Emma is the owner of Blooming Heck and is on a mission to revolutionise greeting cards! All their cards are handmade in Birmingham, and use 100% recycled paper that is embedded with botanical seeds, so once used they can be planted both indoors and outdoors – the paper will bloom into beautiful wildflowers, including Rudbeckia, Corn Poppy, Wild chamomile, Lavender and Violet! They are also plastic-free (instead of plastic they use compostable vegetable starch cellophane bags to keep the cards protected) and are designed by a UK-based illustrator. Blooming Heck products are stocked in Birmingham Museum, alongside various schools, garden centres and independent shops across the Midlands.
What do you need to consider to ensure your business is sustainable?
For Blooming Heck, there are so many factors which make this small independent business sustainable:
- Each Blooming Heck card, notecard, tag and gift bag is created using pre-made recycled paper, therefore reducing the need to use new stock
- We use recycled and seeded envelopes which are also plantable
- We promote the message ‘Don’t throw it – grow it!’ – making people think twice about putting just another standard paper card in the recycling/bin
- We use plastic-free packaging (compostable vegetable starch cellophane bags) to keep the cards protected
- Stock is bought in bulk, which means reduced air-miles and travel costs
- Once finished with, our cards can be planted both indoors or outdoors to grow a range of gorgeous wildflowers, that flourish particularly well in the spring and summer months
What do you love about running your business?
“The fact I can run an eco-friendly business from my own home is something every small business person dreams of doing! There are no travel costs, I order in stock in bulk which reduces air-miles and travel, and it’s always exciting to portray important messages online and keep track of important awareness days (World Bee Day 2022 for example!). I’m a one-woman band, juggling stock buying, invoicing, message creating, developing products, and I get to connect with so many incredible small businesses across Birmingham and the UK. Considering this is just a passion project – it’s slowly becoming a part time job and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
And finally, what do you love about Birmingham?
“It’s a diverse city, filled with exceptional creatives that empower one another!”
You can find Blooming Heck on Instagram (@bloomingheckuk) or online (https://bloomingheck.co.uk/)