With gratitude I wrap up our first full season selling my home grown and hand picked market bouquets out of our refurbished vintage horse trailer . "Little Bloom" is our mobile bloom bar appropriately named by our daughter.
In winter of 2020 I had a vision to refurbish a horse trailer and with my husband's blessing I began my search. To my surprise these trailers were expensive and likely abandoned on someone's property. Before I could schedule a time to tour several trailers they quickly sold! I located this trailer in Battleground. It was located on a farm in southern Washington. The previous owner shared that he picked up the trailer at an estate sale. It was my understanding that his daughter was a barrel racer and they had hoped to convert this trailer into an espresso cart at the rodeo. Apparently the original owner built the trailer from scratch in 1968 and hauled his horses elk hunting. I appreciated learning the trailers history and could invision Little Bloom on these adventures. I was drawn to the moon capped wheels and original pink rims. I love the bull nose corners and character it displayed.
I had to have new tires put on the trailer to even get it home. David & I made the journey to Battleground. The trailer had more rust than I anticipated but David could see my vision and we hauled it home May 30th 2020. It poured rain the entire drive and the trailer traveled beautifully!
That summer I loaded the trailer as is, rust and all. Filling it with buckets of flowers from our farm to market. It was my second season at The Arlington Farmers Market. I was so excited at the potential for the trailer and I was dreaming up ways to utilize its space and one day convert it to a curbside pop up.
I interviewed three local welders and shared my vision. Aerotech of Arlington was excited and although they hadn't taken on a custom project like this one they welcomed the challenge. My request was that they include me in the process. What I didn't want was to drop the trailer off and then once it was completed they call me to come and pick it up. I wanted to be involved in the decisions and part of each phase of the conversion. I wanted the window cut out to accommodate my height. I wanted the ramp and other aspects of the trailer manageable by myself. After all I was the one hauling it to market. Aerotech was great to work with. We troubleshooted the custom rear doors, the ramp and work flow. They accommodated my every request and appreciated the embellishment's. This conversation was done during the Covid-19 pandemic and unfortunately the cost of materials increased significantly. When the project was completed the expenses doubled its original bid! Coincidentally on my birthday, February 15th, I was able to bring the trailer home! This also marked the beginning of the next phase, the custom woodwork would be designed and installed by my dad, Raye.
My dad is a custom cabinet maker by trade and since retired. He is always willing to tackle a project with me and has great attention to detail. We hired him for this project and he went all out! He had an old large piece of Curley Maple hanging out in this shop and thought that it could be used for the live edge wood bar. He took the slab to the OSO mill and had it plained and cut to size. He took time to epoxy the live edge maple bar. Giving it time to set and sand between coats. His patients paid off and it turned out beautifully! He also installed a new floor, custom storage cabinets, side paneling and beautiful rear doors. Dad worked diligently in the long cold days with the anticipation of returning to market and launching Little Bloom in May that year.
On May 7, 2022 we loaded the refurbished horse trailer up with our farms fresh flowers and revealed Little Bloom at The Arlington Farmers Market. I was overwhelmed with the response! Everyone had the kindest complements. It was a full circle moment that my dad and the owners of Aeroteck could be there! Friends and family lined up to take pictures and pick out their bouquets. I am forever grateful for the communities support and encouragement. It was so satisfying experiencing this dream come to fruition!
Thank you to The City of Arlington for your willingness to think outside of the box and support local small businesses going mobile. The possibilities are endless! Thank you to the Market Manager Diane for inviting me to our market and for accommodating my parking space requests. Thank you for my husband David who believed in my vision and for his willingness to fund this project. With out him, this would not have been possible. If you shopped Little Bloom, thank you! If you photographed Little Bloom, please consider tagging us @flourishorganicfarms
Thank you for supporting local agriculture and considering local businesses first.
Little Bloom is for hire! If you have a special event or looking for an opportunity for corporate team building consider a custom flower experience with Little Bloom.
We are excited for the possibilities!
If you are considering a trailer conversion I'd be happy to answer any questions. This is a big undertaking both mentally and financially.
Keep Flourishing friends!
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