We were lucky to catch up with Allie Kuppenbender recently and have shared our conversation below.
Allie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I love the flexibility of being my own boss and I genuinely love the work of farming and the creative outlet of floral design. But I’m also often working ridiculously long hours and running myself ragged to stay on top of the seemingly never ending work load during the growing season. It also doesn’t help that we live where I farm so its hard to turn the “work” side of my brain off when I’m supposed to be relaxing at home. And on the flip side, things grind to a halt on the farm in the Minnesota winters so it’s definitely a balancing act making sure you’ve made enough money to get through the winters when there isn’t a lot of cash flow. I’m constantly thinking about sustainability in terms of agricultural practices, but I’ve also began to broaden that definition of sustainability to include the question “is this a sustainable work load for one person mentally and physically?” I’ve definitely made changes over the years–turning down weddings that I don’t feel excited about, hiring people to help with field work and harvesting, focusing on big ticket wholesale clients vs one-off retail sales. All that being said, I genuinely do not think I could have a regular 9-5 office job. I like being outside too much and I do enjoy the cyclical nature of farming; the lull in the winter is what makes me so excited for spring every year! (Also maybe this was a cynical time to answer this question–all farmers get major burn out come July!)
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve always been drawn to nature and how the seasonal cycle here in Minnesota wholly transforms our landscape. These interests as well as a desire to be outside on a daily basis are what drove me to pursue farming. I graduated from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA with a dual major in Sustainable Agriculture and Studio Art–a seemingly random combination. However, my plan was to farm exclusively cut flowers and use the eye I cultivated with the art degree to arrange those flowers. I worked on multiple cut flower farms and the Seattle Wholesale Growers’ Market Coop in Washington state before the desire to be closer to home and family drove my partner and me to move back to Minnesota, purchase the land we are currently farming, and officially begin our journey with Bleed Heart Floral Farm and Design in 2019. Taking what I had learned in Washington state and tailoring it to an entirely new climate and the growing zone was challenging but worthwhile. We purchase our land in the fall of 2019 and 2020 was my first growing season as Bleed Heart Floral Farm & Design, a cut flower farm and floral design studio offering a weekly bouquet subscription throughout the Minnesota growing season (also know as a CSA or community supported agriculture), wedding and event design work, and wholesale cut flowers for florists.
Bleed Heart Floral is a committed to locally grown and seasonally available flora. Locally grown flowers are exceptionally important as over 80% of cut flowers sold in the US are imported. These imported flowers travel hundreds of miles in refrigerated compartments of airplanes and semi-trucks, often out of the water and having to sit for days in a chemical quarantine to ensure no foreign pests or diseases enter the United States as they cross borders. Not so for local flowers. By purchasing locally grown flowers, you can know exactly how and where your flowers were grown, what chemicals or lack thereof your flowers came into contact with, and be connected to the ephemeral seasonal cycle of your locale.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
2020 was obviously a weird year to start a business and not exactly ideal when you’re trying to market flowers for weddings and events. It was even more so challenging for me as I was pregnant with my first kiddo and thus juggling trying to sell flowers while staying as safe as possible. As was the case for many (all?) businesses, 2020 was the year of the pivot. Essentially all of the flowers cultivated for events and wholesale were instead sold via our inaugural CSA. Many will be familiar with CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) as it pertains to vegetable farms–customers pay farms upfront for weekly boxes brimming with locally grown produce during the growing season. A bouquet CSA is similar in that customers pay upfront for weekly bouquets of cut flowers. A CSA was not part of my first-year crop planning but worked out very well for us.
Our customers, stuck at home like all of us in 2020, reveled in flowers that brightened their homes and brought structure to their weeks. So many people commented on how picking up their bouquets was something they looked forward to every week and that they loved watching the season change.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
QUALITY is key especially with a perishable product like cut flowers. Understanding when and how to harvest flowers and post-harvest handling such as investing in a walk-in cooler, using hydration/holding solutions, and thoroughly washing buckets after every use are all imperative to ensuring flowers have the longest vase life when they reach your table. This shows! Retail customers and florists know they can count on my flowers to last.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: @bleedheartfloral
- Facebook: @bleedheartfloral
Image Credits
Twelve Ten Photography