Rising Stars: Meet Mandy & Willie of Irie by Nature Blooms

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mandy & Willie.

Hi Mandy & Willie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Mandy’s origins of growing started with her Grandma and Grandpa Brounacker and their beautiful lakeside garden in Northern Wisconsin. She has such fond core memories of running through the garden picking raspberries and peas, smelling the flowers, chasing birds.. and it set the stage for a lifetime of growth. Throughout her life journey, she had struggled to find a way to express herself until she found the art of floral design.

She found her passion for flowers in one of her darkest times in life and since that moment has had an overwhelming feeling to share the brightness and beauty that each bloom brings, with other people. Since the creation of Irie by Nature Blooms, she has learned all of the unwritten pieces of floral design and has only fallen more in love with the art and service.

Willie’s origins of growth also began in Northern Wisconsin but would be intertwined with his soul from his family down in Virginia. His Uncle Pat’s property was where he truly fell in love with all things growth. Pat is a Rosarian and a teacher of all things hard work. His son, Robert, was integral in the process of Willie learning what it was to grow a garden, harvest that garden, and sell that crop. He’ll never forget riding in the truck with his cousin Robert, delivering farm-fresh groceries to people.

His cousin Ryan whose love of growing and openness to spirituality also had a profound effect on Willie. He also learned much from his Momma, Sharon, and Ambrosia Organics. He learned much of what he knows in terms of small business and again hard work from another Pat, who was also a major father figure in his life growing up. But none of this started to connect until his early 20s. After a devastating couple of years filled with pain and loss, growth in every way was the only option.

We started with a seed that eventually became our first daughter, Marlie. We were living in Milwaukee at the time and were more or less looking for answers. After two moves to Arizona and then again back to Wisconsin, growth was needed. We packed up and headed out to Colorful Colorado in a TENT, a month later moved to a camper trailer, and then with a couple strokes of luck, moved into our current home in 2015.

That year we started to plot out our first gardens and by the next summer built our first raised bed garden. Very quickly we realized that there wasn’t going to be enough space, so we started terracing larger gardens that have now culminated into a half-acre terraced micro-farm with a large greenhouse, multiple hoop houses, and several outdoor beds.

After years of growing and sharing flowers with neighbors and friends, we decided it was time to grow into a business. We started working out of our house in March and used as many of our fresh homegrown blooms as possible. Again very quickly though we realized that we needed something more to help us in our growth and found our beautiful shop in Kings Valley Marketplace in Conifer, CO.

For the past month and a half, we have had so much fun serving our community and providing blooms for all occasions! Our first sale five weeks ago was a single flower stem, and this past weekend we were able to decorate the stage at Asterisk in Denver for a wonderful concert! We couldn’t be happier with the growth taking place!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to here today has not been easy, but it has been WORTH IT!

With three little girls, in uncharted territory and no familial help, we struggled mentally, emotionally, and financially, debating to give up more than once, or twice, or thr..you get it.. haha. But as Mother Nature has shown us many times- parenthood doesn’t come with a babysitter, and growth and perseverance are the only options!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are a full-service floral design company that specializes in weddings, events, and custom arrangements. We also offer bouquet delivery to our local community, host floral workshops, and have a micro-flower farm, where we grow many of our premium blooms.

We are most proud of the fact that we grow many of our blooms at altitude! From seed to ceremony and from dirt to design, we pour all of our love, tears, energy, and passion into growing and sharing these flowers.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
If you are ever driving along the hwy 285 corridor, please stop in! Hugs, smiles, & great conversations are ALWAYS free.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.iriebynatureblooms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iriebynatureblooms/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091545671775