Dedicated To Their Craft; Featuring Sarah Lagrotteria and Tricia Wheeler

This month is all about showcasing women-owned businesses, and I’m happy and proud to bring more light to Flowers & Bread and The Seasoned Farm House. This pandemic has been really tough on businesses in general, and while there have been obstacles aplenty, these two businesses found ways to pivot and find themselves even more during challenging times.

Sarah Lagrotteria and Tricia Wheeler exemplify female role models in the business community. It’s clear after talking with both of them that they are leaders in their fields. While they are both partners in Flowers & Bread, Sarah does a lot of the driving on this project. In 2021, she emphasized the importance of silver linings and that this pandemic afforded her the opportunity to slow down a little and think about the direction of the business. It became clear she wants to lean more into the workshopping aspect.

She’s found tremendous joy teaching and leading these workshops from an assortment of floral arrangements and garden plantings to bread building classes. Clients can express their creativity while they learn helpful skills. I’m paraphrasing here, but her eyes lit up when she explained that every person has their unique, creative stamp they put on each bouquet, and helping her clients realize that brings her joy.

Tricia Wheeler is as business savvy as they come. Her book, Peaceful Dinners is more than a recipe book, it streamlines the way we purchase ingredients and addresses our tendency to waste food as well. She’s worked on this book for over ten years, and it’s written with the thought of making dinners and meals for practical people. You need this book. I need this book. Teach me your ways, Tricia.

Chef Tricia owns The Seasoned Farmhouse, a recreational cooking school. And while they suspended in-person classes throughout the pandemic, Tricia found that she was putting a lot of emphasis on her newsletter. This was still about connection. So, while things were out of her control with in-person classes, etc. she exercised more control over her connections with her family first and foremost, but also to the community she'd fostered. Those connections helped her realize she wants to slow down a little bit and not be all go, go, go. with in-person classes reopening soon, she's looking to keep that focus in mind more.

I had such an excellent day getting to know these two women and see them clearer. And while they both spoke heavily about the community they’ve built up around them and how grateful they are for the outpouring of support, let's not forget that these women built this. Sarah and Tricia worked hard to build these systems the right way that inspires the community to spring up around them. That loyalty and support wouldn’t exist in the way that they do without these two at the helms.

Through April, we're keeping our relationship with our favorite nonprofit, Brown Girls Mentoring. You can book our business package where 10% of these bookings will go to Brown Girls Mentoring. Send us an email for details about how to book your business package.

All photos are taken by Emma Parker Photography.

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