We were lucky to catch up with Heather TenHarmsel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Heather , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I worked in the medical field and we had to wear scrubs daily. At that time, the only “fun” clothing/ accessory item we could wear were our socks. I decided to start making earrings for friends, family and co-workers. This added a little jazz to our scrub outfits. I have always been creative and was continuously coming up with new ideas and designs. This added cheerfulness for our patients and ourselves! After about a year of this, I started to wholesale my earrings to other businesses and ended up in about 30 stores in Michigan. I then decided to leave the medical field to pursue The Poppy Peach. We opened our own brick and mortar (expanded into clothing, home decor, other accessories (as well as the earrings, of course) and gift items) and I still have my wholesale side of the business as well.

Heather , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

(I did this on the previous question, so I will add to it)

I think of this “job” as fun! I love being crafty so it gives me an outlet to use that part of my brain. I did have to train myself to be disciplined with the marketing, human resources and accounting side of the business. I have to set strict time apart to ensure I am focusing on those important aspects of the business. I think what sets us apart from others is our quality, being handmade. Our earrings are also hand painted and sealed. They are lightweight and the earring posts are stainless steel which is good for sensitive skin. As for our brick and mortar, which as stated, carries much more then just our earrings: we have a ton of funny and sassy gift items/ decor. We started turning to have humor in the boutique during COVID. It was a depressing time and if we could make someone laugh, that’s a job well done! We have continued that to this day. We also have something for everyone in the store. This is from items to the range of the price point.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

We opened our brick and mortar right before COVID (literally, a few months before). We were considered non-essential during this time. I decided to get creative and made home decor (beyond our earrings) and did a lot of custom work. This helped keep us afloat and grow a new clientele.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

My wholesale side business grew the funds for my brick and mortar. There is risk in any business and you won’t ever know if something will workout unless you try!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thepoppypeach.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepoppypeach/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePoppyPeachLLC/
• Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=the+poppy+peach+google&oq=the+poppy+peach+google&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60.3551j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Image Credits
Elisabeth Marie Photography (for the personal photo of myself)