Profile | Kelly of Fleur Inc. | Part Two

Here is Part Two of Kelly from Fleur, a floral boutique in Logan Square Chicago. If you missed Part One make sure to go check it out! While I was there, Kelly selected, prepped, and put together an amazing bridal bouquet. Her style has an easy going feel with a touch of whimsey and love of vintage detail. I couldn't stop gushing over her bloom selection and final bouquet. ( Kelly, I toned it down a bit while there but made an immediate phone call to my hubby trying to convey what I was bringing home!) Take a look for yourself!

Here is more from Kelly!

Who, if anyone, encouraged you to pursue your dream?

My parents have always been the foundation for allowing me to believe in myself. They've encouraged me in every endeavor I have tried, even if they didn't think it was the best path. They knew the value from the experience that would be gained.

Was there a moment when you knew you were going to begin your own small business? Tell us about it.

Honestly? No! It was never anything planned, and it truly "just happened." The decision was made and a few months later Fleur's doors opened. I was 22 and it was an incredibly scary, exciting and amazing time. I would absolutely do everything differently now, had I known what I was in for! :) The progression of the shop and our weddings/parties is a testament to a lot of heart, hard work, incredible staff, and amazing friends and family. For that I am infinitely thankful.

Besides lovely florals, botanics and your wonderful shop... what does your heart ache for?

I daydream about the bed & breakfast that I hope to one day open. I'd love to own a barn that can be rented for weddings, where the bridal party can stay at the inn. If they'd like, I can arrange the flowers! And it would be even more perfect if this were in Kentucky! And I also love, love, love, vintage china (Edwin Knowles makes my heart swoon!), the beach and sun bathing, my cats and a large bowl of ice cream with blueberries on top!

Anything else you'd like to tell us?

Well first I really want to thank you for taking the time to meet and take some photos! And I would like to thank my family, friends and customers for eight years of continual support and love. It truly is so much fun and dedicated hard work running Fleur! We love showcasing amazing blooms, offering local, hand made jewelry, handmade soaps and letterpress cards and we now feature vintage pottery, vases, tablecloths and other little treats. And if you want to learn a little more about design, you can sign up for classes at www.darlingfleur.com for our Flower Academy (paired with Natalie from Hello Darling!).

Because I am a cat lover as well, you have to see the shop kitty.... she roams the shop and hides in the nooks and cranny's... ah.. the life...

Fleur is located on 3149 W. Logan Blvd, Chicago and has a wonderful blog of their own! Click here to check out their portfolio.  You can also find them on Twitter here!

Know someone that would be interested in our Profile series? Let us know via twitter or leave us a comment!

Profile | Kelly of Fleur Inc. | Part One

For today's profile we head to Logan Square to meet Kelly of Fleur Inc. Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2! Kelly is wonderful. You know I have an obsession with all things natural, green, and blooming and well, her boutique has all of that and more! Needless to say Kelly and I had lots and lots to chat about. We enjoyed a delicious brunch, shared our journeys, and compared favorite Midwest getaways. We are both in the wedding industry and eager to hear and learn from one another. Kelly has been working her magic for eight years in her Logan Square boutique. It is ridiculously adorable and filled to the brim with accessories, vintage details, and blooms available by the stem.

We not only talked of work and exchanged accountant's numbers, but shared about the ups and downs of what we do. I watched her select and put together a B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. bridal bouquet that she gave to me!! And yes I squealed with delight when she handed it over. ( you'll be seeing all of that tomorrow!) Needless to say, I hope we get to work many wonderful weddings together as well as share a few good glasses of wine.

Meet Kelly.

Who are you? What do you do? How long have you been doing this?

Hi! My name is Kelly Marie Uss and I own Fleur, a floral and special event boutique. The storefront has been open for eight years, although I've worked with flowers for the past 12 years. It actually feels incredibly weird to admit to that amount of time, because it doesn't seem as if has actually been that long!

Walk us through one of your typical work days. Your 9a.m.-5p.m.

Early weekday mornings are incredibly pleasant and possibly my favorite time of the day. Around 8:30am I arrive at the flower market to select blooms and blossoms for the storefront. I've noticed that I unconsciously work in color palettes each week. Some days I am feeling blush and sage, other days are ruby and lavender, and there is always so much inspiration flowing at this time of day because the selection sometimes feels endless. These flowers are available for our walk-in guests and delivery orders. I arrive to the shop around 9:30am where staff and I process all the blooms, de-thorning roses, plumping peonies and cleaning extra foliage around wildflower stems. From there the day is really a peppering of all things at once!

My "to-do" list includes ordering handmade soaps and cards, inventory, emailing and updating proposals, assisting walk-in customers, clerical work, designing centerpieces and more. Somedays I am on the computer for 8 hours without stopping. Fridays are even more busy because we work on the wedding flowers for that weekend. The phone is always ringing, the emails are always coming through and we're always creating! Weekends are filled with the last details of a wedding.., the final boutonniere, wrapping the bridal bouquet and packing up all the centerpieces for delivery. Then I'm off to arrange the wedding on site. It is a very long day, but the end result is always very worth it.

What is the thing you enjoy most about your job?

There truly are so many wonderful things! Flowers still amaze me! I'm still touched by the delicacy of a peony in bloom or the fragrance from lily of the valley. So many blooms have such short seasons that each and every day we see new varieties that continue to leave me in awe of their beauty. The intricacies of Queen Anne's lace, the frills of a garden rose, the layers of ranunculus and the fragility of poppies. They're all amazing! And when we pass along this beauty to our storefront guests and brides & grooms, it is just pure delight!

Fleur is located on 3149 W. Logan Blvd, Chicago and has a wonderful blog of their own! Click here to check out their portfolio.  You can also find them on Twitter here!

Know someone that would be interested in our Profile series? Let us know via twitter or leave us a comment!

Stay tuned for more of Kelly from Fleur Inc. tomorrow!

Profile | Joan with Five Grain Events | Part 2

More on Joan with Five Grain Events! Missed Part 1? Click here to catch up! And yes , she's as friendly as she looks!!

What is the thing you enjoy most about your job?

I think the fact that when I'm doing a wedding, I get to be an integral part of one of the best days of that couple's life...and knowing that I helped them lose all concern about everything except having an incredible time.  It's a really cool feeling.

Who, if anyone, encouraged you to pursue your dream?

Well when I was considering leaving my full-time job, I thought about it a lot, but when I actually said it out loud I was surprised that my husband was on board!  Then I talked it over with my parents and my in-laws and they were all really supportive.  I think if I hadn't gotten such positive feedback from my family it would not have been such an easy decision.

Besides weddings, planning and events... what does your heart ache for?

Well, my degree from college is in vocal performance, so I LOVE singing.  I wouldn't say my heart aches for it, though, because I have lots of outlets for singing:  I sing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as the Wicker Park Choral Singers (and brides and grooms can hire me to sing at their weddings if they have me as a planner!).

If I had to pick an ache I guess it'd be travel.  I adore travel and wish I had more time to do it!

Anything else you'd love to tell us about??

Hmm...well I guess I'd just encourage all brides and grooms to look into getting a planner or day-of coordinator.  Of course it's my job, but I really believe that having someone acting as a stage manager for the day will be worth your investment and then some.  :)  Oh, and also that Jessie's awesome!

Joan and Maureen from Bon Moment and hosting a Tweet Up downtown Chicago July 15 for Wedding Industry peeps. Eric and I will be there and would love to meet, greet and be merry with you! The location is still TBD, but stay tuned via Simply Jessie Twitter or through Joan's Twitter. You can also find Five Grain Events on Facebook !

Know someone perfect for this series? Click here to let us know via twitter!!

Profile | Joan with Five Grain Events| Part 1

Today I bring you event planner Joan with Five Grain Events to continue on our Profile series.This blog series highlighting different business owners and entrepreneurs. Plus I think all my brides should get to know Joan a bit!! She is the founder of Five Grain Events and leads the way for fabulous Chicago events. She is way fun, laughs alot, does wonderful work and makes organization look easy. We met because of her pursuit of networking and connecting wedding vendors to one another. She found me! You can find more information on her website and blog as well as follow her on Facebook and Twitter as well! Her blog is packed with wedding vendor info! Meet Joan.

Who are you? What do you do?

Oooh, deep question!  Well, I'm Joan.  I personally believe that any event that's well-organized will be less stressful, more fun, and MUCH more fun!  That's why I do what I do--I help event hosts (whether it's a wedding, or other type of event) by taking on all the details and various responsibilities so that all they have to do on event day is enjoy themselves!

Describe your work.

Well, I work on all kinds of events:  corporate conferences, non-profit galas, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, anniversary parties and more!  I do mostly weddings, though, so I'll elaborate on those here.

In full plans I'm there from the very beginning.  After meeting with the couple I give advice to the bride and groom about the vendors who match their personalities and style the best.  I attend all the vendor meetings, negotiate contracts,  and help them stay on budget.  At the end of the process I run the rehearsal, create timelines for all the vendors and the bridal party, and basically just make sure the wedding day runs smoothly and ON TIME (which is a huge deal for me!).

For day-of coordination I come in a couple months in advance and get as much information as I can from the bride and groom--their event style, who their vendors are, timing of everything, etc.  I introduce myself to all their vendors ahead of time so that as the wedding day approaches they start contacting me instead of bothering the bride and groom.  Day of I do all the same things that I do for a full plan.

On non-event days I spend a lot of time meeting with new vendors:  I'm always expanding my network.  I also sit at the computer a lot blogging, emailing, twittering, and educating myself about the industry as much as possible.

Phew, and that's a very condensed version of my work :)

Was there a particular moment in time which you realized you could do this for a living?

I did some assistant wedding coordination and got very positive feedback, but when I completed my first wedding solo and it went so well, that's when I felt like I could do it as a living.  It took me about a year after that to actually give up my full-time job though.  It was really scary but SO rewarding!

Stay tuned for more Joan tomorrow!

Know someone perfect for this series? Click here to let us know via twitter!!

Profile: Steve Hendershot [ Part Two ]

Here is [ Part Two] on the fabulous Steve Hendershot! In case you missed [ Part One] from yesterday, click here. These photos were taken last year at Schubas during their live show recording of their album, Now that Its Burning. You can follow The Spares on Facebook and Twitter!

How does your writing and music fit together?

The Spares' music revolves around songwriting, so it fits in pretty well with my other writing. In terms of music, I definitely think of myself as a songwriter more than a guitar player or singer. (The last one probably sounds obvious, but there you go.) As a songwriter, I still like to tell stories and am probably more journalistic or narrative in my approach, as opposed to other songwriters whose songs feel more like poems or journal entries. But with songs, I get to make things up and/or write about my own experiences.

Does your freelance/contract writing translate into your music? If so how? Is it a complementary process?

Sometimes. The best example is that when The Spares were mixing our first CD, the engineer was Lou Carlozo, who was also an editor for the Tribune. We got to know each other while working on the album, and then I started writing music articles for him at the Trib.

There's another example that relates to the business-side of music. I do a lot of the public relations stuff for The Spares, and when I'm trying to get other journalists to write about us, I think it helps that I'm also a reporter and have an idea what reporters are looking for.

Anything else you want to tell us about?

Absolutely not. Though I would like to state for the record that I believe you are a photographic genius.

Anyone you think would be perfect for this profile series? Let us know via Twitter or leave a comment!!

Profile: Steve Hendershot [ Part 1 ]

This is our second entry for our new blog series! We will be highlighting all different kinds of business owners and entrepreneurs. I know I say it all the time, but collaboration and learning from one another is key in personal and professional growth. Meet Steve Hendershot.

Steve is a very talented writer and musician.  As far as journalism, he covers all kinds of topics.  In the last six months, he's written about the earthquake in Haiti, the possibility of bullet trains coming to America and trends in interior design-- all for different publications.  Steve is also a regular writer to Crain's Chicago Business where he writes about entrepreneurship.Click here to read a recent post related to blogging! And beginning a project ediing a 2010-11 season preview magazine about Michigan State's basketball team.

As for music, Steve is part of an Americana group called The Spares. (Go to their website to hear a little bit of their music!) They are in the middle of recording a new CD, which is being released with a show at Old Town School of Folk Music in Lincoln Square on Friday, August 20. You can follow The Spares on Facebook and Twitter!

What was the moment like when you decided to go out on your own as a freelance writer? What reservations did you have at the moment you jumped? Any regrets?

It was scary. Working independently was something I had wanted to do since pretty much the day I started working a regular day job, but it's still a little terrifying to walk away from a guaranteed income. I had been writing freelance for the Tribune for about a year before I left, and it was going really well—I was doing everything at night or on my lunch break. But then, in summer 2006, Crain's Chicago Business assigned me this big section on “the business of music” and it was way too big to do on the side, so I took the jump and quit.

I have absolutely no regrets, except that I didn't do it earlier.

What does your day to day look like? Early phone calls, dashing around town, finding sources?

This is the tricky part of having a bunch of careers. I bounce back and forth from doing stuff for The Spares, being a journalist (which is its own balancing act because of all the different publications involved), and I'm also the director of music and the arts for a new church, Ethos. So, weekdays I do the office-based parts of all those jobs. And then concerts, practices, services, etc. happen at nights and on weekends, plus that's when I do most of my actual writing. (I do research and interview people during the day, but I and I have trouble switching into a more creative mode if I don't make a separate, distinct block of time for it.)

At worst, I'm up really late for a show or something, and then I'm supposed to interview someone on the east coast at 8am eastern/7 central. But there are also plenty of days where I can sleep in if I want to, so it balances out.

More on Steve tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Anyone you think would be perfect for this profile series? Let us know via Twitter or leave a comment!!