By Cynthia Haggitt
Taylor Sievers Blumen Farms explains what her handmade artisan jewelry pendants are and what flowers she uses to create her jewelry. Sievers was at the Kampsville Celebration on Aug 14. (Hayley Distrouhauff/Calhoun News-Herald )
A rose can never be a sunflower, and a sunflower can never be a rose. All flowers are beautiful in their own way, and Taylor Sievers of Blumen Farms has found out that flowers don’t tell, they show how memories can be made.
Sievers and her husband are well known in Calhoun County as small cut flower farmers. The farm is located in the middle of Meppen in scenic Calhoun County.
Sievers is a jewelry artist who makes beautiful art necklaces from her fresh cut flowers.
Sievers said she likes to pick the flowers that will fit with her jewelry ideas. She began her jewelry making during the lockdown during COVID.
“I’ve begun experimenting with different things and always enjoyed making jewelry,” Sievers said. “I took this class online and so far this has been my first year trying it. It’s been pretty good.”
She mentions that she has to press her flowers and let the flowers dry out. It takes about two weeks to let them dry.
“I’ve made necklaces out of them within a week, but you just want to make sure they’re pretty dry before you put them in it. We don’t want moisture in the pendant.”
“The task of making the pendants isn’t too difficult,” Sievers said.
“I press my flowers in a little plant press and let it dry for several weeks. I then choose different flowers that I think may fit and look good in a pendant and then I put them in resin independently.”
Sievers has been asked from time to time if she would make flowers from a funeral, a marriage, birthday or even flowers for prom and make a different piece of jewelry like a bead, bracelet or a necklace. She recognizes that a lot of people want to preserve a special moment from a specific event in a person’s life.
“I’ve had a few people ask me about doing something like that; however, I’ve got three little kids at home and it is hard to get items like that done, so I have had to refer people elsewhere.”
She said she doesn’t have the equipment to make certain kinds of pieces, but if somebody would have, like flowers from funeral or a few petals they want to press in a book, and they want to do something more flat instead of a bead, she can definitely do something.
“Most of my items are handmade, and if people come asking for certain kinds of pieces, I often refer them out. I know there’s another lady that does this in the Jerseyville area, but I’m open to trying it if I can,” Sievers said.
Besides her jewelry making business, Sievers does sell fresh cut flowers to people who subscribe to her business. The Sievers Flower subscriptions are available online and people can sign up. “We’re actually going to increase production next year for Mother’s Day because we can’t keep up to fill all the orders,” Sievers said.
She said she has certain drop off points, and her customers will get flowers weekly or every other week. She also has been taking flowers up to the market in the town,” Sievers said.
“People often call for the flowers that I grow myself, really, and we have all different types, not just one type of flower for sale,” she said. “Sievers said business has been good this year despite problems from the pandemic.”
