our jane

way (way) back i introduced some of the just for you team, people you might meet at the shop, hear on the phone etc. i didn't really talk much about jane then, because i wanted to dedicate a blog post just for her (how do you like that play on words, huh?). now i am finally getting around to it. actually, i had been trying to find a picture of jane as a flowergirl in my mother and father-in-law's wedding but when i asked sis if she had one she told me she was sure she had one and that i was welcome to look through her boxes. when i replied "great! i'd love to!" sis laughed out loud. not a sypathetic or happy laugh, but a laugh that really said the joke was on me. evidently there are a LOT of boxes...so, um, another time i guess...

jane's first job was in high school, just after she turned sixteen. she looked like this at the time:

well, not exactly like that. she didn't always wear paper elf ears.

that first job was at a florist shop that her friend's mother worked at. it was valentine's day and as we all know one of the busiest time of the year for florists. and so it goes that from that time forward she has been working with flowers. some periods were more off than on, but the constant was there. jane attended rittners school of floral design in boston and worked at various florist shops and studios. she did banquet work too, but ultimately wanted to run her own studio so she started out modestly by putting a flyer/coupon in the local paper to advertise and "just for you" was born. weddings came in and she juggled two sometimes three different jobs in addition to the floral work, while also managing three young kids at home. she worked out of the barn in the back of her house, attended workshops and trade shows constantly rethinking and improving her work and her game. as a mother of three small children myself, it is with the utmost humility that i say i admire jane so much for the business she's put together while also being a terrific mother/sister/aunt. it's not easy, it never is--as she'll tell you--and you won't often even know the path you're on or where it will take you, but you keep putting one foot in front of the other and you just keep moving. you keep moving and you may very well find yourself walking right into your dreams.

as many of you can attest, jane has built a well deserved reputation in the connecticut wedding industry. you won't find a more genuine person or honest businesswoman, or for that matter a more decent human being. and i'm not just saying this because the woman signs my paychecks.