Today we’d like to introduce you to Deborah Myers.
Deborah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Before I begin my story, I am going to step back for a moment and talk about my roots. My grandmother loved flowers dearly, and in the summers, I would water her garden while she went on cruises with my grandfather. I have such fond memories of her little garden shed with her straw hat, worn garden gloves and old gardening tools. I like to think that she started me on my flower adventure before I even knew it. In Fall 2018, I experimented with planting my first flowers from seed and to my joy and utter amazement, they bloomed!! The feeling of tending and caring for a tiny seedling so patiently and then months later reaping the fruits of all your hard work was and is completely addicting. I was hooked. Around this time, I became aware of the “slow flower” movement. Like the shift towards locally grown seasonal food and supporting farmers, this movement centered on supporting local flower growers by celebrating seasonal blooms grown right next door.
I was inspired by the work of Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower, who emphasized you did not need a lot of space to grow cut flowers. I took this message to heart and, over the next two years, transformed my small urban backyard into a mini flower farm where I grew and provided local blooms to my community, florists, and the farmers market. In Fall of 2018, I also began experimenting with pressing flowers. I loved the idea of preserving the color and form of a flower. I began using flowers as a painter would use paint to make a wide variety of animals, insects, moons and planets, anatomical art, ballerinas, etc. The response from my customers and community was overwhelming and beyond encouraging. People were inspired by my work and told me that they treasured it in their homes and that was the motivation I needed to keep developing my craft.
In Fall of 2019, I did my first art show event and then later that same week was able to do a mini-exhibition of my work at our local art museum. A few months prior to this, I had finally done the legwork to figure out how to have Giclee prints made of my work, which is something so many people had requested. Giclee prints really were a turning point in my business and my life as an artist because it allowed me to become profitable and to spend more time creating new designs with my originals. I began this year with an intention to really focus on my Etsy shop, which had been on the back burner up until this point. I finally had grown my business to the point where I could have a large amount of prints and greeting cards on hand. The effort has really paid off, and the growth of my Etsy store feels exponential. Just a few weeks ago, I celebrated 1,000 sales. I am still shocked and honored when I think that so many people want my work in their homes or want to give it as gifts.
In March of this year, Laura of Garden Answer, who I had long admired and followed for gardening advice, shared my work. The exposure and growth from Laura’s Instagram post about my work has just been another catalyst to propel my small business forward. I am finding that so many people really do want to shop small and support makers and women-owned businesses and I feel blessed to live in this time.
Has it been a smooth road?
Everything about this journey has been a struggle in some sense or another. I have no formal training as an artist, I was a math major in university, so I have had to learn every single thing from scratch. I have always been a self-starter though and am not intimidated by a challenge. My mom owns an Etsy shop and I worked for her for a few years before I began mine and the experience that gave me was invaluable.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Pressed Posy story. Tell us more about your art.
The Pressed Posy is known for original pressed flower art. My butterfly study piece is one of my most popular pieces and I have never seen anything like it from another artist. I have now become the girl who goes to parties or events and is asked, “Are you that Pressed Posy girl?” It makes me laugh but also makes me proud because my work really does stand out, and people are fascinated with it. I’m so proud of all the hard work I have done to get to this point.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see my business continuing to grow as I tend it, just like my garden grows when I spend my time lovingly tending it. Pressed flowers have been trending on Etsy for the last two years, and I see that trend continuing to rise as people pay more attention to sustainability, plants and the environment in the future.
Pricing:
- 8″ by 10″ fine art Giclee Print, $25
- 5″ by 7″ fine art Giclee Print, $18
- Sustainably Printed Greeting Card, $5.25
- 8″ by 10″ Original Piece of Pressed Flower Art, $65
- 11″ by 14″ fine art Giclee Print, $35
Contact Info:
- Website: www.etsy.com/shop/thepressedposy
- Email: thepressedposy@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepressedposy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepressedposy/
Image Credit:
Breanne Johnson (first image – portrait of me)
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