We are a manufacturing company! How cool is that?

We were putting together dried flower wreaths last week in the mow of our barn and chatting as you do when you’re doing repetitive tasks with your hands, and we came to the realization that Blue Gables Farm is a manufacturer. We take raw materials, apply processes to make products, and create value that exceeds the sum of those products’ parts.

The revelation that we manufacture came to us when we were invited to participate in several maker’s markets (see below) that will take place later this spring. If others perceived that we were makers and invited us to their markets, we guessed that made us makers. We make things, and that’s manufacturing. We’re right up there with General Motors!

Dried Flower Wreaths

We love the reuse aspect of making wreaths out of dried flowers. Sometimes we cut more flowers than we sell, which could lead to waste because cut flowers don’t store well. Rather than compost the surplus, we dry them for future (read off-season) use. We have found that the best use of those dried flowers is making wreaths. They are popular and sell very well.

Farmers Markets

Many vendors at farmers markets are fellow manufacturers. Flower growers make arrangements and bouquets, foodies make things to eat and drink, and others make myriad things in their basements, barns and garages that they sell to their buy-local, faithful customers. What’s more, many of them are upcycling items that might otherwise be tossed into the waste stream. When you realize many of those folks are manufacturers, you might start to feel better about American manufacturing. A LOT of things are still made in America.