Welcome to our Broom Shop

Locally based between Des Moines and Indianola, Iowa, Franklin Broom Works takes the traditional methods of the early americas and creates fine hand made brooms. Each broom is slightly unique and lovingly crafted to give you a functional peice of beautiful home decor. We use traditional antique equipment in our operation, saved and restrored from all over the U.S. From house brooms down to tiny cake testers, we do it all. Our story really begins with owner, Shannon Bardole. It probably won’t surprise you that she grew up in a small farming community of Ogden, Iowa. But from there she went on to Study at the University of Northern Iowa and majored in Family Services. Shannon, having a passion for history and traditional ways of an earlier america; studied and trained in these arts by working at Living History Farms. She held the positions of Broom Shop Supervisor, and 1900 Farm Domestic Supervisor from 2001 to 2008. It was there that she fell in love with broom and soap making. And it was also there that she gained the friendship of many a woodsmith and blacksmith to bring all the pieces together to restore our beautiful equipment as it is today. In recent years she has become involved with the Ames Hystorical society and furthers her love for old world america.