Emily Pack Freight not Farm recently contributed an
essay sa 2 Slow flowers Journal summer issue,
sharing her philosophy fee on the importance of
community connections for sustaining a vibrant cuff flower
business that has served the greater Cleveland area
for the past 7 years.
We invited Emily to discuss her story and
her journey with the So far podcast, and
I'm excited for you to meet her today.
I think our whole mission and, like, the
mission of Afraid not as well. I was
just trying to get as many local flowers
into folks hands. I'm really grateful that I
was able just... Start this, but I'm even
more grateful to see what the future holds
in
collaboration and getting other folks with other skills
and interest. You know, I hope people feel
encouraged just to to ask, you know, ask
people
in your community,
how they might wanna support and you'd be
surprised, like, how many people really
have something that you might not have that
they can be mutually beneficial. I mean, I
think Cleveland is really well situated to, like,
facilitate a lot of these partnerships too, and
that's why I love this city so much.
Hello again, and welcome back to the Slow
flowers podcast with Debra Printing.
This is episode 673.
This is the weekly podcast about slow flowers
and the people who grow and design with
them.
It's all about making a conscious choice, and
I invite you to join the conversation and
the creative community. As we discussed the vital
topics of... Saving our domestic flower farms and
supporting a floral industry that relies on a
safe, seasonal and local supply of flowers and
foliage,
This show is brought to you by slow
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And thank you to our new lead sponsor
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The original floral podcast that we've produced and
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That means today's episode is our 570
fourth consecutive weekly program,
highlighting the people, farm, flo and flowers of
this slow flowers movement.
Thank you for supporting this storytelling project for
more than a decade now in its eleventh
season.
From Okay Let's jump right into today's interview
with Emily Peck of afraid not farm. The
mission of afraid not farm is to grow
beautiful, diverse cut flowers and herbs that share
stories bring joy and support equitable and regenerative
farming.
As owner founder,
Emily has a passion for systems thinking,
and agriculture, both of which led to an
apprenticeship in Brooklyn, New York in 20 16.
Where she learned how to farm while studying
food justice.
Upon returning to her deep roots in Cleveland,
Emily worked at various farms and then started
freight not in 20 17.
The land that Freight not resides on was
previously steward by her grandparents. Who have been
part of the community for close to a
century.
Freight not farm is located 30 miles east
of downtown Cleveland and grows over 100 varieties
of annual and perennial flowers and foliage on
less than an acre.
Using hand scale and regenerative farming practices, the
flowers produced and forage
are offered through freight nuts, Csa bo case
subscriptions, wholesale for purchase by Flo
and supply events and workshops let's welcome Emily
to the Slow flowers podcast
and learn more about frey not farm.
Well, hi, everybody. Welcome back to the Slow
flowers show with deborah Printing and on until
lick today, I'm so excited to welcome Emily
Peck of afraid not farm. Hello, Emily.
Hi, Deborah.
Thanks for having me on. You've bet. We've
been talking about this for a while. Thank
you so much for joining me.
You're based in Ohio. Can you tell everybody
a little bit about where you're located and,
then I'll will we'll we'll get the big
question in which is how did the name
trade not come together.
Yes. And perch.
Yeah. I'm Emily, and I started Freight farm,
which is located.
I generally say, Cleveland, Ohio, that's the the
biggest major city that we have close to
us, and we're just 30 miles outside of
the city, but we are in a pretty
rural area.
It's known as New. It's just small town
in
Ji County, so, you know, north,
East Ohio,
and we have about 3 acres here,
and are on land that my family's been
residing on,
for 60 years and in the community for
almost a hundred years. So
we have a lot of roots here, metaphorically
and and and literally
said my grandparents have been here for a
long time. My mom was raised
here
and in in the house, and I'm in
right now. I'm in, my... Grandmother's house, which
is next to the farm. I love it.
And I was raised in a community a
suburb,
just a 30 minutes away closer to Cleveland,
but would come out here to my grandparents
place,
all the time. So has really special memories.
Yeah. Yeah.
So when you were a young, I don't
know, teenager or college student Did you ever
envision your future life living on
the land that had your grandparents had farmed
and, like, student getting out of the city
and and,
you know, creating a life
around land and plants and flowers? Or was
that part of the part of the vision?
Or are you surprised by that? I I'm
I'm a little bit surprised. I mean, I
think always, you know, retrospectively, you can look
back and see kind of the...
Stepping stones to how you got somewhere. So
it's, you know, it's not the craziest thing
in the world, but I definitely didn't seek
out, like, this or ever could have imagined.
My grandparents built their house on 1 plot
of land, and then they had purchased a
separate plot that was adjacent to there,
where their house was and growing up, it
was just
3 acres of grass that they cut
actually. It was just a a, big open
field. The cutting grass is a big pass
time here. And in the the past So...
Yeah. Lawn culture is a a real thing.
And I really just didn't think too much
about it. My sister and I would just
run out there and kinda of play, and
it was just, like, a wonderful
space to kinda grow up in and so
it it, you know, they... There's a lot
of ag cultural roots in this community, but
there wasn't actually a farm there yet. So
I really couldn't have even imagine that land
ever being a farm,
Wow.
But I... But flowers and
gardening was always in my life. So my
my my parents and... My other, you know,
maternal grandparents and maternal grandparents. They they all
were very into kind of cultivating,
flowers and vegetables, like, on a small scale.
So that that definitely was instilled in me
in a young age.
So... Yeah. I love it. Okay. Well, the
name afraid not. It was that your idea
or did you inherit it? It's a great
name. Yeah. Thank you.
Yeah. I love it because I do feel
like it gets the conversation starting, so thanks
for asking.
That was a name that I came up
with,
kind of. I mean, the the term afraid
not farm is something or or afraid not,
rather, was a term that
my grandfather who I resided on this land.
Use... He was a real jokes.
He loved, like, very pun jokes
and there's a punchline to a joke that,
honestly, every time I try to tell it,
I kinda butcher it, but you can look
it up. Everyone can look it up. And
because it also has very different interpretations. But
essentially, it's... The Punch is afraid not,
and he would tell this joke, like, repetitive
and new have to manufacture laughter at a
certain point. Because you're like, yeah. Get it.
I get.
We heard that 1 before gram. Yeah. I
and it's just like, okay. And then
so my grandfather,
he passed
and several years ago,
before I even had the farm, unfortunately.
So he wasn't able to, in in physical
form c
what we have here, but I really wanted
to pay homage to him, and my mom
actually eu
him at
his services, and she used that joke as
a metaphor to talk about his life and
my grandfather and his family had a small
business. A grocery business,
just down the road for 80 years. Wow.
And
they... So the. My mom just kind of
uses as a metaphor to talk about how
he wasn't afraid to kind of pursue that
dream and to, you know, travel and to,
you know, live his life in like, a
a really beautiful way. And so when I
was thinking about starting a small business and
especially a a farming business in you kinda
have to be fearless. So I was like,
I want that as a mantra, like always
to just be thinking of that when I'm
you know, like, running on a adrenaline, like,
how am I gonna get through this? You
know, be be afraid not. So yeah. And
it I just that to mean so many
other things too, like,
you know, we do weddings and the not
And there's a term that's used and we
grow flags, and it kind of has this,
like, fray,
like, look to it, and it's just kinda
come full
in a lot of ways. So... Yeah. Yeah.
It has kinda 2 meanings because you are
not afraid. Like, that's a very... Circle That's
a very... Like as you said, a sort
of a metaphor for just being this intrepid
farmer and just going for it. And then,
sometimes when things are falling apart, you feel
like they're not is fray and unraveling. So
I think you you have depends on what
what your mood is that day of what
you're thinking about? Absolutely. No. That was a
really good point. I I honestly hadn't even
really thought about that until I was saying
it out loud. I was like...
Yeah. Sometimes I really am feeling like afraid
not. Like,
that. And and, yeah. And then we have
like, ties on our bo that are literally,
like, kind of afraid that and Oh, so
little touches into it that that people like
to have that connection. So, yeah, I think
it's a special name like... It is. I
mean, on so many people have just names
plucked out of thin air, and I love
that there's a story there. Because I feel
like you're a storyteller teller and a lot
of what you're doing. And what kind of
led to me asking you to be on
the podcast 2 things. 1 is you recently
wrote a beautiful essay for,
the summer issue of Sunflower flowers Journal, and
I'll pop that up on the screen in
a little bit so we can share with
people and I'll also put the Pdf link
and
our show notes so folks can read it.
Love love your writing and I love that
that worked out. But what led to that,
what... As I recall and tell me if
I'm wrong, but you had written a I
guess in your newsletter, maybe,
about this partnership or maybe I saw on
your website, but this partnership with these fiber,
Farmers and this fiber
initiative. My background in textile design so really
caught my attention because I'm always interested in
what other types of agriculture are flower farmers
able to get involved in, and I think
fiber sort of,
under underutilized. And
that's that just led to me reaching out
to you and asking to learn more. So
let's start there. Can you talk a little
bit about what what led to that and
what what is the project?
Yeah. Definitely.
So I think it was probably
year 2 and to me starting freight that.
I was, like, recently moved back to Cleveland,
and I was just trying to, you know,
get integrated in the community and and and
learn more about what was already going on
here and get to know people that had
similar values, and I just happened to go
to this kind of like, small business, like,
specifically, like women in business, meetup up group,
and there was these 2 women there that
were really
passionate and interested in, like,
textiles grown and using regenerative techniques
and are, they were kind of kind of
literally saying my own spiel, but in textile
language, and I was saying it in flowers
and farming.
Yeah. And you just kind of were like,
whoa. And, like, I I was like, I
have never thought of, like,
textiles, like, in that way. And they were
like, I've never thought of flowers in that
way. And And they were just kind of,
you know, starting their journey
of starting an affiliate group here, which is
an affiliate of fiber shed. So there's fiber
shed, which is
the starting in California of by Rebecca Burgess
and
there's satellite,
nonprofit and
organizations all over the country, and they wanna
just start the russ felt by shed
version of that.
So
I kind of was lucky enough to be
there kind of as they created that, and
they wanted to kinda start
launching
initiatives with this fax project
and fox is what Lennon is made out
of, and there is a history of going
growing facts in this region, and there is
a huge also
textile history in Cleveland specifically. So they really
just wanted to start to generate
energy
around getting people to think about where do
their tech
textiles come from.
So they said, do you wanna grow some
slack
And I was just, like, sure. You know?
I was just, like, in the wow my
farming career where I was just, like, kinda
wanted to try anything and everything. So I
was like, yeah, let's do it, and we
we decided to grow, like a fifth acre
of blacks
on the farm. I have this space and
it was saying completely a community, like, driven
project.
Like, we didn't have any funding for it
really at the time. So it was
pretty much just like, you know, hand scale,
like we got compost out here. We spread
Compost all by hand. We seated
by hand, and then we harvested
a few months after that, and it just,
you know, brought a lot of people into
the conversation,
and I've been growing it on some scale
ever since just to continue
educating people on, you know, the importance of
understanding where their text styles come from because
almost... There's...
Yeah I got a fact check this, but
there's almost, like, no
commercial
styles
like, lin... Like, Linen.
Right. In the United States. So
I mean, anymore. I mean, it at 1
point, there probably was. Right? There's some really
awesome. We learned a lot from some folks
in Oregon. And, yeah, fiber revolution folks out
there. They finally developed. A really awesome seed.
But before that, even the seed was all
imported as well. So
yeah, it's been really awesome to see how
it's that's evolved,
alongside our flower business
over the last few years and how much...
How many more people are engaged in understanding
you know, the dangers of fast fashion and
and being empowered by being able to grow
their own clothes, So... Yeah. Yeah. I was
just gonna pop up on the website or
on our screen,
the,
the rust belt Linen project because this is...
Just just visually, I think it's fun for
people to see
fiber shed rust belt, which is the organization,
and
you're kind of a partner then to to
them because they're not growers per s. They're
fiber...
I guess, fiber thousand people. Right? Basically fiber
shed, which I'm is now a
nonprofit officially, and I'm actually on the board
as well now.
Cyber chat as an organization is just kind
of an aggregate of,
information and it helps just, you know, create
resources for folks in the region. So they're...
We're not doing 1 specific thing. We're just
kinda helping
support different project,
and there's so many amazing growers,
and then there's a lot of consumers and
and also artisans that want their hands on
good products, so it's just, like, we've been
trying to connect folks,
and not...
Yeah. Just kinda break up that isolation Happen,
especially when you're in rural spaces. So... Yeah.
I see on this map, this density of
red dots in the Cleveland area. So if
Afraid knot is in here somewhere. Yeah Yeah.
But...
To look that there are now 52
participants
is
really amazing, and you're you're obviously listed here.
1 of the... 1 of the growers.
What is the... What is the flex? It...
You said it's a it's grown by seed?
Is it a...
A grass or how would you describe it?
Yeah. It grows similar to a grass. It's
not...
In, like, the grass family.
But, yeah. Flex itself. It does grow similar
to, like, oats or rye or it's a
really nice kind of cover crop almost. Okay.
Almost like a grain of some kind. Yeah.
So I mean black, like, if you ever
had fl, and, like, your granola, or you're
you're smoothie or whatever It's the same exact
seed.
Some varieties you can grow that's in can
also be for edible and textile use. But
the particular Cpus use is typically
bread for tech style use. It means that
it has a longer
fiber. So
the the actual plant itself
it's gonna be a lot taller and because
you want those really long
lines of fiber. It's easier to,
utilize and weaving
and then making the textiles. So...
But it grows... Yeah. It grows, like, we
basically broad seed really close together. So broad
seating. It's just kind of taking a handful
of seeds, and I mean, you can get
machinery to do it, but we've just done
a hand scale, and it's just kind of,
like, throwing the seed out there, like you
would grass seed,
And then
you know, you want it kind of to
be densely planted so that this the
plant grows.
Tall and doesn't get out competed by weeds,
and it actually has, like, this very beautiful
flu flower.
And so it's, like, very
like, magical
mystical when you see this, like,
like, because blue is just not a very
common flower. Right. I'll just kind of this
drift of blue in your in your little
metal
a fl. I love it. Yeah. So it's
just... Unfortunately, it's not really great for as
a cut flower because it...
The the pedal strap immediately,
but
really pretty just to see, And I do
cut it. Actually, the seed pods are really
beautiful.
So I cut it and I dry it.
So it makes a really lovely dried arrangement.
So I do utilize it in flower arrangements
as well as, like using the textile. But
yeah, after it's ready to be harvested, it
goes through a, kind of a intensive processing
of, like, breaking it down to become, like,
usable fiber.
And we've...
Gone through all that whole process by hand
and done a lot of demos to show
people. And, of course, there's machinery to do
that. But, right now, it's hard to find
folks that will make process like, machinery for,
like, a medium scale operation. So Right. We
are holding out hope that that 1 day
can happen,
and then we can, like... Because now we've
proven
that so many folks can grow it, and
it grows well here in this region, you
know, now we just have to get that
kind of middle part and scale it up
a little bit. Yeah. And then we also
have, like, folks that really wanna use local
linen, but it's, like, there's a little bit
of a...
Still a gap that needs to be filled
there. So...
Well, I'll share the link to
the,
rust belt fiber shed site, just... And along
with some of your other partners we're gonna
talk about just to show
maybe an an idea of resources other people
could... Explore.
This is not your only collaborative
endeavor, though, Emily. You. It's sort of a
whole philosophy for how you operate,
freight not farm. Can you talk a little
bit about how this is all evolved in,
like, the last 5 to 10 years. I...
I'm... You said that your partners
just had a the 10 tenth anniversary of
of that business, and you're also involved in
that somehow. So I want you to kind
of pull it all together for me and
for our listeners.
Yeah. For sure. Yeah. I like that you
said it's our philosophy. That's very much like,
our ethos and what we wanna promote. Like,
I might have started it, but it's really,
like, through a collection of, you know, other
folks, like,
dreams that this is all can't come to
together there and I've always wanted to just
bring people into the fold and
just realizing this is a lot what I
put in the article, but there
just that, yeah, You can't do this alone.
It really takes a village. And
as you mentioned, yeah, My my husband,
started a compost business 10 years ago,
with some friends, and they just celebrated,
their anniversary this last weekend, so Kind of
coming off the high of that. I I
started my farm
7 years, so I was a part of
like seeing their business grow
for 7 out of the 10 years, and
it's a it's a pretty awesome and convenient
thing to have
a small another small business in the compost
industry,
grow grow alongside your farm.
They they kinda go hand in hand. So
I I feel extremely
grateful to have met them early on.
And, yeah, Just kind of
help support each other,
I love it. Yeah. So that... That's 1
as we talked about the fiber shed.
What is the... What is the compost business
called? Oh, yeah. Of course, it's called Breast
Riders is the cup... Is the company name
for they... So they haul food scraps all
over the city.
They, from,
everywhere from hospitals
to private residences,
so they collect all that food waste that's
getting diverted from the landfill,
and they make it into nutrient rich soil,
so they make it into, like, a... A
compost, and they also make soil blends for,
like, pot mix. So early on in my
farming career, I was really struggling with a
finding good pot soil as I'm sure so
many growers understand that struggle.
And a lot of people get it shipped
all over
the country just to get good soil and
have, like, a local source, and it's literally
made from
the food scraps of the city is a
really amazing thing. So I'm super lucky that
they've been able to perfect
they're blend and I use all their products
for my seed starting for my mend,
everything. So... So So do your... Do you
contribute to the Compost too with your... Whatever
your
botanical waste is or your you know...
Clipping and that worth of thing? I do.
Yeah. So III
contribute, like, any flower waste that we have.
Like, we do have a little bit of
a a compost pile on our
our space on the farm, but as a
lot of farmers would know, Like, that's a
whole another
like, thing to get into. Like, you can't
just, like, throw stuff in a pile. So
it's actually kind of a running joke because
we have, like, the worst compost file ever.
On the... Like, personally on the farm.
So we let the professionals do it, and
we yeah most of our stuff to
to rest fell and then till soil is
their their soil brand.
And
we also, I... As a household, I also
contribute my household food waste to them as
well. But if we ever have like, a
big event
or
things like that will take excess waste to
them.
So, yeah. It's really cool to literally be
kind of full circle. We... Our waist gets
waste turned into something of value, and then
we can use that value to continue to
create this endless cycle,
and then all while
you know, preventing it from going from the...
To the landfill, which is contributing
significantly to
greenhouse gas emissions. So Yeah.
Super great
partnership and good friends and... Wait, were you
buying Compost from them and then you met
your husband through the the the transact?
Or... How did that come about? Yeah. It's
basically.
Yeah. I are the best you're the best
customer. Yes. It's
say, yeah, I've had moved back to Cleveland
similarly to how I met the folks at
rust fiber shed. There's a... As you can
see, there's a theme. Breast belt. And we're
very well. We're rare are we proud breast.
But... And, yeah, that's breast for those that
don't know. Is it's just a term
to describe kind of the industry that once
was
here in the city, and we're kind trying
to bring that back and pay homage to
it. So But, yeah, I met them. I
was, like, again, looking for folks to get
involved with. Like, I just thought it was...
I had just moved from New York City
actually that has a lot of
amazing compost initiatives.
And so when I heard that, like, somewhere
in Cleveland,
because as you... Like, a lot of people,
you know, they move from their hometown and
they kind of, like, get dis enchanted by
it. And so I kind of when I
was moving back. I was like, oh, nothing's
gonna be going on here. You know, I'm
gonna have to, like, it's gonna be struggle,
But then, of course, like, there was just
so many vibrant
organizations, like, the you know, doing all these
things that they were doing in New York
city too. So I think people,
yeah, under value and
appreciate what's going on in kind of the
Midwest and the heartland lands and
Yeah. Was is really cool. So, of course,
I needed good soil, and I I found
them and go
yeah. I just started to become naturally friends
with everybody because we were starting small businesses,
and we... They needed support and farmer feedback,
and I I kind of was there when
early testing, you know, the soil, to see
how it's working and
And and... Yeah. And then
with my husband, it just
evolved from there. So Yeah. What's. What what's
his name? His name's is Michael. Michael Robinson,
and yeah. He's 1 of the c cofounder.
But now there... The business is actually a,
worker owner,
business, and there's 14 or 16, I believe
worker owners of,
which is about makes up half of their
staff. So Wow. He was based. Super passionate
about not just making compost,
but,
making it a space that everyone is treated
with equity,
and has ownership in the business. So I've
really been inspired by that, and I think
that also has helped to contribute to a
lot of the initiatives that I've
started on the farm and, like, be in
cooperation with folks and and be collaborative with
them. So
Well, there's a theme with both the with
the
fiber project and the, compost project of Regenerative
agriculture. So that sort of aligns with how
you approach flower farming as well. It sounds
like.
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, like I said,
you just...
Can't
do this alone, and
I just... I'm always seeking out folks that
have other skills
that
I don't.
Just... I think a lot of times you
can feel pressure to try to do it
all and
try to be everything, and I think farming
especially
as
despite often being seen as, like an un
job it requires so many skills. And
but knowing, like, what you're good at and
what you're not. Like I said, are not
necessarily the best compost. So let's, like,
let's help promote these awesome compost and, you
know, let's... We don't know what ton about
textiles. Let's work with these folks but. I...
You know, I have a desire to grow
the facts, but I don't have as much
time to, like, actually... You know, break it
down and process it So let's work with
folks that
can have,
you know, the skill to do that. And
Yeah. And then
we also have, like, our our collab
partnership, our flower,
Power club.
Yeah. I'm gonna pop I'm gonna pop that
up on the screen while. We're talking because
this is just another example of you seeking
out people to.
Kind of
I I guess just not have to be
a solo, like, you're you're finding people who
you can walk us walk alongside.
The... What they're doing and, hopefully, it'll
you know, fee both of you. So the
you I have freight not farm up here
on the website, the Cal collab wholesale for
Flores. This is what you've been part of.
Are you 1 of the founding members of
this?
That's hard to say. Honestly. I think so.
Yes. I think so. Early on early on.
Yeah. Yeah. No. III do think I am.
Alongside many other folks. So I wanna take
too much credit it for the idea, but
I definitely was there since the beginning, and
I've kind of
emerged as a leader for various reasons,
mo a lot of to do with the
location that we're at. It's kind of in
the middle of, like,
you know, a dozen different
flower farms in our area.
So, yeah, This kinda came about,
there was a couple different Ohio Meetup groups
and...
Excuse me
I remember that from other regions of the
state. Right? Yeah. So we had, like, kind
of a winter meetup of folks all over
Ohio,
and
you know, we would just kinda talk.
Talk shop and talk crop and, like, you
know, share ideas and see how we could
help each other and
a few, you know,
years into that,
a smaller group kind of started to form
a folks that were in this, like, closer
area because those are folks from all over
the state, and
we started to, you know, want them get
together in our our area. So we started
to meet and
a lot of credit goes to Rosie Stand
of field of blooms,
who is in our area, and she
was seeing the emergence of a lot of
other collaborative
in Michigan,
you know, and in other areas around
And I sometimes use the term flower hub,
Wholesale flower head. That's sort of... Yeah. For
sure. Yeah. Feel like slow flower really birthed
a lot of those just in terms of...
Creating
topics for people to talk about how to,
you know, how to do this, because there's
no there's no road map. It's it's... Everybody's
sort of... It's a ones... It's not a
1 size fits all. Everyone has to tailor
it to their area,
and it's you know,
who the players are, what the what the
flower mix is,
and who are the customers. Right?
Absolutely. Yeah. I think... Yeah, We were all
real and, yeah I think the lot has
to do with, like, the slow virus community
and just
I think that has virgin so many small
farms, and
we, you know, we're kinda... We were all
gathered and I'm like, okay, We're all kind
of, like these... Really passionate,
you know, growers, but we're really small scale.
How are we gonna ever, like, be attractive
to flo, who need, like, really large quantities
of product, and how are we gonna have
time to logistically,
you know, be able to do deliveries and
and
invoices and all those things and we're, like,
how can we combine forces, and it it
took a few years of just talking about
that to just figure out what exactly that
would look like, but it started off by,
like, us just buying flowers from ourselves,
And because we always need, like, to supplement
flowers, you know, you have a big event,
and then you are all of a sudden,
you're like oh my gosh, my aren't ready.
You know, let me call Patty and see
if she's got anything. And so we were
already doing that.
Most of most of you farmer floors. Then
or enough of you that you're...
Or was it even just for, like, fulfilling
market demand? Yeah. Market demand or even, like
a flo wanted something. And mh. We're like,
well, this floor. I wanna really keep this
contact, but I don't have half of this
product to tonight I. Does that makes sense.
And something So
I it turns out now that it's mostly
growers and there's only a few folks that
are doing events, but
it started off very much of just, like,
trying to help each other out and kind
of simplify the process of buying from each
other.
And so I kind of volunteered
to be the space to do that, I
have a cooler,
fortunately,
and I'm... Like I said in the middle
kind of
e distance from folks that are more north
and more south of us.
And now it's grown into, like, a full
scale kind of, flo wholesale, and we also
offer retail as well to folks that wanna
do, like, Diy weddings.
I saw that when I was popping up
the website. So you have you have found
a balance between a wholesale to Flores
and satisfying that
retail customer basically. Right? Yeah. We're trying. I
mean, I think our whole mission and, like,
the mission of Freight not as well is
just trying to get as many local flowers
into folks hands.
So, yeah, thank you for being such an
inspiration in that as well, Deborah. Like, I
think that's what keeps us... Going.
Oh, well, it sounds like you've got a
good group. So your freight nod is sort
of the the hub where flo come pick
up their orders.
And prior to that, I guess, farmers bring
their orders and it all kinda happens on
your property.
Yeah. Yeah. Wow.
Yeah. Actually, today is drop off day. So
as we speak,
outside these halls
like, our farmers are dropping off their beautiful
product,
our And after we have, like, sales that
go up over the weekend. So force can
place orders
over the weekend, and then we
organize that, 1 of my colleague who leads
the website sales katie, Travis of Da,
our farm runs all of our online support,
And then I run all the kind of,
like, actually organizing our orders pulling
what we need for the week. And then
tomorrow, we, have... Picked up. So forest can
come get their orders.
And then we also offer, like, on site
sales. So we do, like, a market style
pop up where
for even if they haven't pre ordered, can
come, shop, like,
what we have, and that's really nice for
them to just see visually product, and pick
up extras, but it's really nice for the
farmers because a lot of times, they have
difficulty
predicting,
what is it gonna be available the following
week. So if they they aren't able to
do that, They can bring that last minute
and still get sales,
So it's really nice to see, like, so
many small farms growing because we're able to
create this market for them.
That So... Yeah. What was the year you
actually established
and in the the current model that, you
know, that this led to. So Well, the,
like, kind of farmer to farmer started in
20 20,
whereas.
No surprise. Yeah. We had a plan to,
like, do more Flo sales, obviously that year,
I think that would have been our official
launch year. But as everyone knows about all
the weddings,
cease to exist. So we just did the
kind of farmer farmer. And so I'd say
20 21 is when we really
started the model that we have now. So...
That's great. That. I don't know. 21 20.
That's 334
years. Yeah. Well, Emily, you said you're gonna
shoot a little video that we can share
at the end of this. So maybe you
can point out, like, the area of where...
Where the collab takes place. Sure. People could
envision it. Is it go from, like, spring
to fall? What is... Was... 1 of the
what's the length of time in the year
that you are offering product? Yeah. We start
having product around mid April.
We... Myself and a couple of their growers
do have tunnels.
So we're able to grow some stuff on
that shoulder season, and then
you know, obviously, Mother's day is a big
1. So we always try to get a
few weeks in before that. And then we
go usually
until mid October.
Maybe end of October, and a a lot
of our growers dry product, so we usually
do, like, a dried flower market at the
end. Love it.
Yeah. So... That's great.
Well, you touched on a lot of these
collaborations and the piece that, you wrote. For
our current issue of
Slow flowers journal. I just wanted to pop
it up on the stay... On the page
here on the screen
and
the s the essay sa is in are
from the heart
department, I guess, every issue we try to
find someone to share our personal story.
So here is of,
the essay we we called
farm life, the future of affirming is in
community. This photo is of the collab group.
Right? Yeah. Yeah. So some folks have, like,
literally moved.
So not everyone is in the the group
anymore,
and then we have a lot of new
growers. Yeah. You have, like, call growers this
year. We gotta get a good group.
It's really hard to get
you know, a bunch of farmers together when
it's actually nice outside So... And you have
buckets of flowers to share. Yeah. And this
is a really fun event that we did,
where we just
highlighted,
the the product that we had and we
had flo come out
to a, neighboring farm and just kinda make
bo and get to see, like, how quality,
you know, what the quality of our product
is and help you... And how much variety
we have and think it's always a work...
Constantly, you know, continuing to educate people on
the value of local followers. I page forward
a little too quickly, but Here you are
with a couple of your team members, and
you did talk about the fact that you
aren't completely solo.
You now have grown to the part point
where you can have some...
Seasonal help at Freight not. Right? Yeah. This
is Jewel and Lexi, and they're incredible.
And I'm just so grateful that it is
just me alone now and we're really moving
into a space where we're all kind of
taking responsibility of the farm and, like, working
together,
you know, not just to do, you know,
specific tasks, but really, like, work together as
a team and a partnership, to grow the
farm because, yeah. I that's how I see
the future of where we're going. It's just,
like, integrating more voices and
you know,
I'm really grateful that I was able to
start this, but I'm even more grateful to
see what the future holds in
collaboration and getting other folks. With other skills
like I said and and interest and, yeah,
Jewels like, has a huge passion for herbs
and medicinal and that's, like, created this really
lovely addition to, like, our case and and
our products and Lexi is
works at Great Lakes brewing company, which is
a our, like, local brewery,
and we've been able to to do beer
collaborations with them, which is super fun. And
yeah, she's really just super great at connecting
us with partners in the community
So I'm... III never would have been able
to do those things on my own. So,
yeah. I just hope that the peace encourages
folks to
not just get hard on themselves when they
feel like they can't do it all and
know that what we're up against as farmers
and changing climates.
Like, it's just...
It has to be done with with other
people and and and leaning on each other
for that support. So
I love it.
Any of the other things that you... We...
You've featured in the story that you wanna
touch on
that you're still involved with... I mean sure
there's, like, opportunities to the point where now
you can't even say yes to everything. Right?
Yeah. For sure. And I think that I
definitely have been strict. Strategic about them.
You know, I've just found people luckily that
are have similar values and
Yeah. That's certain point, you do have to
say now, and I think just kinda hone
in on the relationships that you do have,
But 2 of the ones that I also
mentioned in the piece that I wanna highlight
or 1,
Ohio City farm,
which is a urban farm
in, that that the city of Cleveland, and
they
are run by this organization that reset
refugees
in the city, we're a really big hub
in Cleveland for refugee reset. Wow.
To folks that work at that farm are
newly reset. So
folks from all over the world, and
they have a beautiful vegetable
share, but don't have really room for flowers,
So we were kind of in
relationship together and talked about doing a our
Csa. So we are an add on to
their. Vegetable share and their customers can buy
flower bo, a weekly in addition to the
the vegetables. So that's been an awesome
partnership,
and then also,
some dear friends, Jenny and Andrew of room
service,
boutique, and now they have a a French
cafe that they just opens up and
wanted to highlight that because they were really
early supporters
in
in us and helped us launch our Csa
program in the first place. And,
you know, I I always talked to folks
that are starting, like subscription services or Csa
to find folks like Jenny and Andrew,
because of the deliveries and that the logistics
can be a lot of work, but why
not partner with folks that care about what
you do and also wanna highlight it in
their shop, and then also So hopefully get
some patrons shipped to their space, and then
they can help support
that pickup instead of you having to do
it all. So
yeah.
That's really, really amazing. So you have the
Csa,
both through the...
Home goods, restaurant pickup, and then do you
also have 1 on your farm or how
are you managing all of that? Because it's
a big... It is a big lift.
Yeah. So we did scale back our subscriptions
a little bit this year so we could
focus on our wholesale in the club. Yeah.
And but in previous years, yes, we were...
The the restaurant and Home Goods store. They
were a pickup location.
Now we're just offering retail bow. To them.
But cool. So... Yeah. Which is really nice.
And then
with our Ohio City farm, they've become our
exclusive, like Csa pickup So they have actually
2 locations that folks can pick up from.
So again, it makes it really easy on
us to be able to just aggregate it
through them. So, so we don't actually have
any pickup on our farm, and
that's kind of by design too because we're
a working farm, and we have some really
awesome events through the year, but we're not
really situated to have, like, kind of that
management.
So it's nice to have
partnerships.
Like I mentioned to be able to support
that. So... Well, that's that's the theme of
this conversation and the theme of the essay
that you shared and that It's... Just...
It's hard it's hard. Yeah. And no forming
is hard. And if you have
people who make that journey more enjoyable just
because of, you know, feeling that you've got...
They've got your back and you've got theirs.
It's just also
elevate everyone. And, obviously, elevate your community, and
sounds like a really beautiful community that you
have built and,
know, in the Greater Cleveland area. So I
wish like they come visit. Sounds wonderful.
You're welcome anytime. Okay. We have a late,
kids beautiful.
It's it's it's a great it's a great
space. And I mean, I think Cleveland really
well situated to, like, facilitate a lot of
these partnerships. Too, and that's why I love
this city so much because
it it makes it easier to meet people
and
be able to form these connections,
because everyone kinda has this, like, solidarity with
each other,
and love for the city. So I think
it it I think you can replicate this
kind of model anywhere, but I think it's
been
especially, you know, successful in, like, the, kind
of smaller city that we do have.
Yeah. And I think
You know, I hope people feel encouraged
to to ask, you know, ask people
in your community, you know, how they might
wanna us or and you'd be surprised, like,
how many people really
have something that you might not have that
they can be met mutually beneficial or
I love it. I love it. Well, we
could keep keep going, but I'm gonna let
you go because I know you've got a
wedding to design for and I didn't know
the club was going on today, but I'm
site excited to share this conversation,
Emily is going to also
take a little video, and we'll add that.
And then I have so more photos that
you shared that we weren't able to use
with the your column. So I'll put those
in our show notes when this airs
s r's podcast dot com. So,
best wishes for the rest of the season.
And what are you do in your downtime,
Emily?
What downtime?
I don't know when the dried flower season
is over. Yeah. Then that's planting season, but
no,
I like... I mean, I mentioned the lake.
I love to go swimming in the lake.
I I have 2 very cute cats that
I like mine with.
I mean,
All jokes aside. Like, I think it's... I
don't wanna glorify, like,
you know, burnout out or working too hard.
I think absolutely...
Folks need to rest, especially farmers. They can
get... As I said in the article, it's
really easy to
get completely consumed by it, and I been
trying really hard this year, especially to, like,
separate myself a little bit from that and
create better work life balance,
But that being said, like, I do love
what I do, and I love, like, the
folks that I get to interact with. So
it it does feel like a lot of
times, just such a joy to, like, take
on these projects, and
work with them, but rest is important and,
finding time off the farm and out to
work. Is also important. III
love, like, kind of doing embroidery
and,
like, textile work. Actually, I've been really getting
into. I wonder.
So I've been I've been trying to do
that is, I've been trying to relearn what
a hobby needs.
Well, it's a lifestyle that... So many people
aspire to, and so few people can actually
follow through on it and and just admire
you so much for being honest. And transparent
and sharing your story, and I'm excited to
share with the broader slow flowers community through
the podcast in the video. So Thank you,
emily. I really appreciate it.
Thank you so much. I have to say,
like, I've been listening to the podcast since
I started farming, so this is a really...
Big honor, and I've, like, been so inspired
by so many of the stories that you've
told and
it's really helped me to get to this
point. So I really appreciate it. Thanks. And
now you're 1 more voice in that collection.
So thank you.
We'll talk soon, Emily. Thanks a lot. Bye
bye. I.
Thanks so much for joining me today. Please
visit. Slow flowers podcast dot com to
find episode 673.
You can watch the replay video of my
conversation with Emily and find links to afraid
not farms social places.
The bonus video includes footage that Emily filmed
separately and share with me after our main
interview As mentioned, I will also include a
Pdf of Emily's with Heart Essay
recently published in the summer 20 24 issue
of. Flow flowers journal.
Thank you to Johnny selected seats, an employee
owned company that provides our industry with the
best flour herb and vegetable seeds,
supplied to farms large and small, and even
tobacco cutting gardens like mine. Find the full
catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnny's
seeds dot com. And thank you to the
Gardener workshop, which offers a full curriculum of
online education for flower farmers and farmer flo.
Online education is more important than ever, and
you'll want to check out the course offerings
at the Gardeners workshop. Dot com.
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Next week, you're invited to join me in
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