Our Story
Esotarium Florals & Decor is a creative floral and design studio based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois
What Does “Esotarium” Mean?
Yes — we made the word up.
The suffix -arium refers to a place where things of a particular kind are gathered or held (like an aquarium or herbarium.)
Esotarium is imagined as a place where the esoteric comes together: symbolism, beauty, memory, nature, and imagination collected in one space.
To us, an Esotarium is a place for meaningful objects and experiences.. things that feel personal, poetic, or quietly magical.
That idea guides everything we create, from intimate floral pieces to immersive event environments.
Esotarium began as a name before it became a business. For Ed, it was a way of finally giving shape to a lifelong instinct toward making, an attempt to gather years of artistic exploration under one identity. For a long time, that identity didn’t have a clear form. The work moved between disciplines such as art, objects, spaces, materials, and atmosphere. The question was never whether to create, but where that creativity truly belonged.
That answer began to take shape in 2024, when Ed met Jacob. Around the same time, Ed was preparing to design florals for a close friend’s wedding. Jacob immediately recognized what was happening and encouraged turning that instinct into something real. What began as a single wedding quickly revealed itself as something larger.
With access to a shared studio space and a willingness to leap before everything felt perfectly defined, Esotarium officially opened without a rigid plan for what it would become. At first, it could have been many things. A retail floral shop, a home goods space, a furniture and craft studio, or a place for handmade objects and artistic experimentation.
But flowers kept finding their way back in.
Ed’s natural storytelling approach to design combined effortlessly with Jacob’s lifelong love of giving flowers, something he had done since childhood, bringing bouquets to friends and family members, to his mother and grandmother, simply as gestures of care. Together, that shared language of beauty and generosity naturally evolved into wedding and event work.
Early collaborations within the local creative community, including partnerships with nearby bridal boutiques and fellow artists, helped Esotarium quickly find momentum. What followed was less a pivot and more a realization. Floristry offered a living canvas where art, emotion, craft, and celebration could exist together.
Today, Esotarium continues to grow as a multidisciplinary studio shaped equally by vision and making. Jacob’s passion for fabrication, textiles, and hands-on building allows ambitious ideas to exist physically, while Ed’s artistic direction guides the emotional and aesthetic world behind each project.
From weddings and installations to handmade paper, workshops, window displays, scent, objects, and collaborative projects, Esotarium has become exactly what its name suggests, a place where many forms of creativity gather.
At its heart, Esotarium exists to transform meaningful moments into immersive experiences.
Ed Byla
Edvinas Byla was born in Šiauliai, Lithuania and raised in the Chicago suburbs. Growing up in an immigrant family shaped by entrepreneurship and hands-on work, creativity was always part of daily life, influenced by a mother working in beauty and a stepfather restoring and rebuilding homes.
A lifelong maker and self-described creative outsider, Ed has always been drawn to creating as a way of expressing ideas, emotions, and atmosphere. Art, design, and experimentation became a natural way to stay curious, engaged, and connected to the world.
At Esotarium, Ed leads the creative direction of the studio, approaching floristry and event design as storytelling rather than decoration.
For Ed, creation is an act of reverence. The work is rooted in honoring art, beauty, and the quiet significance of meaningful moments, celebrating the people, ideas, and experiences that bring them to life.
Jacob Usry
Jacob grew up surrounded by strong women who shaped his lifelong love of thoughtful gift giving. Some of his earliest memories involve bringing flowers to family and friends simply as gestures of care, something that remains central to how he approaches his work today.
Before Esotarium, Jacob spent nearly twenty years working in his family’s paving company, founded by his grandfather in 1972. There, he developed a deep respect for craftsmanship, problem solving, and hands-on work.
Although not formally trained as a florist, Jacob has always been a maker at heart, constantly building, experimenting, and learning by doing. At Esotarium, he leads fabrication, installation, and structural design, helping transform creative ideas into physical reality.
For Jacob, creating with flowers is ultimately about connection. He simply loves making something beautiful for someone else.
Our Clients
We love working with people who are open to something personal, intentional, and a little different.
The weddings and events we design quickly become more than projects. The people we work with become part of our story, and we hope we become part of theirs too. Our couples often feel less like clients and more like collaborators, people trusting us to help shape meaningful moments in their lives.