living in Korea—where Jane taught English and worked for a well-known photographer—she returned home and joined her mom at J Flowers, bringing her instincts and vision to the shop.
“The walls were red and yellow. Commercial carpeting on the floor,” Jane recalled. “I realized it was time to remodel the space.” With no formal design training, Jane followed her instincts. “I didn't really know what I was doing. I just knew what I liked.”
What emerged surprised them both. “Whatever she did, it was very surprising to me,” Jenny said. “She had so much more talent that I didn’t know about.”
As Jane refined the shop’s look, she also clarified its identity. “I honed in on the mother and daughter owned thing,” she explained. “I wanted it to feel super welcoming… like a neighbor down the street.” That focus reshaped everything—from branding to customer experience. “Mother and daughter owned… That’s what I knew encompassed our shop.”
Decals went up. The words “Mother & Daughter Owned” appeared on the windows. Customers noticed. Only then did the name J Flowers feel complete. Jenny had purchased it years earlier without imagining she would one day run it alongside her daughter—another “J.” What began as a coincidence became a reflection of their partnership: something practical, layered over time with meaning.
The shift toward connection transformed the shop. “Before it was a lot of order gathering, like FTD,” Jane said. “It went from impersonal to very personalized. Today, people come in, and they know us. They know Mom.”
That care is most visible during Valentine’s Day, the busiest—and most demanding—time of year. Flowers are ordered at the last possible moment to ensure freshness. Ten designers work side by side. “It's so hectic,” Jane admitted. “It’s flowers everywhere.” Yet there’s beauty in the chaos. “I love making my way into the middle of all the flowers and just sitting down,” Jane said. “It feels so full in the best way.”
Jenny feels it too. “I’m just so happy that everybody's here.”
Their partnership thrives because each brings something essential. “I trust her,” Jenny expressed. “She studied here. She knows American taste and the culture.” Their designs lean organic and natural, inspired by how flowers grow. “What we love doing is to try and recreate what it looks like before the flowers are cut,” Jane explained. “Our customers tell us that they like that our arrangements feel very organic, having a little piece of nature in their home.”
At its core, J Flowers reflects the relationship behind it. “We are still learning about each other,” Jenny said. Jane agrees. “Because we're so similar, we understand each other's feelings.”
In a month often devoted to grand romantic gestures, J Flowers tells a quieter story—one of devotion built day by day, stem by stem. What began as a hobby, a risk, and a practical decision has grown into a shared life’s work, rooted in love, resilience, and a name that turned out to be exactly right.
“I honed in on the mother and daughter owned thing. I wanted it to feel super welcoming… like a neighbor down the street.” -Jane
“I was shocked on Valentine's Day. All day, the customers lined up for blocks and blocks.” -Jenny