Past Newsletters
August 2010
Blooms Speak Language of Love
July 2010
Soothing Small Souls with Heart
June 2010
Mammogram Party Saves Lives
May 2010
Love at First Sight
April 2010
A Family Affair: Collecting Blooms Together
March 2010
Flying on Wings of Hope
February 2010
Isabel,Through the Eyes of Her Student and Friend
January 2010
Taking Concrete Steps to Feeling Great!
December 2009
Bringing Cheer to Children... Wherever They Are
November 2009
"All Cracked Up: Fixing a Bloom that has Met with Trouble"
October 2009
"A Happy Halloween for Area Women"
September 2009
A Friendship Goes on "Blooming"
August 2009
Helping Children and their Mothers Shine
July 2009
Memories of Isabel
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The Larsons - daughter Mollee (left), Greg and Jeanie - share a family passion for Bloom sculptures.Blooms Speak Language of Love
Every Bloom sculpture tells a story ... and so do the people who cherish them. Last spring, we enjoyed reading such stories from customers who submitted their family collecting traditions to our Generations Contest. The winners formed a 5-way tie, so each won a Generations sculpture!
We look forward to continue sharing our winners' stories with you in upcoming issues of Expressions in Bloom. Our third and fourth stories, below, come from a Sherrard, Ill., funeral director and a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, mom. Happy reading!
Lifting a Heavy Heart
Greg Larson's job as a funeral director is not always easy. It takes a special person to help those who are grieving through the funerals and burials of their loved ones. Some days he goes home with a very heavy heart.
But not on the day he received a special gift from a client.
"A family had been really moved by our efforts to make things smooth and meaningful," he says. "They gave me an Isabel Bloom heart to show their appreciation. I was so touched. My family's love for the collection started right then."
Greg says he buys certain pieces every year.
"Every Christmas I give my wife an angel, and every Valentine's Day I give her a heart," he says. "We always get the Race for the Cure piece and the Easter egg. We get many ones in between, too."
Of the Larson family's 200-sculpture collection, Greg says 99 percent are in Vintage Rose.
"We love that finish," he says. "It's hard to wait for the special order that it sometimes requires, but worth it to us. The Generations sculpture is perfect for us. My wife is an only daughter and our daughter is an only daughter."
Showing "This Much" Love
It was Christmas and Marlene Hougland wanted to give her son's Arizona girlfriend something that was made in Iowa. What could be more appropriate, she thought, than an Isabel Bloom sculpture? She visited the studio and found the perfect piece: a little girl holding a cat. Elise loved cats!
Elise, now Marlene's daughter-in-law, has received many pieces from Marlene since then. And Marlene's granddaughter is the happy owner of her own Blooms.
"Abby (pictured above with her mom and Marlene) is 8 years old and we always stretch our arms out and tell her we love her 'this much,'" Marlene says. "So the Hearts Angel was the perfect gift for her last Christmas. It has a card that says, I Love You This Much. She loved it. So we looked at some sculptures online together. She said she likes Pete, so that may be what she receives next."
Marlene has her own collection, too. Her current favorite piece is Girl Friends.
"A friend gave me that sculpture last year after I had a stroke," Marlene says. "It means so much. That's what I love about Blooms, and why they became our family tradition. You can find one that fits almost every situation."
And a new situation is brewing in the family: Elise is expecting her first child in October.
"As soon as the baby is born, I'm going to Davenport to buy the baby rattle and have it framed," Marlene says. "We'll have all the baby's information printed on the mat inside the frame. It will be the first Bloom for the newest member of our family!"
 Marlene loves her Girl Friends sculpture, which she says helped her feel comforted following a stroke last year. |
| Give Pets Some Extra Love Sept. 18! |
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 Quad City Animal Welfare Center to Benefit from Bloom Purchases
Bring a pet item valued at $5 or more - a big bag of food, cat litter, collars and leashes - to any Bloom studio store on Sept. 18 and receive 10% off one item. The money will go toward the Quad City Animal Welfare Center, a full-service no-kill shelter. Learn more about the shelter! |
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