Enter Kelly, stage right

Oh my gosh, why would I introduce myself in terms of a stage performance?? I have stage fright for sure, and the thought of entering stage right instantly triggers anxiety! And yet, the theater, stage, musical performances, coaching theater, and acting with others for fun all bring me a lot of joy! So okay, sure! Let me introduce myself via an analogy that thrills me in theory.

Apparently people prefer to work with people they like. It’s true for me! And I’ve heard it’s true for you— Bride, Groom, Mom, bereaved one, committee member tasked with planning the event. And you’d like to do a little research in private, before you ever reach out to me about florals for your event. A good fit is important, when you are trusting someone with your precious thoughts about your most precious days, and needing them to pull off your hopes. So I can tell you a little about me, and you can decide whether you like me, and I’ll never know one way or the other. But if you want to know and understand me, I feel like it’s good to start by meeting little-girl-Kelly.

My most vibrant, happy memories from when I was a girl were from when I lived in Jackson, Georgia, in a home where the outside was infinitely more important than the inside. There was a wooded stretch of land at the end of our road, and a creek with crawdads down the hill from us; a small flower garden surrounding a tree in the back yard, as well as a cherry tree with humble but serviceable treehouse; a pool that made amphibians of us in summer and large shrubs around the air unit that served as the clubhouse for our neighbor friends; and scuppernong vines, hanging with grapes in season, that served as a boundary between our home and our friend, Bailey’s, with a convenient secret “doorway”, and whose fruit provided my brothers with ammo to chase me around the yard, spitting slimy green propellants at me. Everything a kid could want!

By day, I ran around feral—it was the thing in the 80s and 90s!—adventuring with neighbor friends, and at night, I acted out stories with my stuffed animals and read books a little too late with a shirt over my lamp. After school of course. I loved school! Except P.E. Which is ironic, given how active I was. But I couldn’t run fast; I always got hit in dodgeball; no one picked me for teams; I couldn’t reach my toes when we had presidential fitness tests (that was a thing then too); and I “ran” the slowest mile ever. But I wrote sparkling essays, fumbled my way to As in math, loved reading, and revered my favorite teachers and librarians. At extended family gatherings, I instigated many productions of short plays and musicals, which I directed with enthusiasm and created costumes for, out of paper bags and construction paper.

And there was my mom. Mom often shifted what she did for work, in ways that allowed her a little more flexibility to be around us. During this stage of my life, she sold real estate. Mom would get sucked into books. I remember seeing her snuggled on the sofa, eyes riveted on the next page, and the next. And I remember one particular imaginative read-aloud she gave during a winter snow storm where we lost power and huddled together around a kerosene heater, where I met Lucy for the first time as she entered a snowy world through a wardrobe. Mom didn’t tell me to read. She showed me it was fun. It was similar with nature. She invited me to join her in the garden, or to help make scuppernong jelly, or to press gently on the tiny bums of the birds that fell out of their nests, to get them to poop. Mom modeled curiosity and wonder and initiative.

Meanwhile, Dad was relatable and goofy-funny and a leader, in a way where you didn’t realize he was leading. It was more like he just gave you something to do that had to be done and that felt important in the project at hand. Dad was a youth and children’s pastor, which meant lots of inventing creative activities and extreme games, and planning and putting on performances and events, always involving a core team in the creative processes. For me, this meant that I interacted with all sorts of people, from a very young age—making connections, laughing, entertaining (I was a mediocre but enthusiastic mime, puppeteer, and balloon artist in my teen years). I sang and acted in musicals and shows (always better when solos weren’t involved; remember the stage fright thing?); painted and cut out large props; decorated; and served, served, served. Lots of grunt work with a smile. Hard work genuinely is fun when you enjoy the company. Dad modeled connection and service and joy.

Whoa! It’s almost like this was all leading somewhere! Anyone else making connections here??

I studied Psychology in college, with a Human Services concentration. No, I’m not analyzing you, but I am self-aware, accepting, in tune, and compassionate. Work for you? Good. The HS concentration was basically a social work focus, which for me is about connecting needs with resources. I had some extra credits coming in to college, but I wanted to wait and graduate with my class, so I got to take some random classes for fun my last year. I loved learning language, and so I took Greek and Hebrew and aced them both. Greek felt very natural to my brain— it was organized and predictable. Hebrew was a slog! Very loosey goosey in my opinion—it’s always such and such a way, except when it isn’t at all. But I still enjoyed the challenge, and what a high when you realize you can actually read a passage from an ancient text! No, I don’t remember it now. Don’t quiz me. And I spent a summer in Taiwan during college. Such a thrill! Beautiful places, new-to-me yummy foods, wonderful new friends, and such adventures!

I loved being single and had a blast with a huge friend group during college. I’d usually go to dances with a group of my girl friends. There was very little interest from guys around me, at least as far as I could tell, and I came around to really being happy with that. I had great suite mates, devoted myself to school, had great relationships with a few of my professors, was really involved in campus activities, and had a fun on-campus job. But a guy friend expressed interest in me, and though I decided he wasn’t for me and turned him down kindly, some spiritual leaders put pressure on me to reconsider, and ultimately I decided to marry him. It wasn’t a good decision. But my marriage and motherhood were a super important part of my path. I had the opportunity to work a highly multi-faceted job as a stay-home wife and mom for over a decade, and I loved it!

For the first 9 years, we lived in low-income housing where there were many students and many international refugees. I was surrounded by people from all over the country and all over the world. We had a community garden where I planted zinnias and tomatoes. A lady from far-east Asia one day hoed up part of my garden and scattered some seed in the spot— just on the side of my raised bed. And then pointed at my bag of mulch. She was offering a trade! I wasn’t interested, but she also didn’t wait for a response. I just remember that the seed grew some spicy lettuce, and I didn’t even like it! Another time, we were moving from a townhouse and had to take our queen boxspring out of an upstairs window. My ex had been a high-ropes-course instructor and was very comfortable with ropes and heights and climbing, but it was still an ordeal getting it out of the window and lowering it to the ground. It still cracks me up to remember our Sudanese neighbors, pulling out their lawn chairs and sitting in the shade, kids on laps, to watch us struggle.

Later we moved to Chattanooga, and I love my home here. Over the years, I have learned to make all kinds of breads and tortillas (no, I don’t still); dabbled in quilting, crocheting, home-preserving, and sewing; planted and gardened and pulled up and replanted; and then homeschooled my son for 5 years, which was definitely my most fun adventure ever. We mummified a Cornish hen, spent time in creeks and at farms, took walks and hikes, met to play, met to museum, visited historic places, joined a youth Shakespeare troupe (I helped coach), went to libraries, and read, read, read! I’m so grateful for the years I spent doing this work and being a full-time person, wife, and mom. And it set me up for the concept of the very multi-faceted work I do as a business owner and florist. I communicate, math, meet, plan, research, network, write, create, do grunt work, lead, train… And I like it.

After my son went back to public school, and around the time I separated from my ex, I started exploring paid jobs. I had volunteered quite a lot, but I hadn’t spent time building a career. I love old things. I love old buildings. We were living on the North Shore at the time, while our home was being repaired from the 2020 tornado, and I saw a construction company restoring an early 1900s home on our street. I stopped by one day, asked for the supervisor, and told him I was interested in a job. A few conversations later, I began as a carpenter apprentice. It was interesting and frustrating. In retrospect, I wish I had been more patient with their very slow process of apprenticeship. But I had an incredible foreman, and I took away the beautiful concept of fluency in building. When a person is fluent in a language, they can communicate a single idea in various ways. And experience after experience, I saw that in building too, an objective can be accomplished in so many different ways. Eventually, an experienced carpenter becomes a fluent builder.

Carpentry was doable, but sometimes a stretch for me physically. I pivoted to woodworking and again had very talented mentors. I loved woodworking with a team! And I learned smart ways to use my body to handle physically difficult tasks. I was definitely learning still, but unlike in my previous apprenticeship, my new boss threw me into a fast track for learning. Which was terrifying. Because wood is expensive, so mistakes are expensive. But it was fun. And I am very proud of my work. I learned from my woodworking days, that you can always recover from a mistake. You have to. Because you will make mistakes. You just have to learn how to pivot and adjust the design slightly to accommodate. Not only did this blow open my approach to creative endeavors, it really changed how I saw life experiences. I learned the importance of curiosity and courage in creative work. And the importance of having a creative mind that can find ways to pivot after the unexpected happens. I am so grateful for my time in construction and woodworking.

But working on all-male teams was challenging in various ways. I had a few experiences with arranging flowers for friends and family and church, and I liked it. To balance out the man-time, I started assisting a florist on the side. It gave me a different kind of creative outlet and time with other women. I finally quit my job in woodworking and began picking up more freelance floral work with various Chattanooga wedding florists. From working with a variety of florists— some with retail shops, some with home studios— I got to see a variety of business approaches, and of course, different florists do similar things in different ways. I kind of became a centerpiece queen, and of course I did smalls—boutonnieres and corsages— and collaborated on large installations as well. I struggled with bouquets until I worked with another florist who had larger hands, like mine. She taught me her hold, and it worked for me!

In 2024, I launched my own business, The Gilded Garden, and here I am still. I love what I do. There are challenges. I keep learning things. Pivoting. Growing. I keep an open mind about how to approach working with you all, so if you have ideas based on your experiences, your feedback is welcome. I have mostly done wedding work so far, but I really love funeral work as well and would like to do more of that, as well as corporate events or arrangements for high end hotels. I love what I do. So I’m excited to keep going with it and see where things take me. And I’m grateful to those of you who have trusted me with your special days. I get to do the cool things I do, because you let me do them. And I’m grateful to the team of people (and Biscuit!) who make all the things happen. Because I can’t do all that I need to do in a short time by myself. I need help, and I enjoy your company. It’s fun to work together.

And there you go. An introduction to Kelly.

Exit, pursued by a bear.