Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Fenwick.
Hi Ian, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
The business started with accidentally drying some crimini mushrooms I dried with my roommate in the refrigerator and getting hooked on the taste sometime in early 2020. With the pandemic, I was also going garden and fitness crazy, optimizing my health and well-being, eating healthy home-cooked meals every day. We went down the youtube rabbit hole of how to grow your own mushrooms, and we discovered that people were actually selling them, so we decided to turn this newfound passion for the health benefits into a business. Before we knew it, we were making or buying professional equipment and selling out of the Tomball Farmers Market. It started with one variety, and now we have three, with two more in the works and several products we are either selling or developing. I’ve met great people through the market, and we get to offer a fun side gig to two of our friends.
I often tell people that this is a side job, but honestly, it doesn’t feel like work at all. It’s such a good feeling to spend a morning putting smiles on people’s faces at the farmers’ markets and talking to people about nature and health. We make amazing connections at the market. Just this last week, I exchanged some Lion’s Mane with a woman for some wildflower seeds, been on a podcast with a local Texas transplant, and since our beginning, we’ve been returning our blocks back to the earth every week at a local Texas Eco Farm. We have had such amazing synchronicities happen that I’m really looking forward to seeing where this journey of Mush Love will take us.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the big struggles we’ve encountered were with staying ahead of demand. Everything has a certain window for colonization, fruiting, and harvesting, so there’s a big learning curve to make sure we have a consistent harvest every week so our regular customers can depend on us.
Another struggle has been finding the right grain, where to get it, and how to get it here. There was a day when one of our shipments got lost in a receiving center, and I had to track it down, hand loaded half a ton of grain bags into my Kia Soul by hand, and drive home in flooded roads during a thunderstorm. To me, this is all part of the adventure.
Now we have a much better way to get grain, and the way we prepare it is a lot less labor with better results.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think the thing that I’m known for by my friends is that I’m really into health and wellness. By trade, I’ve been working in the tech industry for almost a decade, but that doesn’t really define me. Really my whole life I’ve been a problem solver, autodidact. Give me a problem, the internet, and enough time, and I can fix just about any problem.
What defines Mush Love from other cultivators I know of is that we are really passionate about being connected to our community and going above and beyond to build trust with our customers. We can start by recycling our blocks to the earth, sure, but over time we want people, our environment, our villages to be healthier, happier. It’s a lot to unpack; all I can say is stay tuned.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
As a child, the best memory I have is going to the Franklin Institute with my parents and my dad, explaining how steam locomotives worked, letting me explore all the science displays and taking in this amazing world around us. I was truly blessed to have such a strong and dedicated father.
Pricing:
- Blue Oyster – $12/lb
- Lion’s Mane – $16/lb
- Pioppino – $15/lb
- Lions Mane Grow Kit – $22
- Blue Oyster Grow Kit – $22
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mushlovesupply.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/mushlovetexas/
