The floor sanders buzz. Workers install a roll-up door to the sidewalk, and dust litters the windowsills. Bricks are exposed. The upper reaches of the walls glow with a fresh coat of paint in a yellow-green hue. The space that formerly housed Blooms & Things is receiving more than a facelift — it’s being transformed. And the force behind the renovation is islander BJ Duft. His new floral shop is called Herban Bloom, and its grand opening is slated for this Friday.

Last week in an interview, Duft pointed to the ceiling where a huge chandelier will hang over floral displays, tablescapes, local crafts, garden art, candles and other unnamed gifts and goodies that Herban Bloom will soon sell. In the midst of the remodeling chaos, Duft enthusiastically laid out his vision for the shop and punctuated it with the flash of an engaging smile.

“We like to have fun, or it’s not worth it,” Duft said, referring not just to opening a storefront on Vashon, but also to the sweep of businesses that falls under Herban Feast, a highly successful company he founded in 1999.

Winner of multiple awards, Herban Feast is a premier catering and event planning company in Seattle, with annual sales topping $7 million. The company manages three event venues — SODO Park and The Foundry in Seattle and Froggsong Gardens on Vashon — and does off-site catering. It has a restaurant in West Seattle, an event design studio and now a floral shop on Vashon. When asked if he is empire-building, Duft responded to the tease by saying he simply likes to create.

My favorite part is ideation,” he said. “In planning an event, I like to figure out how to make a portable feast table or a unique tablescape. With strategic planning, I like to imagine where we want to be in three to five years. I love that part, the creativity, pulling it all together and having a great team.”

With over 150 employees, Duft has a sizeable team. His most recent employee, and the person responsible for running the show at Herban Bloom, is Melody Williams, someone Duft has worked with for a dozen years.

Duft met Williams when she managed the floral department at the Morgan Street Thriftway in West Seattle. Duft would arrive with a slew of vases to fill and his client’s budget, and Williams would put it all together.

“She is super creative and has an eye for unusual detail,” Duft said.

So when Blooms & Things, the floral shop in the heart of Vashon town, came up for sale last May, Duft tapped Williams for the job of floral designer and retail manager of his new shop, Herban Bloom. It was a perfect fit. Williams and her husband had moved to the island seven months earlier, and the freshness of commuting by boat to West Seattle was wilting fast for Williams.

“The novelty of the ferry wore off, but I love Vashon, its quirkiness and individuality,” she said. “There is something so creative about the island.”

Williams brings to her new job over 30 years of floral arranging for upscale weddings, as well as places like Gumps and Nordstrom, and 12 years of retail experience at the West Seattle Thriftway. Praising her mother, who coaxed the teenaged Williams into pursuing floral design instead of cosmetology, Williams said her passion for flowers grew but never extended beyond the florist table — until this past summer when she planted her first garden.

“The deer ate everything,” she said with a laugh. “I made a lot of mistakes but enjoyed it so much. I want to learn what to put in the ground to use in wedding bouquets later on. It’s a seed-to-ceremony concept.”

Unlike Williams, Duft’s passion for working the soil came first. But his introduction also came at the behest of his elders.

“I’ve been gardening since I was 7,” Duft said. “Both my grandmas taught me how to plant potatoes, squash, root fuchsias and grow heirloom tomatoes in their greenhouses.”

Duft credits his mother for piquing his interest in cooking, as well as the circumstance of being the youngest child of parents who divorced, which left the 12-year-old Duft to get creative in the kitchen after school.

“No one was home, so I held imaginary cooking classes,” he recalled. “I’d carry on telling all my ‘students’ what to do.”

The young chef went on to graduate from Washington State University’s School of Hospitality Management in 1986. His post-college work trajectory started with Marriott Hotels, followed by a small cruise ship line and then five years at the original Herbfarm Restaurant in Fall City, where Duft ran the restaurant’s school, retail shop and special events. In 1999, Duft and two business partners opened a small café before realizing the benefits of catering.

“We got smart,” Duft said. “With catering, you know exactly how many to cater for, so you aren’t tossing out leftover food or giving it to Food Lifeline.”

Duft now has just one partner, Dalis Shea, the executive chef for Herban Feast and the company’s CFO. As their company continues to grow, Duft said, they work hard not to lose sight of their values for the business. Every year during a retreat, Duft, Shea and their management team look at the company’s practices and size them up against their own principles.

“My approach to running a business is a little different,” Duft said. “In 2006, I took a class about being a responsible entrepreneur. We learned how to keep core values alive in what you do. Our core values — of authentic interactions, creating meaningful relationships, elevating spirits — don’t have to do with food, but they’re all interrelated.”

After having catered weddings on Vashon for the past decade, Duft moved to the island three years ago, selling his house in West Seattle for a “peaceful sanctuary in the country.” He bought a house on 5 acres and began doing what he calls the farmette thing — raising a few turkeys, goats and chickens, with a dog, a cat and a huge garden. He grows all the edible flowers for his catering company and restaurant and buys as much produce as he can from island farms.

“It’s all part of the ethos of the company,” Duft said. “The average person wouldn’t know if they were eating a tomato from Hogsback or Sun Island Farm instead of Eastern Washington, but we know.”

As for Herban Bloom, Duft and Williams will offer a full-service floral shop, as well as workshops in floral design, wreath making and growing herbs. They expect to bring islanders into the mix to lead candle- and soap-making classes. Islander Tom Conway will teach classes about bulbs and bulb plantings when he is not tweaking social media and planning marketing for the new shop. Conway has also been working on the interior design of Herban Bloom, choosing wall colors, the sconces, even the big chandelier.

On Friday, Herban Bloom will roll up its front door, display fresh flowers in festive buckets and welcome shoppers with an array of treats, hot cider and sparkling cranberry punch.

Duft and Williams say they are excited to launch their new venture on Vashon, but they aren’t taking anything about the island for granted.

“I like to be in awe of things,” Duft remarked. “We shouldn’t lose that — like taking a ferry back to the island when there’s a spectacular sunset or watching the orcas. I’m in awe of that. It’s why I moved here.”

Herban Bloom will hold a grand opening event on Friday and will be open seven days a week after that.