We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Hainer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.

Stephanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have always been into arts and crafts for a lack of better term. I’d wake up early on weekend mornings and craft while watching cartoons before everyone woke up. In high school I packed as many art classes as I could into my schedule. In college I was taking a range of art classes to help pinpoint how I could incorporate art into making a living, but it never really seemed attainable. The norm was to have a 4 year career followed by a desk job with benefits. Year 2 of my college journey, my mom passed away after a long fight with cancer. I had totally lost myself during this time. I came home from college to manage life, and ended up getting into real estate. This was a great stepping stone that helped me learn essential business and marketing skills. This path fizzled out as I learned I didn’t enjoy white collar business. I didn’t enjoy dressing up, socializing at events, small talk, appointments. I was still grieving from the loss of my mom and having no direction. I also took on a large portion of care taking for assorted family members, which filled some voids, but also lead me further into a state of confusion on what made me happy, or if I even was happy. Covid eventually hit, and lead to my dear grandmother’s death, followed by a breakup, and, like everyone else, total isolation. I was finally cosmically forced to focus on myself. I got back into crafting of all sorts, but the one that created the most traction on my social media posts was my Trader Joe’s floral arrangements. I also happened to love the medium I got to work with! I would go gather a few bundles of flowers and put things together and gift them to friends and family. I posted everything I made, and they really sparked interest. I was blessed this was a Covid friendly career path, contactless, people sharing joy, and my ability to get product. People started ordering from me and I kept creating. Always something different. I grew through a lot of design phases, and continue to expand my skillset, which has been accelerated thanks to the internet and all the content there is shared out there.

Stephanie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hay! My name is Stephanie Hainer, and I am the founder and owner of my floral company called Blooms – All Things Flowers. I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, though I have a desire for dual residency someday to enjoy year round locally grown, fresh blooms!

I got into this business after a long journey of finding myself and figuring out what brought me joy. After the death of the two women closest to me, my Mom followed by my Grandmother, our global pandemic forced me into finally focusing on just myself and what would make me happy. Years of emotional confusion, poor life choices, and a lot of hope and grace for myself, eventually lead me back to what me as a child would find joy in, and that is creating. I grew up with an addiction to arts and crafts. It was a daily activity for me, which further found its way into my school schedules. I have a desire to create using all sorts of mediums, from water color, to clay, to garden flowers, and beyond. Which has played a very large and fun roll in my business growth. I have a passion to making things come to life. I love a creative challenge, from a champagne wall to a 120 foot lush green stairway garland showcased at my largest wedding located at the grand Rapids Art Museum. I love to say yes and figure it out after. If you have a vision, I have a passion to make it happen!

My Mom and Grandmother were also big time gardeners. They both had immaculate gardens, and my Grandma grew the BEST cut flowers. It was magic. We grew up cutting arrangements and bringing them home to enjoy. Home videos of me teaching the camera how to do so are added giggles to the irony of where I am today. I truly feel the passion was passed down from the both of them, if not, maybe it was just my way to be close to them again. While the base of my business starts with fresh cut flower arrangements, my personal passions have lead me to potted planters, small gardenscape, and truly, All Things Flowers.

The core value of my business and my brand is making sure I have happy clients. I love when my clients recognize and appreciate the personal touch I add, the extensive customization I offer, the attention to details, and my ability and desire to go above and beyond. I love trying new things, and meeting new people now that I have found my passion and I truly have happiness within myself. It’s been a blessing to begin this journey of my career, but also the joy I create for myself, and others, along the way.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think this world needs more art. More nature. More time outside. More color. Less technology, less stimulation. I think the art and beauty of gifting this sentiment in one beautiful floral arrangement is magic I am honored to create.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I am continuously learning to not give a crap about others opinions. I think life lessons are a value I enjoy processing through my business and skillset. I think it is important to never stop growing, emotionally, personally, & career wise. It’s hard to not care what others think, and this is something I think I will work on every day for the end of my time. Putting out my art on a daily basis is not just posting a photo. It’s posting immense vulnerability with each piece- my heart & soul are put into every single one. I take public risks with new designs or color combinations. It is very emotionally draining to worry about what everyone is going to think about my next piece or post. So, daily, I work on remembering art is subjective, there’s someone out there for my artwork, and I am blessed for the big supportive network of Blooms Babes that do enjoy my work. Despite how many likes, shares, or orders I get, worrying about the opinions of others is something that I have continued to work on unlearning, and will continue to uncover the reasonings behind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.allthingsflowers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blooms_allthingsflowers
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bloomsbysmhhomes

Image Credits

Bethany Joy with Joy Photo