Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sophie Wettstein. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sophie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Absolutely! The flower industry is shockingly toxic, wasteful and harmful. Most of the flowers sold in the U.S. are imported from other countries with no regulations on chemicals used. The flowers are grown in factory greenhouses in chemical mixtures instead of in the soil. Some flowers like roses are dipped into chemicals. Then the flowers are shipped to Miami airport and fumigated with chemicals. There is so much chemical waste and packaging waste created as a by product of shipped flowers. I wanted to offer an alternative to my community – local, chemical free flowers grown in harmony with nature.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started farming to learn how to grow my own food. I was very unhappy working in the corporate world and wanted a more fulfilling career and lifestyle. While I was farming I fell in love with growing flowers. I started learning about the flower industry and how toxic and harmful it is to our health and the environment. It goes against what a flower represents which is beauty, abundance and harmony in nature. I started my farm to grow local organic flowers for the community and to educate people on the importance of local flowers. While farming I found a lot of healing and fulfillment being in nature. I love opening my farm to the community with workshops and events where people can connect with the beauty of nature, feel alive and inspired. I host U-pick flower days, flower retreats, yoga, and flower art workshops on the farm. I also create natural, artistic, wildflower floral arrangements for Weddings and events. I love offering local and sustainable flowers with a more vibrant and natural look to Brides who value sustainability and the environment.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Farming requires constant resilience. Nature has its way and farming is a practice of letting go and allowing nature to flow freely. The best farmers work with nature and not against it. My second season I decide to go completely pesticide free – including organic pesticides. Some of my crop was ravished by caterpillars. I wanted to use an organic caterpillar pesticide so badly, I almost gave up and sprayed many times. But I knew that if I sprayed the caterpillars I would end up harming the beneficial insects like butterflies, bees and ladybugs. One day when I was feeling particularly defeated by the caterpillars, I noticed tons of life around the Amaranth bed. I looked closer and there were wasps and birds eating the caterpillars. Within a few days the caterpillars were almost gone and the wasps and bees were happy and fed. I realized that nature will always balance itself if I am willing to let go on my self interest and allow. I’ve learned to never give up or give in. To keep trying and keep allowing the flow of nature. Somehow it always works out more beautifully than I could have imagined.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I believe I have instagram to thank for the farms success! I have always loved taking and sharing beautiful photos. The farms instagram is a collection of bright beautiful colors, nature, flowers, life. It brings me so much joy to share photos of the farm and connect with likeminded people on instagram. Every day I take photos of any beautiful moment I see. Then every morning I choose from my huge collection of photos on my phone and share a few of the pictures. Because I’m always taking photos I have so much content to choose from and it takes the effort out of posting. I believe instagram posts should be entertaining, educational or engaging to really connect with your audience. I try to keep the posts beautiful, positive and inspiring.

Contact Info:

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

Image Credits
Jessica with Everence Photography