I still recall my stumble into the world of blogging and the thrill of hitting ‘publish’ for the first time. It was February of 2009, and I was desperately searching the Windy City for any journalism job available to an inexperienced 21-year-old Canadian citizen, with a degree-specific Visa, living in the nation’s third ranked media market (spoiler: there weren’t any).

Even pre-social media, being fresh-out-of-college and in-a-recession, I knew that wherever my most passionate interests collided with my greatest skills, there would be a Rhi-only space for me to build something beautiful. So I wrote. I created content before content-creating was a thing. I took on an idea with whatever means I had with whomever felt like my visions were worth their time. I woke up often feeling cautious about the validity of my creative efforts, but always ready to take a calculated risk. I told anyone who would listen that blogging was a critical tool to my version of entrepreneurial success, but also a nice cushion to soften the blow when failure (often) struck and I needed an outlet to commiserate with what felt like the world.

Between cover letter edits and job postings that turned into dead-end rabbit holes, this blog became a place to nurture both my insatiable creative spirit and sweet tooth. I’d search google for pre-Pinterest worthy recipes, make it my own, capture my results with a Canon rebel purchased from a store in the process of liquidating inventory, and then post about it to an audience of, at first, no more than 8 readers. My laptop was often perched on the kitchen windowsill while the always-on oven kept the apartment sticky and hot.

As my waistband expanded (because: desserts), my dreams of a brick and mortar bakery shrunk and the blog shifted gears to focus on wedding, party, and decor-centric content under the catchy title, ‘Hey Gorgeous’. What followed in the midst of planning our own wedding was tacking an ‘Events’ at the end of my blogger URL, quickly securing a business license, building a client roster, and finally, the conceptualization of what is now the globally recognized floral and event design business under my own name. I’ve made the journey sound exceptionally more simple and linear than it’s actually been, but through it all, I’ve grown something really special. It’s likely 2009 Rhi would agree.

While this space has served many purposes through the various stages of my personal and professional life, it’s clear that the blog holds a more supporting role than that of a leading one in this current season. As I focus on nurturing both my family and my professional commitments, this blog will function as a place for me to show up only when the timing is best. My intention is to share about our clients, the creative work we do, select personal topics that feel safe to share about, and the moments that hold magic. What used to be a pivotal part of growing my business is now a small but sweet accent to the life I hope to never miss a minute of.

Whether you’ve been here since I wrote my first dessert recipe blog post (mocha ice cream cupcakes if you’re curious) or are here for an inaugural visit, my one and only hope is that you leave a little more inspired than you came.

May we always remember the comforting notion that a ‘no’ now isn’t a ‘no’ forever.

With joy, Rhiannon