Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Blincoe.
Hi Christina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello Lovely! My name is Christina. I am so glad you are here. We hope our story inspires you to dream big and to chase your dreams.
Our beautiful lavender story started when my husband Joe and I got married in Maui in 2007, where we visited a lavender farm on the Island. We both fell in love with this amazing farm and lavender and it was in this moment that inspired us to start a lavender farm in 2017.
We both have corporate careers, raising a family and running our sons to sporting activities and church events. There was really no time, money or room in our busy lives to be entrepreneurs and business owners, farmers and artisans but this dream and passion to bring this into a reality kept pulling on us. We decided to look for a home with land and in 2015, we moved from our comfortable, predictable lives to creating something new. A legacy for our sons that we could be proud of.
We knew this would be a journey not a sprint. We were ok with farming small, using sustainable and organic practices, not taking on debt, taking our time to do research, select the right varieties of lavender for our area and learn how to create clean products that would benefit our clients. This is a core value of our business.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
With any new business and farm, it is about patience. Can you work smarter with the time and resources you are given? Are you willing to do the work that others aren’t. Are you serving your clients well and do you see repeat business? Are you willing to invest in yourself (business), with your own money to move the business forward and in different markets?
These are all things we have had to learn and continue to work hard at each day.
We have learned so much since the first plant went into the ground in 2015. When we started, we did not focus on farmer’s markets or pop-ups events but took our products and services online to serve a larger demographic.
We now have added almost 80 events a year to our calendar to bring our products to the local communities and to get our name out there as a recognized brand.
We have struggled with the amount of hats we wear, not having the income (remember no debt) to pay ourselves or our staff. We know that by starting off doing each part of the operation ourselves, as a family-owned business, we will be a stronger business long term when add staff. Our goal is to grow by 10-15 employees by 2025.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are artisans. Joe and I create luxury lavender products that are clean from toxins. We farm organic, No herbicides or pesticides. We only use organic fertilizers on our property and plants. We know you will experience the quality found in the products we produce. From candles, essential oils, herbal teas and more, we are proud of this and know this sets us apart. Our candles are soy-based, using essential oils for a clean burn. We also have the most adorable flower truck where we sell our products out of the back of our 1953 Ford.
What were you like growing up?
When I (Christina) was growing up, I was always dreaming of how I could invent something, dreamed of making something that would enrich the lives of others around me.
I pushed myself more than anyone else around me. I was almost to hard on myself to succeed.
I wanted to be the best at something, anything that would make a difference for others.
I went to college for International Business and Accounting and loved to travel.
This has helped me personally have empathy for those around me and has served me well in listening to our customers.
I was really good at Software Engineering so I was an Oracle Software Engineer for 24 years.
This has also helped me in other ways in my business, creating our website, creating workflows to improve production and of course doing our accounting and taxes. Jobs most people hire out. Of course there was also big hair, leg warmers and the best golden tan growing up.
Contact Info:
- Website: sweetstreamslavender.com
- Instagram: sweetstreamslavender
- Facebook: sweetstreamslavender
- Linkedin: Christina Blincoe
- Twitter: sweetstreamslavender
