We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katrin Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Katrin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

I have been fortunate enough to have had very wonderful parents. My mom has an artistic mentality and romanticized every aspect of our lives. My childhood was filled with breakfasts that were slow and beautiful, the gardens we frolicked in were magical because of her attention to them, and she filled out lives with music and art. My dad was an adventurer. I’m lucky that he had me as an “older dad” in his 50’s because he was able to live at least ten lives before me. He filled my imagination with stories of his travels around the world. He was an entrepreneur and took risks with his life and business. He always tells me that in the game of business, you win and lose. The goal is to just win more than you lose and that has stuck with me. So I take the risks and I put myself out there. When I was in school, I would tell my parents all the things I was interested in and never once did they say no. My dad would just say whatever you do, strive to be the best, and you’ll always be successful. As a farmer-florist, I’ve truly embraced both of my parents’ strengths and identities. Not only do I surround myself in art everyday when I’m arranging flowers for events and weddings, but I also run a business where I get to create the life I want to. As a new parent myself, I have come to recognize just what my parents did right. I just hope that I am able to inspire my daughter the way my parents did for me.

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?

As a farmer-florist, I run two businesses simultaneously. I am a cut flower farmer. My husband and I grow organically on 2 acres in Maine. As farmers, we do it all. We start the seeds in our home and transplant the young seedlings into the fields that we’ve prepared with organic compost and manure from our chickens and ducks. We then tend to those plants all season long by weeding, watering, and fertilizing them. We pay attention to the flowers and when they’re at their prime stage of life, we harvest them and store the cut flowers in our cooler to get them ready for processing. We then sell the stems at various outlets. Bluuma Flowers attends farmers markets, pop- up events, sell grab ‘n’ go bouquets at various local businesses and offer our floral design services for weddings and events. My husband’s role is to manage the field operations and mine is to sell, market, and design with our flowers.

That’s where the florist part of our business comes in. I design all of our bouquets, arrangements, statement pieces, arbors, corsages, and more! My philosophy when it comes to designing the arrangements is quite simple. Flowers are absolutely gorgeous, mother nature blessed us with flowers in order to see the beauty in the world first hand. I want to create designs that honor that. No distractions, all flowers. I rely on color and movement in my designs. I do not use floral foam and instead choose to use more environmentally safe chicken wire and natural moss. When I design, I like to replicate the fields. I like to create wispy and whimsical elements that move. Various heights, lengths, and textures. The biggest thing? It’s ALWAYS 100% local.

Our customers and clients believe in what we do. They believe in the local flower movement and they allow us to create something magical. Folks trust us to use the best of what’s blooming to keep it fresh, fun, and vibrant. They enjoy my light design work and colorful palettes and feel good knowing that they are contributing to the health of our planet.

We also believe in transparency. I mean if we’re willing to show everyone the entire process that it takes to grow, tend, and design with our flowers, we want to also be transparent with our pricing. We offer a la carte options for weddings and events as well as bulk buckets for people to create their own floral programs. This allows our customers to build their own program based off their budget. There are no additional surprises, and the best part is that they get to visit the farm when they pick up their orders. It’s truly a full circle and immersive experience for our customers and clients. There’s so much beauty to what we do and we want to share it with visitors and neighbors alike.

I’m so proud of our business. We showcase our morals and responsibilities to the planet in a creative and artistic way. It combines the best of everything! It’s hard work but when you can open yourself up to people, they invest in the vision and dream.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I had to sit down and create my ideal customer. Who is that? Well, for me, I want someone that makes mindful purchases. We want someone to purchase our flowers and floral services because they’ve researched us and what we stand for. We want a person who understands the importance of farming and sustainability in the florist industry. Someone that cares about the planet and our impacts through our purchases. We want someone that cares less about a specific look or design and that likes the “vibes” of all of our pieces. I also understand that what I sell is a luxury product. People don’t NEED flowers. However, people that purchase our flowers believe that flowers are necessary for a happy self. They believe in the power of a flower’s beauty and what it can do for our mental health and happiness.

Once we established that, we marketed towards that person. I’m okay with not being for everyone. If someone wants specific flowers, I recommend a local florist that sources from all over. If someone doesn’t like my pricing, I don’t lower it to get them as a client or customer. I simply state that this is a pricing system based on the costs it takes to grow the flowers and stay in business to support my family. By staying true to who I am, what my business is, and knowing my worth. I’ve had a natural growth in my ideal customer.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Even just the farmer aspect of my business has had extreme obstacles that we’ve overcome. When mother nature is your boss, she knows how to keep you humble. Last fall we had installed our first ever hoop-house. A hoop-house is essentially a greenhouse structure at its core. No frills or heat. Simply a steel frame and plastic overhang. My husband and I built the entire structure, filled it with seedlings to overwinter in the tunnel in September, and we’re all excited for our new growth and elevation in our business. Well, three months later, we had a wind storm that destroyed our plastic and all the precious seedlings we had in the ground. It devastated us. We were faced with a $5,000 loss AND our potential spring profits. We had to pivot and take our losses. It was hard, but we pivoted and refocused on areas that we could control and adjust our plan for the spring. It was a really low time in our business and I’m so glad we stuck it out because we have had some really good highs since then. Just this week I was featured in the Portland Museum of Art for my flowers. It’s worth it to stick it out. Just adjust, accept, and move on.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bluumaflowers.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bluumaflowers
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bluumaflowers