We recently connected with Tammy Chinn and have shared our conversation below.

Tammy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?

I was getting ice cream at Penny Ice Creamery and a woman stopped me to ask if I was the owner of the car with the Decolores logo. When I nervously answered Yes she just gushed about the flowers she’d received months before and how they’d come at a time she needed them. It’s a small thing but she could’ve wasted the compliment in her head.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always had a garden and I used to teach organic gardening at the Student Farm at UC Davis. I ran the seed saving project and started the kid’s garden where schools would come out for field trips and basically learn that French fries were potatoes, where your food comes from, the importance of plant diversity and how saving and planting seeds is something we all can do to help the world. That was one of my iterations. Then around 2016 I had a great crop of sweet peas and I wondered if people would buy them so I put them out in front of my house in Larkin Valley. Honor system with literally a La Morena bean can for the money. People bought them and left the correct change. I posted a picture on craigslist and someone asked if I’d do their wedding. And then asked if they could leave a Yelp review so I had to come up with a name and a Yelp account.
I began with flowers I’d grown then started buying flowers — we have so many amazing flower farmers in our area–and it’s been great. I think my favorite parts are hearing the story of why people are ordering flowers and the workshops. It’s about hearing someone say they don’t know how to do something, see their stress and their eventual smile when they’ve made their finished product. It’s a great way to build community

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

That you have to be stressed whenever you have a project. So another moment in my life I’d started a catering business (small– it was for families who had newborns and my service came in as a gift that was purchased for them) and my boyfriend at the time saw me banging pots around and he said If I was going to cook every day like that it would wreck the food and him. And I realized that the way my house was as a kid had that energy. So meals, parties, projects– anything that was for public scrutiny was always met with stress. Like you couldn’t just do what you do there had to be anxiety and stress around it.
So yes, of course I sometimes have worry about whatever I’m creating but it’s not a necessary or even wanted part of the process. Because no one wants worry work.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Haha so another iteration of me is that I’ve been a fitness instructor for mannnnny years. I started back in the days of leg warmers- 1982 (?) and it was how I paid my rent all through college. I taught everything that became popular and was able to pay my rent living in Italy for a few years teaching as well. So there’s a tenet of yoga ( yes, I teach that too- well, do you teach yoga? It’s more like you share whatever you learned) that’s all about how you’re not your job, you’re not your car, etc. Your just not all the things. I was working as a personal trainer, teaching P.E. at UCSC and was in a massive car accident. Smashed up my hip socket. So I couldn’t do all those things and went from squatting my personal best on the smith rack to being bed ridden/no weight bearing activity for months. A walker. Relearn how to walk and improve my gait etc. You are definitely not your job, right? I’d already wanted to leave the gym because I was tired of all the fitness as opposed to wellness. I had time to think about what wellness really means for sure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://DecoloresFlores.com
• Instagram: decolores_flores
• Yelp: Decolores Flores