Were it not for a twist of fate, Kathy Adamski might be operating an herb farm today.

But instead, Kathy, who is one of The Flower Depot’s top customers, earns her living by making wreaths, swags and other floral arrangements.

Before starting her wreath business, Kathy had researched how to grow herbs, knew how to use herbs for medicinal purposes as well as cooking, and even joined the Michigan Herb Association.

But instead of growing herbs today, the 49-year-old resident of Lachine, Mich., has comfortably settled into her role as a creator of beautiful floral arrangements. In fact, last year, Kathy and her husband, Hank, celebrated the completion of a newly renovated barn on their north Michigan property. The barn also provides space for Kathy to create her popular wreaths.

"The bread and butter of my business is the eucalyptus wreath," Kathy said. "I also do swags and floral arrangements, but basically, most of it is the eucalyptus wreath."

Her business spun off from a hobby. In 1999, she and her sister, Jeanne, were making gifts to give for Christmas presents. Family and friends were impressed with their creations.

"My brother-in-law said you guys have to start selling this stuff," Kathy said.

So, Kathy began selling her wreaths at craft shows, doing the first two with Jeanne before going solo, and she hasn't stopped since.

"In 2003 we did 37 shows," Kathy said of the work Hank helps her with. "Sell, sell, sell, that's what we do."

And, the craft shows were top notch — all juried.

She and her husband were amazed at how quickly the business took off.

But Kathy, who never took a class in floral design, doesn't take credit for her creations.

"God taught me," Kathy said. "He gets all the glory. I've never had a class, I've never done anything — I just did it."

It’s people like Kathy who brighten the day for employees at The Flower Depot in Tonganoxie, Kansas. Emma Overbaugh, who has worked for the company for more than 15 years, said she looks forward to Kathy’s calls.

"She’s a very positive, upbeat person," Emma said, adding that phone conversations with Kathy are always day-brighteners.

Kathy works year round, preparing wreaths and swags for shows, as well as to fill the shop in the new barn.

Also, her wreaths and other arrangements are carried at the Country Sampler store in Saginaw, Mich., and at a shop in Charlevoix, Mich.

So far, her business has not extended to the Web.

"We haven't gone there yet," Kathy said, noting her daughter's talent at Web design. "We will — if my daughter has her say it will be this year."

Filling the shop, as well as other customer orders and making products for craft shows, requires continuous effort. Kathy makes products while she's talking on her headset phone, and while sitting in her yard during the summer. In visits to the lake with the grandchildren, she cuts eucalyptus for wreaths as she watches the children play. In this way, combining work with her life, she estimates she puts in about 12 to 18 hours every day.

This kind of pressure means she absolutely must have the best quality dried flowers on hand when she needs them.

That's where The Flower Depot comes in.

In making her wreaths, swags and arrangements, Kathy uses the dried flowers, silks and parchments. Roses, peonies, violets, sunflowers, carnations, foxglove, dianthus, larkspur — are just a few of the flowers she weaves into her arrangements.

But the mainstay of her business with the Flower Depot is eucalyptus, which she buys in bulk.

Even Kathy, who’s experienced tremendous success with her eucalyptus wreaths, sometimes gets the hankering to try something new.

"I'll call Emma and say OK I’m bored, send me something a little different, and she's good," Kathy said. "I enjoy working with Emma, I really do, she's very helpful."

Emma said when new flowers arrive, she will sometimes send a bunch to Kathy — if she thinks she’ll want to try them in her arrangements.

Because she's so busy, Kathy doesn't always see the Flower Depot's catalogs that arrive in the mail. Again, that's where Emma comes in.

"She'll call me and say hey did you see the flyer," Kathy said. "I'll say no I haven't looked at the mail in a month. She'll say we're having a sale on such and such."

It's this kind of assistance that makes life easier for Kathy.

"Good customer service is probably one of the biggest things that are important to me," Kathy said. "Because that's where the business starts — and it's using your time wisely."

Emma has a simple definition of what good customer service is: "I handle everybody the way I would want to be treated."

Kathy uses plenty of eucalyptus, buying from 10 to 30 cases at a time, for her wreaths. And she also uses various other dried flowers. In fact, so many that when asked which is her favorite, she said, "I've got a zillion different kind of dried things. They're all my favorites. It just depends on what kind of mood you're in and what you're creating that day. You can take a flower that you've worked with for a year and try something different."

To streamline her work, Kathy has developed shortcuts.

"It took me quite a while to learn this, but when I'm doing my eucalyptus wreaths, I cut the whole case and then I start putting them together," Kathy said. "It's kind of like a production line. I don't do one or two of one color — I'm going to do ten of one color and that really does save you a lot of time."

Kathy credits her time management and business skills to her past profession. She was the vice president of production for a concrete company.

Chuckling, Kathy noted that there's not much similarity between concrete and the delicate wreaths she creates.

And, Kathy's quick to note that her yearly income was higher when she worked in concrete.

However, there's more to life than making money, she said.

"I was working upstairs today and I was looking out the window and there's my little granddaughter playing with the airplane swing," Kathy said. "I can go outside and scoop her up and bring her in for lunch."

The key to working at home, whether for a young mother or a grandmother, is knowing how to integrate work and family.

It can be challenging, she said.

"The work is always with you," Kathy said. "It can be a problem."

And, there's no set time for vacation.

"Come summer, I feel like I live and breathe floral, that's all I do," Kathy said.

And just when she thinks she's ahead, sales go faster than she anticipates.

"Last year I sold my winter stockpile in two shows," Kathy said with a chuckle. "What I do for the rest of the year is this: I hyperventilate — that's the biggest pitfall."

But again, the good part is, even while constantly surrounded by her work, she's spending time with her family. The four grandchildren who frequently can be found at her house range in age from two years to 11 years. The 11-year-old helps prepare for craft shows.

"The oldest, our grandson, actually is a big help on setting up and tearing it down," Kathy said.

And, Kathy added, her husband is a vital part of the business.

"He's a saint," Kathy said. "He is, he's a saint — he never complains."

So all in all, her work, which she ably combines with family, fits with her life.

"I'm getting something done," Kathy said, her voice energetic, her attitude positive. "I'm also watching my grandbabies play."

Her best advice for those who want to begin making and marketing their floral products is to create a good design — one that sells — and continue making it.

"Find a product, or a few good products for your market and become known to specialize in those," Kathy said, noting that her business is particularly known for the eucalyptus wreaths. "And, make sure you always sell the best products you can."

Her wreaths which generally are 18 inches or 28 inches across, sell for up to $65. Her swags, depending on their size, sell from about $32 to $49.

Were she to sell more of her products in larger cities, Kathy said she could probably sell them at a higher price. But she prefers selling at locations closer to home.

Kathy’s customers are many, and their ages range from teens to senior citizens. Most buy her wreaths ready-made, but some send her samples of wallpaper to have wreaths and swags custom made.

"They’re just regular, normal people who decorate their homes," Kathy said.

In her gift shop, Kathy sells soap that she makes herself, as well as items she buys for resale, which include candles, stationery, tin ornaments, baskets and loon statues. Her husband makes birch bark wreaths, which are also sold in their shop.

When buying supplies to make her floral products, Kathy said she looks for good customer service, as well as high quality flowers.

"I use so many different kinds that whatever I want has to be consistently the same quality," Kathy said. "That's one thing I can say about Flower Depot, if I get something in and it's totally the wrong color, Emma will make sure it gets corrected really quick."

Considering the quantity in which she buys — in eucalyptus that could mean dozens of 30-pound cases, that's worth noting.

"I have stopped dealing with people because of customer service," Kathy said. "Not because of the product they sell, but because of customer service."

That of course reflects a company's products.

For instance, if the pastel shades of eucalyptus are shipped before they're totally dried, they'll be flat.

"Emma's really good," Kathy said. "I don't want anything that comes in here second hand, she knows that — she's very particular about the product."

And, Kathy said, it's important to buy the largest quantity you can.

"It saves money," Kathy said. "Tell Emma to call you when there's a sale."

It’s also important, Kathy said, to know what colors are popular.

"I get five different magazines, you have to be in the magazines constantly looking for what others are doing," Kathy said. "You have to keep up with the home style magazines to find out what the trends are, so that for instance purple is big, you’re doing something with purple — when yellow is big, you’ve got to be using yellow."

With their barn gift shop established, Kathy hopes to see the business grow on their 52-acre tract of land.

"I kind of have a little vision of having a mini town someday, on the farm," Kathy said.

And of course, that would likely tie in with Kathy’s original idea — to establish an herb farm.

"I’d probably like to have some greenhouses and get herbal stuff started," Kathy said. "I’d like to be able to go there — that’s what I thought we were going to do with this whole thing to begin with."

Lisa Scheller is a journalist in Tonganoxie Kansas. She can be e-mailed at lisa@schellernews.com

    Kathy Adamski