Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaylyn Hewitt.
Kaylyn, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m originally from just east of Dallas, Texas. After graduating from Baylor University, I moved to Boston to pursue a master’s degree in Child Life. I had only been to this part of the country once (just a couple months before my big move) and I moved at the beginning of January. That is one part of the story I would change–I would not have moved from Texas to Boston in January. A few months after arriving, it became obvious to me that graduate school was not a good fit for me. I was spending a majority of my time arranging flowers for friends and dreaming of a job full of flowers and creating. After a few more weeks of mulling it over, I decided to quit graduate school and work towards starting a company. I spent my day’s nannying and spent my nights reading up on how to start a company and what the word “branding” meant. I started 1956blooms in 2013 and I haven’t looked back since. A year and half ago I changed the name to True Vine Studio so that I would have a bigger umbrella to hover over bigger dreams. Flowers will always be a part of this brand and company, but on the horizon I see much more and I wanted to the new name to be able to hold the weight of that.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The short answer is a huge no. Entrepreneurship is one of the hardest things I have ever done (and probably will ever do) and anyone who tells you differently may be living in a false reality. That may be harsh, but I would love to have a conversation with that person. Owning your own business means getting comfortable in the grey area. It means taking leap after leap and not knowing where or if you’ll land. I talked to an owner of a gym one afternoon and he said something that has stuck with me. He said, “I would never wish entrepreneurship on my worst enemy but I wouldn’t change it for anything.” I think that sums it up perfectly. There have been times when I didn’t know if I would have a company in a month, but I wouldn’t change this experience for anything. There’s something magical about stepping out in faith, knowing that there’s a chance you could fail, and sticking the landing. My measure for success is not how much money I’m making or how many new followers I have–feast or famine is a real thing and followers can always leave. I’ve learned that I succeed at this by trying my hardest, trusting my instincts, and creating beauty that I want to see in the world.
Please tell us about True Vine Studio.
True Vine Studio is best known for wedding florals. For the past four years, I have traveled all around New England designing and creating for weddings. It’s been such an amazing experience and I have been able to see parts of the country that I probably would have never gone to. In the future, True Vine will also be an online home and garden store, we will continue to host workshops that foster creativity in community, and we will aid and have resources for other florists and creatives through our blog. It’s a lot, but I’m so excited to see what the future has for True Vine.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would not have moved to Boston in January. That’s the only thing. I’m a believer that choosing to do one thing differently changes everything. I think every success and failure has been important to True Vine. Who knows, maybe if I had moved in May and had seen the fullness of the public garden, I might not have sought out flowers to remind me of warmer temps.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.truevinestudio.com
- Email: hello@truevinestudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TrueVineStudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Truevinestudio/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrueVine_Studio
Image Credit:
Ebersole Photography, Gabby Riggieri Photography, Cambria Grace Photography, and Elizabeth LaDuca Photograpy
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