We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christine Clements. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christine below.

Christine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a customer success story with us?

Each and every client of mine makes me smile! Getting to preserve special blooms for them, whether it be from a wedding, a memorial, or another event, is such a privilege. But there are definitely certain clients that stand out.

By early 2023, I had been preserving flowers in resin and shadow boxes for about 2 1/2 years. I had practiced pressing them time and time again but I never offer a service to my clients without making sure it’s to my standards first. Then I got a message. This client said she wanted to have a frame done for her grandmother, who was in her 90s. She explained that what she really wanted was a pressed frame with the birth flowers of all of her grandmother’s children and grandchildren. I felt confident enough that I told her I could absolutely do that. It felt like such a special gift and I wanted to do that for her. I searched high and low for all the flowers, getting as many as I could straight from nature. I pressed them and mounted them in a beautiful floating frame.

A few days after dropping off her completed project, I got a message from my client. She sent me a picture of a message her grandmother had sent her saying that she had looked at the frame all night and loved what a beautiful bouquet her family made. My heart soared.

I’m not in business to make money. I do what I love and that, in turn, gives people beautiful long-lasting memorials. To see their face light up when they see their flowers again and see it turned into something that will last their lifetime is such a joy.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Christine and I am the creative behind Midnight Dahlia Studio. I primarily do floral preservation, which is drying and preserving flowers from any life event, but I mostly work with bridal bouquets. I have a process which dries and keeps them bright and colorful. They are then put in whatever setting my clients choose, and I have a large variety!

I have been working with resin for over 3 years and that is where I started my business. I began, as many do, playing with making small jewelry pieces. I eventually expanded to include large resin pieces with preserved flowers and then added shadow boxes and floating frames, along with a large variety of jewelry, decor, and accessories. I have now been doing floral preservation since 2020. I really can attribute the majority of my success to my clients. They trust me with their precious blooms and allow me to guide them to the best result with their specific flowers.

I believe there are a few things that set me apart from others in my industry, but first and foremost, I’ve been a professional florist for over 10 years. I started working in a grocery store floral department and eventually grew enough to feel confident working with professionals at a local shop. I now work part-time for a good friend who opened her own flower shop in 2019. Because of my history with flowers and my love of diving deep into studying what I’m passionate about, I have an extensive knowledge of the care of flowers, extending their longevity, and bouquet design. Whether I’m in the flower shop making fresh arrangements, or in my home studio recreating a bouquet with dried blooms, I am using my experience in design and every other aspect of the industry each day.

The main thing that I try to convey to my current and future clients is that I love what I do. I enjoy serving people and I love taking something that people only expect to see for a week at best and making it last a lifetime. I study and research regularly to better myself and my products. I love helping guide my clients through the process and seeing their eyes light up when they see the finished products!

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started very small. I mean very. If I had a little extra after bills one week, I might have bought some jewelry supplies. Then I’d sell a few necklaces, and make a little and buy some resin. About 3 months in, I took the plunge and rented a 6’x6′ booth at a local vendor mall and I am now moving into a 10’x10′ space! It takes time and patience. I added little by little by little until now, I am finally to a point that I am financially stable in my business. I can’t have employees (beyond my unpaid family members who I owe so much to!), but I’ll get there. I don’t have a brick-and-mortar, but I’ll get there.

I want to share that you can start that way to encourage others. You don’t have to have a loan or a line of credit to start. You don’t have to have massive amounts of products. I’m sure it would have made me grow faster those first couple of years, but I learned a lot going the slow road that I am so thankful for. The main lesson was that you can’t compare yourself to others. I still look at others on social media, see big preservation companies with a brick-and-mortar, and wish I was there. But I tell myself I am running my own race and there are people where I was three years ago looking at me wishing they had what I have. With the growth I’ve had since 2020, I can’t imagine how I’ll look back at where I’m at now when I’m three more years down the road. Everyone has their own obstacles and victories and we have to celebrate each other regardless of where we are at!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

That’s an easy one! I had to unlearn comparing myself to others. I started Midnight Dahlia Studio because I love doing it. I love preserving flowers and making beautiful pieces for others. But quickly after I started, as I was trying to research and see what everyone else was doing so I could work my way up to what I thought was what everyone wanted, I got very discouraged. I didn’t have the capital for a $200 silicone mold. I thought I would never make it because I wasn’t even close to what the people I saw were doing. But I persevered and just did what I could. If someone wanted a shaped resin piece I didn’t have the mold for, I took their payment and bought a mold, not making a cent, but expanding my business. Now I have my goals I’ve set for myself based solely on what I want to see out my business. I don’t look at others and think “I wish I could do that” and be tough on myself. I think “I am going to do that” and make a plan to get there.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://midnightdahliastudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midnightdahliastudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MidnightDahliaStudio

Image Credits
Personal photo was taken by Kindful Co Photography Products photos were taken by me