As I make plans to move forward into the next decade. I felt I should return to this place, the place that brought my company so much joy, growth and recognition. The Full Bouquet was where I documented all things in my life. Not only the beautiful work we were producing, but the happenings in my personal life, and also my thoughts and philosophies on running a business, being a mom, and just plain growing in all aspects of life, not just in the field.

For those that have followed me for many years, this was the home base and the heart of Holly Chapple Flowers. This space encouraged many people to become floral designers, growers, Chapel Designers, business owners, and ultimately dear friends. At the time I faithfully wrote here and for those people, this is where it all began. Years later, it is my job to travel around the world and carry the message I used to share here. I started the blog when I was pregnant with my seventh child. Yes, you read that right. I would faithfully record the daily happenings in this space and I benefited from being one of the first floral designers who practiced the art of social media. At the time, my oldest was roughly twenty-one, my girls Abby and Hannah were fifteen & fourteen, Riley was eleven, Elijah was three, Sam was two years old and Grace was on her way. In spite of a very large family, I blogged faithfully. You can search “Family” posts if you would like to see just how real it was.

When I look back on the last ten years, I am shocked by how quickly the years passed and by how much has happened. We used to produce roughly 170 weddings a year. This all went down while the children orbited around us. At the time floral designers had very few opportunities. Hosting workshops, creating communities, and traveling around the world to teach, were all things none of us dared to dream of. I can safely say what would become of our company started here and grew organically. Over the last ten years, things just happened, like one step lead us to the next. I’d like to say I had a big huge plan or a map for our future but that was not the case. Things sort of happened like this, people found me here, asked me questions and wanted to become a part of the happenings in our world. Because of this, we decided to gather. Hence the HHC company tag line “Gathered and Styled” We gathered in NYC, we gathered here at our house, literally producing workshops right here in my home. As we grew we knew we needed a place to support the growing demand for education from our company. In 2015 we purchased Hope Flower Farm and within three weeks we produced our first workshop at the farm. At Hope, we have dared to dream big, producing such events like Flowerstock which was featured in Country Living Magazine and the Flower and Fauna Fashion Show which supported youth battling cancer. Our farm generically became the place where I would nourish those designers that were reaching out to our studio. As a result of the relationships I was building on an international level, I would travel to Russia, Australia, China, England, Scotland, Ireland, Mexico, Ecuador, Canada, Belgium, and even France. As I look back over the last ten years I am mesmerized and thrilled with all that has happened. Not knowing where I was headed really worked out for me. This is encouraging as I sit here trying to write some big proclamation for our future and the next ten years. Funny thing is, the social media that brought me so much joy and opportunity also brought me some anxiety this week. The posts on social media are indicating that we should be setting big goals and plans or know our path after all this isn’t just a new year but an entirely new decade, sigh and feel the pressure. Heres the thing, I feel certain that if I dare to guess, I will be selling our family and company short. Just imagine where we might head in the next ten years. I would have never dared to dream the amazing things that happened to us like owning a farm, where we planted thousands of peonies, host workshops, and operate a legit bed and breakfast. Today I have my own product line with Syndicate Sales and I am helping to cause a small ripple of change in the profession of floristry. The Chapel Designers will be celebrating 10 mighty years of working together and I am now the matriarch of our family. The once young mother who filled these pages with stories of babies and blooms is now a grandmother. While I would love to boast that I know where I am headed over the next ten years, I simply can’t. What I can promise is I am staying in the game and going to continue to do the best that I can by my family, my team, fellow designers and my profession. I am going to have faith in the next ten years, and I am willing to do the work it takes to make each one of those years great. Willingness is key. Happy 2020 folks!! Photo credit Ten23 photography.