Daily Inspiration: Meet Lori Sutton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Sutton.

Lori, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I do volunteer work full-time, helping people cope with life’s challenges by means of the practical advice found in the Bible. My small business supports my volunteer work. But before I started my business, 6 years ago, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. At first, he just had surgery and we thought it was the end of it. But a year later, he had excruciating back pain. After going to the ER and getting an MRI, the doctor found that his cancer had metastasized or spread to his bones.

He’s had 4 different kinds of chemo with over 30 rounds of chemo and has had radiation 5 times. After many treatments, we found out his cancer isn’t curable. Although it’s not curable, treatments have been keeping the tumors down. We had many very candid and realistic conversations about the future, and what I’d do to care for myself if my husband lost his battle with cancer one day.

Ever since I was a kid, I loved drying flowers and pressing them. During the pandemic, I started pressing flowers again and making gifts for friends and family. That’s when I thought about the future, if my husband wasn’t going to be around, maybe this could help support me. So I asked Frank, my husband, what he thought of me opening an online shop and selling my handmade bookmarks and jewelry. He was fully supportive of it, so in October 2021, I started off with an Etsy shop. One year later, in October of 2022, I was able to launch my own website, fleursettemps.com. This is where my shop, Fleurs Et Temps got its start. I make by hand all my products from pressed flower bookmarks to pressed flower jewelry.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been just some bumps along the way. My husband has still been going through chemo and just finished his chemo a few weeks ago.

Caring for him, and trying to learn and run a small business these past couple of years created a slow start at the beginning. Thankfully, since I’m my own boss, I can make my own schedule and choose which days I work. The flexibility has helped with how busy life can be.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Throughout school, and after school, I’ve always loved art, so incorporating my love of art with my love of flowers, I create pressed flower art pieces, bookmarks, and jewelry.

Each piece is handmade by me using real pressed flowers. I currently have 17 flower presses and try to keep them full of flowers all the time. It can take anywhere from 2-5 weeks to press flowers, depending on the kind of flower. I also do custom work by pressing flowers for others to preserve their special memories in art and jewelry pieces.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love all the diversity and all the different kinds of food that are right here. I also love being near nature. From the many different mountain areas to visit my very favorite right in the city, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a walk in nature right here in the middle of town. The sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking. I love the people around me here in Denver.

What I like least about the city is the bad traffic. I was born in northern CO, and have seen a lot of changes. But traffic has gotten very thick. It’s really just a minor thing though, compared to the beautiful things about Denver.

Contact Info:

• Website: fleursettemps.com
• Instagram: @fleursettemps