APRIL: On this episode of Fanatical DreamHer, I'm excited to be spending time with Brooke Gagnier, owner of Stem & Thistle Floral in DC Welcome to Fanatical DreamHer, the podcast that celebrates the unstoppable spirit of women who dare to dream big and make those dreams a reality. I'm your host April Kemp, and each week I have the honor of sitting down with incredible women of all ages who have faced challenges head on and emerged victorious. Through their stories of resilience, passion, and triumph, I hope you'll find the spark to ignite your own journey.

APRIL: This is your time. Let's dream, believe, and achieve together. Brooke, we're excited to have you.

BROOKE: Hello April, thank you much for having me. Thank you.

APRIL: Well, you are just well celebrated, well talked about all over, but as a self-taught floral artist, you have just accomplished much. And I don't mean the magazines, Martha Stewart Wedding, Arlington, the count is endless. It's the events that you create.

APRIL: They're absolutely beyond elegant, Brooke.

BROOKE: Thank you. Thank you very much.

APRIL: And I wanted to have you on as just such your dream. Look where it's taken you. let's dive in.

APRIL: I wanna know how old were you when you started to realize your dream?

BROOKE: 43 years old. it's been 10 years. This will be 10 years of Stem & Thistle Floral.

BROOKE: Yeah, it's very exciting.

APRIL: Well, tell us about how you came to it. Obviously, your passion influenced you, but let's start. tell me how it began.

APRIL: I'd love to know how your passion influenced your journey as we're starting. You said at 43, this incredible dream.

BROOKE: Thank you. I think everything came together at 43. I had my three kids.

BROOKE: They were a little bit older. My husband was working in the military. He's retiring.

BROOKE: We decided to stay in the Virginia, Northern Virginia area in Arlington. And I decided I could plant some seeds there and establish some roots and start Stem & Thistle. I've always loved flowers.

BROOKE: I've always loved art and creating for other people. I love, I think the thing, one of the things that I love most is bringing joy. And flowers do just that.

BROOKE: I started making arrangements for friends, helping them when they're putting their houses on the market to sell. I create arrangements for my kids' teachers, just little things here and there. And I just decided I'm just gonna go for it.

BROOKE: I don't know where it's going to lead. We'll see what happens. And I just jumped in.

APRIL: goodness gracious. Well, you did just that. I love that you said that all the things you've always loved because all of your past came together, your loves for this incredible start.

APRIL: And, just to let people know you do events and weddings, you do many things, but you're known to be the most elegant. And I think people use the word nature a lot when they describe Stem & Thistle. And I'd love to know how this has changed you personally.

APRIL: you worked on this dream a little bit later in life. I think you were perfectly ready, right? But how has it changed you personally?

BROOKE: That's such an interesting question. I've thought a lot about that with you sending the question to me. I also asked my kids some questions as well.

BROOKE: A couple things that I've realized is one, I have definitely blossomed into myself. I think for long, I was doing for others, which I loved. That's part of me, not the people pleaser, but it fuels me.

BROOKE: But I also feel it's given me a purpose. I can work with a purpose, I am working and producing and in doing I can still do for others, but I'm not just parenting or being a caregiver. I'm doing a little bit more.

APRIL: you did this, you jumped into this, okay? What milestones, have stood out to you? Obviously in the press, we see many, but I want to know what stood out to you.

APRIL: Tell me about the happy moments along the way.

BROOKE: well, definitely setting up my business was a milestone. applying for your business license and registering the name, deciding on a name. that was the first big thing.

BROOKE: And once I received the paperwork back that everything was accepted. That was a big deal. I'm really doing this now.

BROOKE: that was definitely exciting. And then from that, there are the other things that just helped me moving forward where it's navigating the floral wholesaler, establishing relationships with local flower farms, my first wedding, second wedding, hiring freelancers, because I needed a team to execute, my designs of bigger weddings, collaborating with planners working at certain venues. all every thing I do feels feels a milestone to me, because I keep moving forward, which is what fuels me I'm I can do a little bit more and I can try to do something different or I can reach out to this person.

BROOKE: those are the big things. And then there's also the little things buying a floral cooler or an AC unit for my studio, just outfitting my studio as we grow, needing more storage and tables and supplies. seeing it grow, whether it's month by month, year by year.

BROOKE: It's been exciting.

APRIL: Well, I love that. It's just many wins one after another. And I love the way your perspective is about how each one and the growth, that just, it continued to add, I have no doubt to the success of your company.

BROOKE: Thank you. And also there are things that also I consider milestones are things that don't work out. from those experiences, I think, okay, that didn't work.

BROOKE: I'm going to try something else. And that may work or may not work. there's a lot of trial and error, which I see as growth as well.

APRIL: Well, I also have to throw this in there. I absolutely respect your life balance. I love how you've been able to build this incredible company, but at the same time, you've been good with the balance.

APRIL: I love that y'all are very specific when you're communicating with people. Do you find that because you've been able to do that with balance, that added much to the success of Stem & Thistle.

BROOKE: Definitely. In the beginning, it wasn't much. I definitely was working longer hours and into the night.

BROOKE: I remember a few times falling asleep at my computer because I was replying to emails or working on proposals. And after a while, I thought this is not what I want to do. I really have had to carve out time.

BROOKE: And I think that's learning about myself as well and becoming myself is knowing what works for me. And communicating that I don't respond at this time or my office hours are very specific. I don't have office hours every day of the week, one for the personal time with my family and for myself, but also being in the studio, creating, I need that time and that space.

BROOKE: I think it's been definitely, that's its own path and journey to find that balance and it's never perfect. There are times when I have to spend more time in my studio. My daughter was saying the other day, she's yes, you're down in your studio and then you suddenly emerge for food and something to drink.

BROOKE: It was cute. Yeah. She's and we're having fun and you're working, but I love it.

BROOKE: I love being down in my studio working, but I thought that was funny. it's sometimes requires more, sometimes requires a little bit less. I'm always working on that balance.

APRIL: Well, Brooke, tell us, my listeners, this is probably one of the their most favorite questions is, was there a moment when you realized you've got this, you can make this happen? Do you remember the moment, no matter how small or big, that you realized you could make this happen?

BROOKE: Yes, I think there are lots of little things, but one definitely stands out in my mind is the very first wedding that I was asked to do. it was a coworker of a friend and it was a very hot August day and it was in Annapolis and she wanted all hydrangeas. And of course I was extremely nervous because of the heat and the hydrangeas.

BROOKE: And I learned everything I could about how to keep hydrangeas alive in extreme heat. my daughter came with me and we drove to Annapolis. I had the AC on high, the car was freezing.

BROOKE: But we got there, we did everything that we needed to do. It went well, the bride and the groom were very happy. The hydrangeas looked gorgeous and it was fun.

BROOKE: It was a great time. And I loved seeing how happy they were with everything and how much they enjoyed their day and how the flowers added to their day. I think all of that combined, I thought, okay, that's good starting small, but this is gonna work.

BROOKE: I can do this.

APRIL: I think that's a really wonderful example of that moment. Tell us about what are some obstacles that you faced and how did you overcome them?

BROOKE: one was doubts from others. There's one in particular where I was excited to share that I was going to do floral design and start my business. And this person in my family said to me, instead of sharing in the excitement, said, I don't know how you have time in your life to do this now.

BROOKE: And I remember thinking, oh, I can do this. Why don't you believe in me? I guess that show that I believed in myself.

BROOKE: But part of me was watch me. Watch me do this. And that was in my head.

BROOKE: But my verbal response was I can make Stem & Thistle as large as I want or small as I want. And I can do it depending upon what is going on in our lives. And I did.

BROOKE: I think that was full in a way. And it wasn't much I'm going to show you, but I knew I could do it and I wanted to do it. that was tough.

BROOKE: And there was a lot more coming from that as well, a lot of other doubt. And it's questions of while your learning curve must be steep. And yes, it was.

BROOKE: But I love that. I love the challenge. I love reaching out to other people to ask questions and learn how to do things.

BROOKE: And I love to read. I love to read about other people's journeys as that helps inspire me. I had a lot of resources to pull from to make my dream a reality.

BROOKE: And I think the other obstacle is this balancing family work and then personally taking care of myself. we touched on that a little bit. But one thing to help me a lot when my kids were younger was having a home studio and I still have a home studio now, but it affords me flexibility, which I love.

BROOKE: I can be home when the kids get home, even though when they're in high school, I still love reading them when they get home. If there are things I need to do later at night, I'm able to just go down to my studio, get it done, get up early in the morning, work, come upstairs to help get kids ready, take someone to school, take care of the dogs. That's been good.

BROOKE: And also another way to balance the family and work is I do have my kids work for me, which has been a lot of fun. Sometimes I don't want to in the beginning, but once they get on site, they really, I don't know, I see a light in their eyes and they jump in. And it's been, yes, it's been great.

BROOKE: And they enjoy meeting new people and working with other people. And I love that. I love for them to get out and see how other people work and how we execute, whether it's the floral design or they can see how the caterers work or planners work or the coordinators of the venues work.

APRIL: I love that.

BROOKE: It's really nice. In fact, one time my son, I looked over and I saw him carrying several bags of ice on his shoulder. he jumped in and started helping the caterer.

BROOKE: And I was Hmm, I'm here to help me. Yeah, it's been good incorporating them and they, it's great. I pay them.

BROOKE: Yeah, that's that's been fun.

APRIL: Yeah. And also I just want to comment on the disappointment when you shared your dream, what you were going to be doing and the support wasn't there. I talk about this a lot.

APRIL: Every chance I get is that, if it's meant to be, it's up to me, but beyond that, the most important relationship is with ourselves. And you believed and look at you. I love where your mind went and you did it.

APRIL: And I think that, something I tell our younger girls and our women all the time, we're a sum of our tribe. pick carefully, right? Yes, absolutely.

APRIL: Because we deserve the very best for sure. All right. Tell me about your self-talk when you have a tough day.

APRIL: What are things you say to yourself?

BROOKE: Well, I have three words tattooed onto my wrist that I will refer to help me during challenging days, whether it's with work or personally. do you mind if I share those with you? Yes, please do.

BROOKE: The first is pro-arisees, and that is a stoic concept, and that means your reasoned choice that you have the power to choose how you're going to respond to external things going on around you. And then I also have the vera est militara, and that means, that's a Latin phrase, and that means to live is to fight. And that is not the physical fighting, but the daily mental battles that we encounter or have within.

BROOKE: That's a reminder to me to have courage, strength, it's a reminder of resilience, clarity, wisdom, discipline, all these things to help us moving forward. And the last one is navigate. And I think with the other two words leads into navigate, where I'm able to move forward based on what I can control, what I cannot, having the courage to accept whatever is going on, and just the strength to discipline to go forward.

BROOKE: it's, they all connect. And of course, there's breathe and just be yourself and it's going to be okay. there's a lot of self talk going on in my head.

APRIL: Yes, I love that. Tell us about who supported you the most along the way and how they help.

BROOKE: definitely my husband, 100%. He has never doubted for one second that I, couldn't do what I wanted to do. Even during times where it's challenging for us as a couple or a partnership with our family, we, we have three kids, our son was playing on two hockey teams, our girls were playing travel soccer, there's a lot of tagger it and juggling and he never complained, we always worked on or talked about how can we make this work.

BROOKE: He has an MBA and he loves finance, that's been wonderful for me. As a resource, we talk business all the time. He's definitely, I would say, my partner in all of this.

BROOKE: I is a great listener. He listens to me all the time. He's just definitely my sounding board and he's willing to go to events and weddings and help with the vans and the cars and set up and asking what we need and it's been wonderful seeing him establish relationships with those who work on my team and events.

BROOKE: It's soul giving for me seeing that. I'm grateful. I'm very, very grateful.

BROOKE: Yeah, it's been, he's just wonderful.

APRIL: Well, as we begin to close, I wanted to give you the chance to talk about Stem & Thistle, what y'all offer, what makes you, clearly different as far as the elegance factor. And people that describe what y'all do is amazing, but I wanted you to give a chance to talk about it that as people listen to this podcast, they're able to learn more and reach out and book Stem & Thistle.

BROOKE: Thank you. Well, each event that we do is it's not cookie cutter. It's we have our specific style, but it's definitely tailored to our couples, whether it's color or types of flowers, what they want to see, depending upon what time of the year they're getting married, the feeling they want.

BROOKE: It's important for us to really get to know our clients and know their story and how we can bring that into the floral design for them. We do a lot of behind the scenes work, a lot of researching things and marinating ideas we can perfectly match what we do with their vision. we do weddings, we do engagement parties, we do dinner parties, special occasion arrangements.

BROOKE: We work with caterers. We do sometimes Valentine's Day we'll do. There's a local veterinary clinic who always orders for every single employee in their clinics.

BROOKE: That's awesome because when we walk in with the flowers, the smiles on their faces are just happy. we do smaller orders.

APRIL: Okay. And how do people get a hold of you, Brooke? How do they, what's your preferred?

BROOKE: preferred is email that's hello at and this is all written out stemandthistlefloral. com and our work can be seen on instagram and that is at stemandthistleva

APRIL: Fantastic. Well, we want to thank you much for being on Fanatical DreamHer. I think it's such a unique story, especially since your dream started later.

APRIL: Just perfect timing for you, the world, and everything else. And I always want women to remember that age is nothing but a number. And look what you've done.

APRIL: I'm just really proud of you.

BROOKE: Oh, thank you much. And I think one other thing that I think what I realize in going through these questions to prepare to talk with you is all of the experiences that we have during our life, it is one thing builds upon the other. And I think we gain strength and lessons and get to know ourselves through those experiences.

BROOKE: And for me at 43, you said, I was ready to go. And I think that's something for all of us to remember that it doesn't matter how old we are, you said, follow your passions and your dreams and pull from your past experiences to help you move forward and become who you really are, no matter how long it takes.

APRIL: Brooke, thank you much, and for everybody listening, what a treat. We thank you much, Brooke. Thank you much for joining us, and always remember, keep dreaming, and never forget, the world always makes way for the dreamer.

APRIL: We'll see you next time.