my story

BLOSSOMING 

I discovered sola wood flowers in the depths of the first pandemic winter as I was seeking to find new ways to increase beauty and joy in my life. The intricate flowers in all their astounding shapes, sizes, textures and colors fascinated me and made me happy, and I felt that everybody should be able to have some of that happiness in their lives. After making a grand total of three arrangements, I decided to start Flower & Soul.

My husband, Tom, said, “You’re doing WHAT?!”  He wasn’t wrong to worry. As a full time middle school Spanish teacher in my “real life,” I knew very little about business. Sales tax? EIN? POS? Liability insurance? DBA? SEO? It turns out that business ownership is 75% sweat equity and 25% acronym juggling. I’m fortunate to really love learning new things, as well as to have a deep core belief that I can do anything I put my mind to. Along the way, I connected with several Vermont non-profits that specialize in helping budding business owners and women entrepreneurs. I slowly began to put together all the pieces. We transplanted the sprawling flower garden growing in my dining room to a new basement workshop. 

I loved my new title of “business owner” even if it made me feel both confident and terrified at the same time. Yet that wasn’t the only new moniker I would have to get used to. Soon, people started calling me an… artist. Now, I have been called much worse, but this one really took some time to wrap my head around.