Grace & Merci, the mother of Topiary & Tea.
I've always wanted and dreamed of my own business, somewhere I could create a beautiful space and utilize all the experience I've gained in life and business over so many years and many many jobs! Like I said before, my mother had the greatest influence on me when it comes to details. She made everything special, pretty and made everyone feel welcome, like they were the most important person in the room.
I was in hospitality and retail management FOREVER. In 2017 I was managing the most elite fitness club. I thought my life was set, I thought this is it. This is where I will retire. In June 2017 I went to hang out with my sister in about 15 of her friends. They were celebrating a birthday party. I wasn't drinking because I had to drive about 45 minutes home. We went to a crabhouse in Annapolis, MD. It was a hot humid night like most spring and summer nights in Maryland. I got up to leave and as I said goodbye to the hostess, I waved, said thank you slipped turned my boyfriend, and said it's gonna break. In a matter of seconds, my life completely changed. I fell on my leg, breaking my tibia in half shattering my ankle, and almost smashing my skull. I was on crutches, in a wheelchair and Non-weight-bearing for 18 weeks. The entire healing process took two years. I went back to work and February 2018 and the hardware in my leg started to shift, was pushing its way out of my leg. I had to have a fourth surgery, and was deemed a liability at work. Amicably they let me go and I had no idea what I was gonna do.
In April 2018 I was going to visit my mother in Saint Michaels, which is about an hour and a half away from DC, I stopped at a garden center to pick up a plant for her, I walked into that garden center and knew immediately something magical was about to happen. The feelings that I got I had never felt before walking into a business. I asked for the manager he came over and I said I need to work here, I love this feeling ..what is that? And he said OK fill out an application. I let him know what I have been making in salary and he said I could pay you $14 an hour and I said I'll take it! so from 2018 to 2023 I have worked in garden centers, floral design, I was part of the Washington National Cathedral flower guild for five years. And as satisfying as every single one of those positions were, I have always felt something is missing. I have felt that since I was 20 and all the jobs I've had I must have had 75 jobs in my life, trying to figure guts out what I want to do!
I know I'm smart, I know I have a creative sense, I know I have an eye for detail. I just had no idea what it was that I wanted to do. One day at a garden center that I was working in I noticed, in the corner of the greenhouse, a grouping of topiaries And I was drawn to that. I wasn't drawn to the heart shaped topiary in Valentine's Day was drawn to the uniqueness of these beauties, standing, tall, standing alone with their unique shape, and I was hooked, and like I’ve mentioned before I ran two different tearooms, and tea when it's well done is a luxury that speaks for itself, it needs no introduction, when luxury tees serve somewhere, luxury is just expected we elevate immediately.
I thought it was a garden center that I wanted to open, but I've always loved interior decor and putting things together. I love creating floral containers, plant containers, decorating for a party. I love creating the experience, the detail. My initial thought was, I am so thankful to God, and so incredibly humbled by his grace, and everything that has happened in my life, when the concept of opening my own business came to mind I thought I would call it Grace & Merci, the spin on mercy is because I am so grateful and I know when God shows us mercy.
We need to drop to our knees and be thankful for him giving us the space to continue on no matter what it is that we've done. But then I thought that doesn't describe anything that I'm doing. Selling topiaries, and how would anyone decipher that from Grace & Merci? I needed to explain what it is that I do. I sell topiaries and tea. Boom, there it was the name of my business: Topiary & Tea.