Marfa Blooms
est. 2023
MARFA
noun | the West Texas town we call home
Because every business in Marfa has to let people know we are HERE in Marfa (…and HEY - it’s a good name!)
BLOOMS
noun | a flower ; especially one cultivated for its beauty
verb | become radiant or glowing; flourish
Because we are growing flowers; but we also love the double meaning: that we are blooming as a town
It all started with an idea. Alamito Foundation wanted to develop an entrepreneurship gardening program for Marfa High School students. Last year we piloted a new program in the school. The idea was that the students in this class would run a gardening business “on training wheels”. The students were excited and got to work immediately.
From the garden at the ranch to the greenhouse at the school…
Our Story:
Why flowers?
When deciding what kind of agribusiness we wanted to start, student and Marfa Blooms staff Andru Bentley said, “I think we should grow flowers because I never am able to purchase fresh flowers for my prom dates!”
The whole room of students agreed!
Naming Marfa Blooms and designing our business:
As you read above we chose our name very carefully. We wanted to represent our community, be clear what we are about, and also be a bright spot in our community. We love the positive message that the name Marfa Blooms sends. We also knew that if in the future, students want to grow items other than just flowers that the name would still stick!
Asked for a loan:
We began by asking Marfa National Bank for a “loan” for seed money. After getting approved, we researched and chose seeds that would do well in the desert. Once the seeds and bulbs arrived, we got to work planting in our greenhouse on Alamito Ranch. Every week, we spent two full class periods down at Alamito Ranch working in the garden. The other two school days, we stayed in class and worked “on” the business.
Stewarding our Seedlings:
After nurturing our seedlings, we watched our own plantings begin to sprout and grow. Slowly but surely flower blooms began to show their color and sparkle. We wanted to spend everyday just walking the isles of the beautiful flowers we planted!
We also spent this time visiting with Master Gardeners and participating in local farmers markets.
Operating Marfa Blooms:
Next, we reached out to local businesses - we had SO many flowers, we wanted to set up subscriptions with local businesses to provide fresh, bright flowers for their customers and clients. We got to work with so many lovely businesses in Marfa and we are extremely grateful that they trusted us with their floral arrangement needs!
We spent the rest of the school year fulfilling orders for our subscribers and for any individual who wanted to purchase arrangements. We couldn’t believe how successful we were!
Closed for the summer and construction BUT WE WILL BE BACK THIS FALL!!!
We closed the business down for the summer as students graduated or were gone for the summer. We also took this opportunity to move our beloved greenhouse to the Marfa ISD campus so that we can continue our business directly from school! We planted a few plants this summer and hope to be back in action this fall!
We hope that YOU will trust us too with your floral arrangement needs!