Rachel Croxall went from losing her job at a wedding venue to launching a successful business during a pandemic. Tired of seeing people in pain, she decided to start bringing joy with her art, and that’s when she launched Blossom & Rhyme Designs — a resin floral preservation business — in Chattanooga, Tennessee. One year later, Rachel will be moving into her first commercial space and is launching a new website to accommodate the demand for her services.
At Wed Society, we love bringing you stories of real wedding vendors who have faced challenges and come out the other side! Keep reading to discover what brought Rachel to the crossroads of starting her business and how she became a social media darling by just doing what she does.
MEET THE ARTIST BEHIND BLOSSOM & RHYME DESIGNS
Meet the talented wedding pro and artist behind Blossom & Rhyme Designs — Rachel Croxall. She first fell in love with resin art in a college art class, and she bravely launched her own successful resin flower preservation business during the pandemic. From traditional resin blocks to ring holders, coasters, jewelry, and more, there’s no limit to the creativity when it comes to her services.
Rachel’s videos on Instagram and TikTok have been viewed millions of times. You read that right — MILLIONS of times. This one TikTok has been viewed over 2 million times. (Did we mention that Kevin Jonas is just one of her celebrity admirers?!) People just love to see that satisfying resin pour and the dreamy final product.
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♬ Dream – The Pied Pipers
AN INSIDE LOOK AT HOW RACHEL CROXALL LAUNCHED A NEW BUSINESS IN THE PANDEMIC — AND FOUND SUCCESS
As any entrepreneur or business owner knows, it’s daunting under the best circumstances to start your own business, but even more so during a pandemic. While Rachel faced doubts, she was ready to fight back against all the darkness and pain she saw around her — to bring some joy during uncertain times.
Keep reading to find out what gave her the confidence to start a new venture in difficult times and what advice she has for other folks facing the same decision.
1. What gave you the confidence or inspiration to start a new business during a pandemic?
I lost my job working at a wedding venue in July of 2020. I was at the crossroads of going back to school in the fall or pursuing my passion as a resin artist full time. I saw so many people in pain and in a really dark spot in 2020. Myself being one of those people. Not only had I lost my job, but I was diagnosed with a chronic illness called “Gastroparesis.”
I realized that the darkness had had enough. It was time to bring some happiness and love back into the world. I wanted to share my art with as many people as possible! However, I didn’t know if it was realistic, and I had doubts. I prayed for a clear, confident answer for several weeks. Meanwhile, I was still posting content on all social media platforms.
One day I woke up to one of my videos going viral on TikTok. Literally, millions of people resonated with my business and wanted to place orders immediately. This lit a fire under me because I realized that I had found my answer. It was time to become a full-time resin artist and preserve memories!
2. Where did you come up with the name of your business – Blossom & Rhyme Designs?
After a very hard year in 2020, I wanted something that represented new growth while also incorporating something that is close to my heart.
I felt that Blossom was the perfect representation of new growth, and Rhyme captured my love of words and poetry.
3. How did you get started with resin?
My love for resin developed in an art class in college. I constructed a “river resin table” for my final project in the class.
This was a large-scale project where I learned many things about resin—one of those being that it is a very complex science.
4. What drew you to wedding flower preservation?
I worked in the wedding industry for a few years and realized that so many brides were worried about such a memorable day going by too fast. I was a bride a few years back and remembered thinking the same thing. You have photos, you have videos sometimes, but I wanted something more tangible. I wanted to do something about this.
I began encasing small amounts of flowers in necklaces. I started with my own wedding flowers that had been drying in an attic for years. I loved the concept of holding your wedding flowers so close to your heart.
From there, I experimented with coasters and larger resin blocks. I had the experience of working with resin in large amounts from the tables I had made, so it felt natural to begin making larger items and preserving full wedding bouquets.
5. Can you walk us through your process when a couple wants to preserve their flowers?
We have been working with an amazing website company that is constructing a very user-friendly site for couples to experience. It will be as simple as reserving your date, placing your order, and waiting for us to send you the next steps, such as shipping instructions!
We also offer flower-drying instructions if their date happens to be taken so they can send us the flowers at our next available opening.
The website is scheduled to be launched at the beginning of September 2021.
In the meantime, couples can email us at [email protected], and we can help them get started on reserving their date and placing their order.
We want to reach & work with as many couples as possible to help them preserve such special memories.
6. What are clients most surprised about when they learn about your process?
They are usually surprised at how heavy the resin blocks are. It’s one thing to see photos online, but they realize it’s a whole other 3-D, tangible experience to see it in person.
7 . You have many different preservation options — what are couples loving the most right now?
As far as preserving a full bouquet, I am currently seeing a trend in square resin block shapes and geometric shapes (such as our new hexagon mold)!
For a more functional option, our coasters and ring holders are very popular!
8. What are your favorite resin projects? (Do you have a particular project that you can tell us about?)
I love to hear the stories behind the flowers!
One aspect that I believe sets Blossom and Rhyme apart is that we really think about the people and the love stories behind the flowers and match an original poem written by myself with every order.
I have received flowers from every walk of life. Prom flowers, wedding bouquets & funeral flowers have all readily been preserved at our shop.
It’s hard to say that I have a favorite, but sometimes I’ll sit in our workshop and genuinely tear up looking at all of the different flowers that are preserved from all walks of life.
It’s overwhelming, the love spilling from these stories, but in the best way.
In more general terms, I love large-scale projects. I love maximizing the flowers that are sent to us.
9. Why do you think resin flower preservation is so popular right now?
I believe resin flower preservation is beginning to trend because of social media. I believe when people are able to see the process behind the craft, they feel more connected to it. They know what goes into it and that it’s not something you can simply pick up from a store. It’s a very special, detailed process and art form. I think people are attracted to this because they trust a process like that to preserve something so close to their hearts.
Also, they look really cool. 🙂
10. You expertly dry the flower too, so is there a better timeline for couples to have the bouquet or blooms to you? What should they be saving in particular?
We recommend 24-48 hours after the wedding for us to receive the flowers in order for us to work with the freshest blooms & greenery.
If the flowers are wilting, the drying process won’t work as well.
We send you careful instructions on how to ship us the flowers, and we also give some tips on how to keep them as fresh as possible before shipping.
11. Are already dried flowers beyond help? What options do you have for people who have a generically dried bouquet or arrangement sitting in storage?
We absolutely work with pre-dried flowers! I’ve worked with bouquets that are 10+ years old, so there are rarely flowers we can’t accept.
Before shipping us the flowers, you may want to email us a few photos just to make sure they are workable, but as long as there is no moisture/mold on the flowers, we can preserve them!
12. How do most of your clients hear about you?
Most of my clients come from social media! I would say most of them come from Instagram and TikTok specifically.
However, I do have quite a bit who are word-of-mouth from my experience in the wedding industry in Chattanooga, TN.
13. Your Instagram channel has just exploded over the last year. Has it been a slow, steady growth or major events that drove your engagement levels?
Most of my growth at first was me just being consistent with posting on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
We experienced a high influx of growth within a few days in November of 2020 after posting a video to TikTok that got millions of views. I had my Instagram account linked to TikTok, where the viewers had access to follow us on Instagram.
I realized that videos were so important because, just like myself, people were falling in love with the process.
I began posting Instagram Reels, and one video collected over two million views and was liked by Kevin Jonas (my childhood was made.)
Shortly after that, Blossom and Rhyme was featured on the Tameron Hall Show.
I am still overwhelmed and so thankful for the number of blessings I’ve seen in the past year.
It just shows that even though you’re surrounded by a seemingly helpless and dark situation, that there is always hope for new beginnings.
14. What advice would you give to other wedding vendors trying to find an authentic outlet on Instagram?
Push content as much as possible within the constructs of the algorithm. People love to watch the process. They love to watch you grow. Don’t obsess about every post and video being perfect. People don’t like perfect; they like authentic, relatable, and empathetic human beings!
15. What advice do you have for someone who is nervous about starting a new venture in “uncertain” times?
If I had any advice to give to someone just starting out, I would say: “work hard, don’t be afraid to show off your skills, and have the absolute best in mind for others.
16. What do you enjoy most about working in the wedding industry?
I love knowing that my job is quite literally preserving a piece of someone’s favorite memories for them to keep for years and years to come.
It’s an honor to be a part of something that you know is much bigger than yourself.
17. What’s next for Blossom & Rhyme Designs?
We will be moving into our first-ever commercial workshop space in the next few months to continue expanding and reaching as many couples as possible while also launching our new website! A lot of exciting growth is coming, and we can’t wait to work with many more love stories.
For more information on Rachel Croxall and Blossom & Rhyme Designs — head over to her TikTok or Instagram channels.
Are you as in love with this trend as we are? Then, check out why resin wedding flower preservation is the hottest new trend in the industry!
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Written by Corrie McGee
Photo Courtesy of Blossom & Rhyme Designs and Indie Photo Co.
