Launch Engine Heart Flowers!

Here is what I want to do:

I want to expand my tiny event planning business (Engine Heart Weddings & Events) to include a farm-fresh flower delivery service in Seattle, delivering affordable, locally-grown arrangements to businesses and individuals, and creating affordable, beautiful floral arrangements for weddings and other events.



If you can go to Pike Place Market and purchase a giant, fresh bouquet for $10, why do you need to spend at least eight times that to get a comparable bouquet delivered to your home or office?

This is because:
- Traditional flower shops must buy huge quantities to ensure that they have all the supplies on hand for what they might get orders for. This is like buying a week's worth of groceries for your family based on what y'all might get a craving for. It should not be a surprise that 70% (!!!) of flowers purchased by florists usually end up as trash.
- Most flower shops also exist in expensive storefronts, and they need to buy, insure, and put gas in large delivery vehicles.

- Traditional flower shops also purchase flowers that are out of season and must be flown in from all over the world, covered in pesticides, and were usually picked by underpaid farm workers who work in substandard conditions. Their green footprint is more like a green crater!

All of these things end up driving the cost of flower arrangement through the roof, and Engine Heart wants to change that mold.



Washington has a wealth of flower farms that grow and harvest year round. They are run by people who are passionate about environment and the sustainability of our agriculture, and they produce incredible flowers. For me, there is no reason to buy from anywhere else, or to charge as much as most places do.



$7,000 is a lot of money to me (and to most people!) but it is enough for me to start an economically sustainable business providing an awesome, unique service. Here is how I plan to spend this money:

1: First, a delivery vehicle. My step-dad delivered wood furniture using a used Volvo Wagon for years, and though I am open to all options, a steel Swedish Tank would do me just fine!

2: For daily deliveries, a customized delivery scooter will do the trick! This is where a lot of businesses end up dumping a lot of cash, and I'm going to keep it on the cheap by doing smaller deliveries on an energy efficient scooter. Scooters are cheaper to maintain and repair, cheaper to park, and at 85mpg+, way cheaper to run!

3: Marketing costs, including registration fees for a select few bridal trade shows plus associated costs, and flowers for promotional campaigns. I want to spend my time and energy putting great product in the hands of potential customers to show them what I can do.

4: Supplies to run the business. Satin ribbon, florists tape, flower food, pruners, office supplies... these things add up! I am being creative and resourceful where I can by implementing cost saving policies, like only using recycled vases, culled from thrift shops where they are plentiful and cheap. This is also friendlier on the earth!

5: The boring stuff: rent for a space to do this work, insurance, utilities, and a small part-time staff as necessary.

Thank you for any and all support that gets me closer to my goal. I added a couple of rewards for those who would like them, but I am truly grateful for anything you are able to give. Times are tough for all, and I hope that my business gets me to a place where I am able to give back.

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Here is how I got here:

In order to understand the story of Engine Heart and why I am starting this business, you need to know a little bit of my story. My name is Alithea O'Dell, and my passion is creating experiences. This is what I have been doing since I was 15 years old when I started volunteering at music festivals in Olympia (Yo-Yo a Go-Go, Ladyfest), what I continued to do while interning at concert venues in Chicago, it is what I did in Seattle while working retail as a visual merchandiser, and it is what I do now as a wedding and event planner. I love creating blocks of pure joy that celebrate a relationship, art, a family, a community, music, or a new era in a life.

However, my life has mostly been a struggle. Mental health, poverty, and addiction all joined together to form a very tumultuous childhood. The things I dealt with growing up -- a father in and out of jail or rehab, a mother and step-dad who worked very hard but weren't able to always keep our heads above water -- lead me to an adulthood where I have never been able to think about the long game.

Since I left home at 17, I've only been able to think about the short game: work any job that was handed to me (or two, or three) to keep the power on and my rent paid. The long game, things like college or long-term career goals, were never an option because they were too risky. There has never been a college fund to fall back on, a trust fund to fuel my dreams, or anything besides the need to be self sufficient and take whatever was handed to me to keep my head above water. Through out all of this, I have struggled with depression and anxiety every single day.

Nearly five years ago, I started helping friends plan and execute weddings. It started with one, which became two, which turned into six or so weddings a year, plus a smattering of other events (political events, non-profit galas, fashion events) sprinkled in.


(Photo by Lucy Hewitt)

I planned and executed all of these events while working at least one other job. If I wanted to do full-time event planning, it would mean I'd probably have to go into corporate trade-shows, or catering sales, or do giant, expensive, boring weddings. I'm a feminist, and so much of the wedding industry is built on regressive, patriarchal ideas about gender roles, capitalism, and tradition. One of my main reasons for creating Engine Heart was because there needed to be an alternative to those ideas.

True to my DIY roots, I started to learn all the different parts of a wedding so that if something fell through, or a client needed something basic for a small event, I could help. I learned to do some basic updos for hair, I learned how to apply fake eyelashes and do basic make-up contouring, and I learned how to do flowers.

When I started creating bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, and other floral decorations, it was like a light went on in my brain. Looking at flowers, and creating pieces of art with them that accompany an awesome experience, make my brain feel awesome. I love it, and I'm great at it.

In July, I was laid off from my full time job. I temped through the summer, and as my assignment came to a close, I made a decision. I was going to play the long game. My long game is to create a business that provides a unique, needed service in Seattle, one that allows me to flex my creativity and true talents, and to continue to put on awesome events. My long game is Engine Heart.

The last two months have been a hurricane of awesome: I've been assisting florists, putting on weddings, executing awesome political events, hosting a trivia night, and attempting to start a monthly punk karaoke night. I've been working 60+ hours a week, and today, the day I am putting this GoFundMe campaign together, is technically my first day off in four weeks. I could not be happier. I feel like a paper bag has been taken off of my head. The depression and anxiety I have dealt with daily for as long as I can remember have disappeared, even in the most trying of moments.

I know with absolute certainty that this is the path that I am supposed to be on, and I am deeply grateful to every person who has supported me and continues to support me as I realize my dream.