Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Trambley.
Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
ONE SUN Farm & Apothecary was my answer to underemployment following a devastating job loss. I had been let go from what I thought was my dream job running a plant store after asking to step back to allow more space to balance motherhood, only to have been fired. With four children, including one special-needs child, this event profoundly shaped my opinion of working for anyone other than myself. Realizing that our work culture isn’t very friendly to parents, especially mothers, I started dreaming of what my perfect work reality would look like gardening/lots of time outside, a concept and business that allowed me to be creative and ever-shifting, and a business model that always held space for me to be a mom and a boss. I didn’t want to have to choose between the two any longer.
When diving into what type of plant-related business, my background greatly influenced me in herbalism, my love for flowers, and the genuine pleasure of botanically-based luxuries such as skincare and dyed garments. My husband, Philip, and I started brainstorming product ideas and applying for licenses, and I dove in deep into graphic design and website building all by myself. Doing the work of conceptualizing and creating all of our branding and packaging helped boost my confidence. We had ONE SUN pop-up at a local plant market in October of 2022 and have yet to look back. Our product range now includes herbal beverage blends, tinctures, dried florals, botanically dyed garments, skin care products, and live plant starts. I recently left my part-time job to focus on ONE SUN full-time. We now host workshops and are popping up 8-10 times a month in the greater Orlando area, and we have a mobile dried-flower bar available for private events. We have been continuously blown away by the amount of support we have received in the last year and a half, and we can not wait to see what the future holds for ONE SUN.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting a small business during our current economic climate has been very tough. I have a lot of vendor friends with much longer histories who are seeing some of their lowest sales ever, which can be very discouraging. As long as I put myself out there consistently, folks will remember and support us during the easier times. Farming in and of itself is a challenging work. We plant most of our crops directly into the ground, as opposed to raised beds, so building the health and quality of our soil has taken many seasons. Add in our blistering hot summers and rainy season, hurricane damage, and the demands of everyday life, and it can make growing your supplies a challenge. We are learning a lot every season. I would be remiss to leave out the difficulties of being a small-business owner and a mother. Any working mom can relate to the struggle of feeling torn between two realities and falling short on both sides. Balancing my family’s needs with running a small urban farm and business can often seem impossible. Still, I am choosing this to show myself grace and model work-life balance to my kids.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I like to think of myself as a farmer/artist. While most urban farmers focus specifically on vegetables/herbs/flowers for farmer’s markets, I concentrate my planting on the creative endeavors I wish to pursue, and we typically apply them to maker markets. The seeds we choose each season reflect our current interests and tastes, and we act as one of our suppliers. One of the things I am most proud of is staying true to our vision and being willing to march to the beat of our drum, even when it doesn’t make sense to others. Folks like what we are doing, and our authenticity plays a significant role in our successes.
What’s next?
I try to keep plans flexible and conceptualize multiple outcomes almost in a “choose-your-own-adventure” style. In the long term, I would like a brick-and-mortar space to use as a studio, workshop space, and retail store. Having a space for folks to gather to learn about gardening, floral design, and herbalism and host kid-friendly events is very near to our hearts. Additionally, we would love to have a larger farm/growing space and expand our private event business, offering an interactive experience with our everlasting bouquet bar for showers, parties, and corporate events.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.onesunfarmfl.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/onesunfarmfl
Image Credits
Lauren Garvin, Doe Creative
