Meet Joanna Hall of The Flower Mill in Lowell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joanna Hall.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Joanna. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was an individual who was diagnosed with mental illness at a young age, to be exact the doc said I was a paranoid schizophrenic with auditory hallucinations, bipolar, with severe depression and anxiety. Shortly after that, which was my senior year in high school, I learned I also had a learning disability that had been ignored until then. You might ask what this has to do with anything to opening and running a business – but it has a lot to do with it. Going thru all of it had confirmed that I was different but not in a bad way.

Ever since I was very young, I didn’t fit into the social groups, I had a magnificent problem with authority, I had ideas and I wanted to put them into action, only to find I had to follow someone else’s vision. It sounded like my worst nightmare. Screaming internally “JUST LET ME DO THIS!” Much like anyone else, I put in my time at the awful part-time gigs to make some money. Job after job, time after time, I was disappointed and needed something more. It drove me up the wall.

The reason I bring up the aforementioned diagnosis is because it wasn’t until after this, that I realized, this everyday misery just isn’t worth it. I didn’t understand how people could do this for years on end, being unsatisfied by an unfulfilling job and working to live and finding that at the end of the day you don’t even have the time to live anyways! I needed something that I was willing to put in the hours and feel good about at the end of the day all while keeping my sanity. I had dealt with my diagnosis, got off any medication, finished school, studied art in Florence, Italy, got my BFA in painting and photography at NHIA in NH, worked thru school for over 6 years, and while my employer at the time was having me run her shop she decided she wasn’t going to give me time off to visit with my family during Christmas. I quit. I graduated and 6 months later opened The Flower Mill.

There had been countless people who told me what a bad idea it was, how it wouldn’t last. In 2012, I opened the doors two weeks before the largest holiday for a florist of the year, Valentine’s Day. Five and half years later, I still work for myself, I’m not bankrupt (which is the constant rollercoaster thought process you have), have amazing employees who I hope to motivate when they want to follow their own dreams, and contribute to the economic growth in the very city that I grew up in. I wanted to be a part of the rebirth of a city that I believed in and now I’m grateful to say that I have been. Even if it’s in a small way, and as easy as bringing a fresh look to fresh flowers to Lowell’s doorsteps.

Essentially, entrepreneurship is working 80 hours a week so you don’t have to work 40 for someone else. The longest weeks are almost always the most satisfying while being the most exhausting. I wanted to fuse my art degree to my work and bring the artistry of floral arranging to a city that was long dormant and about to re-bloom. The city of Lowell, much like myself, had been judged, overlooked, misunderstood – but both decided to make a comeback, no matter what anyone had to say about it.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road, one sometimes awful, windy, bumpy, pot-hole filled road. I didn’t start with enough money because I wasn’t approved for the amount I needed so I started lower than I should have. The space that I first opened in had an awful landlord, which resulted in losing more money and nearly going bankrupt, court fees, and so on because the landlord refused to fix the heat amongst other things but I had lost because there was a “no self help” clause in my lease. I lost time with my family and friends, it caused a lot of stress in my relationships, and so much more.

The Flower Mill – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Flower Mill is a custom floral boutique. We create artistic, thoughtfully created floral designs, for every day celebrations, weddings and events. We are known for our custom designs along with our exclusive flower choices that come from all over the world. Unique designs that are custom to your needs. We specialize in unique wedding florals that are tailored to budget and inspiration as best we can. As for setting us apart, that is our absolute goal, we don’t want to be like the florist down the street, why would we offer you the same thing, we want to offer you something better, something you haven’t seen, but if you need something for grandma who might be more traditional – we can do that too if you need us too.

I am so proud of The Flower Mill for not fitting the mold as so many do in our industry in the area. There are places that have shed that old-school style and we love seeing that, but we are the first to do it in our area with a loud woohoo to follow! I only hope it continues to take the lead and as we grow to be a leader in our community and in our industry.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
This is tough, I ask myself a couple questions all the time to see if I am happy with where we are as a business, and if we are being successful. Am I happy? Am I getting everything I want out of what I am doing? Am I creating something that I want to share with absolutely everyone? If I can answer these with a resounding yes, then I think I am successful. At certain times, these can go up and down on a scale and I take a step back and think about how I can change them, improve them, not only for myself but for those around me. I’ll tell you one thing, I don’t there’s anything worse than an unhappy boss – I never want to be an unhappy/unfair boss.

Contact Info:

• Address: The Flower Mill
  183 Dutton St.,
  Lowell, MA 01852
• Website: www.lowellflowermill.com
• Phone: 978-677-6894
• Email: joanna@lowellflowermill.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/flowersnfun/
• Facebook: facebook.com/lowellflowermill
• Twitter: twitter.com/Flower_Mill
• Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/the-flower-mill-lowell

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