Sprout The Flower Truck

We're Randall and Lisa, and we run Fireside Farm-- a small farm and sawmill in Efland, NC. We're asking for help launching our mobile flower business and our soon-to-be flower truck Sprout. 

When we first started thinking about growing and selling flowers, we were shocked to learn that over 80% of the flowers bought in the U.S. are shipped into the country from Ecuador, Columbia, Holland, Israel, and Kenya.  We knew that our friends and family would prefer to support a local flower farm if they could. This got us thinking: how could we make our flowers easy for folks to buy?

We researched different business models, and we were attracted to the idea of a kiosk or flower stand. However, we knew that we didn't want to compete with local flower farmers, many of whom are our friends, at the local farmers' markets. And we knew that we wanted folks' experience with our flowers to be joyous and surprising. When we learned that no flower vendors in Durham or Chapel Hill were selling their flowers out of a converted vehicle, we decided to do it ourselves.

Our soon-to-be flower truck is Sprout. She’s a 1969 Dodge A100. She came to us via Craigslist in the midst of February’s Nor’Easter, and she has lived much of her life in a garage in Cape Cod, MA.  At almost 50, she's in great condition. With Sprout, we’ll bring our flowers to graduations at local universities, weddings, street fairs, offices in RTP, nursing homes, dance recitals, outdoor concerts, and wherever folks want to celebrate their lives with flowers.  

So, this is where you, our community, comes in. We had just enough money to buy Sprout, but we need financial help converting her into a flower truck. We also need help getting our mobile flower business off-the-ground. We need to turn Sprout’s truck bed into a canopy-covered flower stand, develop a website so folks can follow her story, and we need a way to safely get her to the far corners of the Triangle. We hope to be up-and-running by our first big sales event, Mother’s Day, on May 13.

We started a GoFundMe campaign so you can learn more about Sprout. Donations of any size help. Give a couple bucks if you have it. For donors, we're offering lots of Fireside Farm merchandise. We have Fireside Farm T-shirts, stickers, a flower CSA subscription, and fun farm-based adventures. Our GoFundMe will end on Lisa's birthday on April 13. Thank you, beloved community, for your help, and we hope to see you out-and-about!

How We Will Use The Funds

You can access a pdf of this project list  here.



Thank You's and More Details

Thank you to our T-shirt models-- Hadden and Holland LaGarde, Lori Oshrain, and Mary Harwood

T-shirts were printed locally by The Merch in Carrboro

Sprout Photoshoot was at Fireside Farm and Quarry Dog Farm

Music in Video was by Latch Swing's Hungaria

Sticker and T-Shirt Designs by J.P. Trostle, Yael Zivan, and Randall Williams

To support young artists, 5% of profits from Yael's designs will go to support her business. You can contact her via Instagram at @yaelzivan

For Charlotte folks, t-shirts and stickers will be available for pick-up at the home of Ed and Elyse Williams in early April

Find out more about Fireside Farm & Sawmill at www.firesidefarm.com or via Instagram or Facebook by following @firesidefarmnc