It's easy to see why I’ve always liked making things.

 

Like a good Italian, my dad planted geraniums (so many geraniums--one of my favorites to this day!)--tended our big vegetable garden in the backyard and made a massive pot of homemade spaghetti sauce every week. My mom always said that if it weren’t for my dad my two sisters and I would have starved to death. Sweet making was her speciality. But not just the edible kind.
Because of my parents, our home was the place all my friends wanted to be.

 

They both loved to decorate. In hot pursuit of “great finds,” I’d go with them to estate auctions and watch them bid on something they’d spotted in the preview room. But the pursuit for the unexpected prize wasn't limited to the auction house. On any drive almost to anywhere,
we'd pit stop at every antique shop along the way.

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So I do it now, too. I can't resist a yard sale, bake peach pies as much as I can, and love getting my hands on a good project. Flowers became one of those projects several years ago when a friend asked if I could help create centerpieces for a rehearsal dinner.

A humble start. But I've been doing it ever since.

 

Before starting Bloome, I spent my adult life as a professional actress and voice-over talent and I'm fortunate that even now I get to dip my toes in that pond here and there. I also co-hosted a faith-based radio program with my husband. I'm a published children's book author, and when I'm not flowering, one of my favorite things to do is to read my book to students in schools. My husband Jeffrey and I have a squad of seven kids (now that three of our four have gotten married!) Our winter-back-yard-ice-rink-tradition continues and when we're all back together for the holidays in the tundra of the western suburbs of Chicagoland, they skate.
Our two cocker spaniels and I are quite content to sit inside by the fireplace and watch.

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So excited you're reaching out.
I'd love to make beautiful for you!