When I first moved up to Seattle for college, I told myself I'd go down to Pike Place Market and get myself fresh flowers every week. As life would have it, that fantasy never materialized, but the spirit is still there!

Sarah Abare reached out to me a few weeks ago about her new business called The Stemmery. The Stemmery is essentially what college Jess could have used in her life - a subscription flower delivery service. The concept is simple: choose your preference (a Rainier bouquet that you can arrange yourself; the Cascadian stems of standard size; or the grand-sized Olympic Blooms), choose your frequency (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly), process payment, then wait to enjoy your beautiful flowers.

I had the honor of receiving a Cascadian Stems arrangement hand-delivered by Sarah herself, and the flowers brightened up our home instantly. In fact, it's been two weeks and the greenery is still going!

I asked Sarah to give us a little insight on her inspirations behind The Stemmery. It's been awhile since I've posted an Aces interview, and I'm thankful it's someone so awesome. Take it away, Sarah!

What made you want to create The Stemmery? 

The Stemmery is the merging of two of my passions: nature and creating. Over the past few years I’ve been working with flowers and loving it and I decided I wanted to create a business where I could do it full time. After lots of brainstorming and the helpful input of my husband, Luke, and a few other family members and friends, the idea to create a subscription flower deliver service was born. Working with flowers full time has been a dream. I love carefully placing each unique stem into an arrangement, feeling the connection to the earth and appreciating the beauty that comes from it and then sharing that with my customers. 

Why a subscription service versus one-time or floral design? 

There are many amazing floral designers in Seattle right now offering one-time purchase flowers and beautiful wedding and event design. I wanted to create a business where I would do something a little different. From a business perspective, subscriptions are great because once a customer signs up, they are likely to stay a customer for awhile. But aside from that, I love the aspect of my customers deciding they like my arrangements, signing up to receive a bouquet or arrangement once a week (or however often) and then getting to surprise them each time with different combinations of local, seasonal flowers. 

Where do you source your flowers from? 

All of my flowers are sourced absolutely as locally as possible. I am a member of Seattle Wholesale Growers Market Co-op, where farmers from Washington, Oregon and California, sell their flowers. It's really important to me that flowers are fresh, seasonal and also that they aren’t being imported internationally from farms that don’t have ethical business practices or treat their employees fairly. 

What did you do before The Stemmery? 

I spent 14 months in Cape Town, South Africa, volunteering at a non-profit with my husband. It was while we were there that I was able to really think and plan for The Stemmery. 

What's your favorite flower and why? 

I love cafe au lait dahlias. Dahlias are in season primarily from July-September, so I don’t get to enjoy them nearly as much as I wish. The cafe au lait is a large flower. It’s a beautiful dusty pink, with petals that curl uniquely around the pistil (center of the flower) - it’s these curling petals that make it my favorite.

What's your favorite thing about Seattle? 

Seattle won me over with it’s topography. Mountains in almost every direction that you look, water everywhere, killer sunsets over the Puget Sound. I never get tired of the views here.

Thanks, Sarah! Learn more and order from The Stemmery here.

Read all of my interviews here.