Sonshine Blooms brings fresh-cut flowers to Golden Age Vintage Market in Girard
To find some stress relief and bolster her natural creativity, Mandi Clark began gardening.
“I was a first-grade teacher for 16 years and had been struggling the last couple of years, so I picked up gardening as a hobby, and it turned into a lot more,” Clark said.
She didn’t expect what came next: her son, Evander, got excited about helping her sell arrangements and seeing his mom own a flower business.
“He can tell you so much about flowers, and he knows where to cut flowers and how to put them together,” she said.
Clark is the owner of Sonshine Blooms in Girard, an all-natural, pesticide-free florist and one of the businesses who’s set up shop inside the newly-opened Golden Age Vintage Market.
“My favorite flowers are zinnias because that’s what my son and I grew first,” she said. “We started our cut flower garden three years ago, and he was the one who came up with the idea of a flower stand instead of a lemonade stand that summer. We sold out really, really quickly. Since then, he has been helping me with everything to process the flowers. He comes with me to weddings and showers to set up.”
Golden Age Vintage Market is owned by Linda Barton and located inside Sweet Memories Vintage Tees & Candy, which is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.
“For the months of July and August, any day you stop by, you’re going to find some really fun summery bouquets and great houseplants,” Clark said. “I make all my soil myself, and I use only the best. When you get my plants, you’re getting the best soil, and everything will just take off and grow.”
Clark first found out about the marketplace for small business owners from a friend who shared a social media post from Barton asking for vendors.
“Something that has gotten me through tough times was listening to the stories of Henry Ford, JP Morgan and those entrepreneurs who did not give up. You wouldn’t even know all the setbacks they had because of how successful they ended up being,” Clark said. “When Linda and I were talking, we had the same mentality. She also obviously loves history and reading about great entrepreneurs. She said, ‘All you need to do is surround yourself with more women entrepreneurs, and you’ll grow from there.’”
Clark recently started designing her custom arrangements from a studio for the first time.
“I started everything out of my basement and garage, and just this week I moved into a studio,” she said. “I have a couple flower subscriptions where I get to create it for them every month, which I love because I have the freedom of doing whatever I want. I like to throw in herbs, so a lot of all of my arrangements actually have like bits of a garden in them. I’ve always had an eye for design, and I’m really happy I can make it a living.”
At Sonshine Blooms, Clark also delivers to customers in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
“I’m always excited when people say, ‘You saw my vision perfectly,’” Clark said. “I love working with businesses for events. I recently got to do a corporate event with WesBanco. For deliveries, we go to hospitals and nursing homes, assisted living, and working with businesses everywhere, so we love surprising people for their birthday, it’s the best. The best flowers are unexpected.”
