Life & Work with Shannon Allen of Uniontown, Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Allen.

Hi Shannon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My husband, Judd, and I sought out to have a small hobby farm when we got married. When we moved into our current property we had 3 kids under 3 and a couple acres to make beautiful! We decided on flowers and soon learned that there was a need for local flowers in our market. From there, the business grew year after year right along with our children. When we first started, we did only 3 crop varieties – zinnias, sunflowers and dahlias on just 1/4 acre. Now, our farm grows over 20 acres of cut flowers. Judd and I are first generation farmers, so have learned everything as we went. If you would have told us 10 years ago we would be in over 50 grocery, have 2000+ people show up to our you pick events, and design flowers for a living, we would have never believed you! We are so grateful we are here.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course not! Farming is full of challenges that change from year to year. It has a way of humbling you. We do our best to ride the wave of mother nature and keep getting better year after year. Judd and I have always been a “learn as you go” type of business owners and try to embrace that stage and keep learning.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Farming is my passion and I am constantly inspired by the flowers that we grow. On our farm, we specialize in beautiful, sustainably grown cut flowers. Our design studio utilizes a garden style and we love getting to allow our customers to experience flowers that they have never seen or heard of! I am most proud of how the farm has grown and changed to meet customer needs over the years. We always have our customer experience at the top of our mind and have always followed their lead.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see the domestic specialty cut flower industry growing! Local florists and wholesalers who have become very comfortable with imports are starting to see the beauty of what is locally grown and embracing it! As it becomes more expensive to import, I can see the shift happening to provide locally sourced flowers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bloomhillfarm.com
• Instagram: @bloomhillfarm
• Facebook: Bloom Hill Farm