By Lance Winter
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Sometimes you just have to have faith! That is the message from entrepreneur Angie Stanley. After working for a family business for several years, she decided to branch out on her own with a silk floral arrangements business (she makes amazing creative wreaths). For aspiring women in business, Angie is an example that sometimes you just have to make the leap and know that no matter what, you will be ok.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Someone once told me that your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.
Angie Stanley can attest to that. The 39-year-old Weatherford native has taken her unique talent and used it to make life a little less drab and a little more “circular.”
You may know her parents, the owners of Lamb’s Print Shop, where she worked for a little while before branching out on her own. It happened one day that her husband began to encourage her to open her own business.
“My husband kept telling me, ‘I think you should do something on your own; I think you’ll be happier.'” she recalled. “So it happened that one of our friends, who had a silk floral business, were getting out of the business and selling their inventory.”
As it turned out that was all she needed.
“So we bought all of the inventory, a huge garage full of materials, changed the name and reopened the business,” Stanley said.
“I started making silk floral arrangements for furniture companies.”
But it wasn’t until one day when one of the company’s asked her to design a couple of wreaths for a customer.
“They asked me if I could do it and so I did, and my business just took off,” Stanley said.
“I started this completely on faith — that God would take care of me and He has,” Stanley added. “That’s why I named the business Bloom Where You’re Planted. It has surpassed my wildest dreams.”
She said 70-80 percent of her wreaths are custom orders with people being “specific” with what they want.
“One of the most unusual wreaths I’ve made was a Star Wars Valentines Wreath,” Stanley said. “It had Princess Leia saying, ‘I love you,’ and Hans Solo replying, ‘I know.'”
The medium she crafts her works of art with is a burlap mesh which neutral in color and easy to use with other colors. It’s also very durable.
Stanley said she has made wreaths for almost any theme which included Mother Day, Valentine’s Day, a baby’s room, Christmas and most recently for the TCU women’s basketball team assistant coaches.
“I get a little overwhelmed sometimes with me making them and shipping them,” she said.
Shipping which has seen them all the way to Canada.
“People ask me if I ever get tired of making them and I just don’t,” Stanley said. “I love making the wreaths and I believe it’s a God given talent and I just love it. I love the people I get to know, and I’ve made friends that I would have otherwise never gotten to know if not for this.”
She has a booth set up at The Junktion located at 125 North Elm in Weatherford where around a dozen or so of her wreaths can be purchased between $60-$70.
Ask any of her customers and they’ll tell you her work is exceptional.
“Angie’s custom wreaths are extraordinary,” said Melissa Patterson of Weatherford. “I should know as I have 15 for every holiday and season.”
Amy Grisby from Roby echoed similar sentiments.
“I have known Angie for a long time and have bought wreaths from her before,” she said. “They are beautiful and affordable and she can make anything for you. You name it and she can do it.”
Anna Jorgensen of Springtown calls Stanleys work “beautiful.”
“You can tell Angie always makes her wreaths from her heart,” she said. “Beautiful and awesome.”
Stanley refers to her customers as family.
“My customers are amazing,” Stanley said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
