Blog

At Blossom, each handcrafted soap, candle, bath tea and body balm is carefully made, inspected and packaged by our team members with developmental disabilities. Stephanie is a member of our team, and she takes pride in the work she does at Blossom!

We have known Stephanie for over six years. Her role with Blossom focuses on crafting our bath teas and labeling each product. She enjoys making bath tea and is happy that she gets to work with her friends every day. Her favorite Blossom scent is Orange Cranberry Clove.

As a Blossom team member, Stephanie has a lot of opportunities that would be hard to find elsewhere. One of those opportunities is helping exhibit at local events. She plans to start attending events in the future. Stephanie has a big goal that she is working toward. “One day, I want to learn how to drive a car. I want to drive on my own,” she said.

We certainly hope you can achieve your goal, Stephanie! Thank you for your hard work!

Blossom had a very successful first year in business. In 2019, we launched new products, welcomed new team members and partnered with local businesses to expand our reach across the Orlando community. We have much more to look forward to in the New Year!

In 2020, we plan on introducing plenty of new products! Our crafters have been hard at work specializing our most popular product recipes, and are eager to continue learning. We’re working on two top-secret products that we’re preparing to launch next year. Hint: they’re both great for the skin… Can you guess what they are?

We have many goals for 2020 including…

• Doubling our team numbers to provide more opportunities to individuals in the Central Florida community
• Connecting with other entrepreneurs within the community to cross-promote and support one another
• Expanding our retail offering locations in the metro area (If you’re interested in partnering with us, please visit our Contact page!)

We’re looking forward to getting new equipment in the New Year including an official Blossom vehicle that will be large enough to take our products to and from events across the Orlando area. Our production facility at Quest, Inc.’s training center in Orlando will be undergoing renovations early on in the year.

Our friendships and relationships in the community are very valuable to us. We’re looking forward to expanding our relationship with Fleet Farming to teach gardening fundamentals to our team members through their garden education plan. We’re also excited about our recent acceptance into the Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator, which will take place in early 2020. This program will allow us to solidify our business strategy and introduce new practices to continue our mission of cultivating opportunities, crafting quality products and celebrating abilities.

Team member, Rob, says Blossom has a lot of growth ahead. “Blossom’s success continues to expand by sticking to two core concepts at the root of our program: finding opportunities for all who want to join our mission and leverage the unique talents of those who come onboard,” Rob said.

If you’ve visited a Blossom booth at one of our many regional events, you’ve most likely encountered our crew of budding entrepreneurs. Each one of these talented team members is part of the Quest Kids Academy Work-Study Program and crucial part of Blossom’s success! The program offers a learning opportunity for high-functioning students ages 16-22 with developmental disabilities. The main goal of the program is for students to learn new skills through the utilization of real work tasks to prepare for future employment.

There are six students in the program so far, but the goal is to expand in the future. Students learn how a business is run through their help with Blossom. They understand that working collaboratively as a team is necessary to complete recurring Blossom tasks such as product and packaging inventory, wrapping soaps, labeling products, and restocking soaps at Eola General in Orlando.

The biggest skill the students are learning is communication. As an executive functioning skill, it is transferrable to any job (and life in general), therefore invaluable to the students. When they ask for clarification during a new training, that’s when it is apparent that they have successfully acquired a new skill.

Dylan is a student in Quest Kids Academy’s Work-Study Program. “I do Blossom tasks with Ms. Frances and Ms. Lauren. I can help students fold Blossom shirts. I like wrapping Blossom soaps! I can also take inventory. I can count Blossom soaps to make sure that’s the right amount. I enjoy learning how to count Blossom soaps because it makes me feel like a counting expert,” Dylan said.

At Blossom, it’s the people on our team that make us a successful venture. James is a vital member of the Blossom team! He has been with Quest, Inc. for three years where he has expanded his skills by working with Blossom.

James’s specialty at Blossom is soap making. He also counts each bar to make sure proper inventory is accounted for and stored correctly. James has recently tried his hand at sales at local events where Blossom exhibits. “I like selling the products and talking to people about our soap and the ingredients,” James said. His favorite part of the day is when he and another Blossom team member, Rob, go on a coffee run together!

James has been hard at work making all of our artisanal products and gift baskets before the holiday season. His favorite Blossom scent is Coffee Vanilla! James says he has fun every day, and we certainly see it in his positive personality!

This holiday season, give the gift that gives back! We now offer holiday gift baskets perfect for that special someone who loves handmade, artisanal products. These baskets come in a variety of sizes and are customizable to match everyone’s favorite scents.

Our holiday gift baskets range from festive to jolly with the amount of products that you can choose in a basket! Not sure what to pick? Our most joyful basket includes 6 total Blossom goodies! Blossom holiday gift baskets can be customized to include different scents, or even your favorite Blossom scent in everything offered! 

When you shop Blossom, all proceeds from your order automatically go back to Blossom to support meaningful work opportunities for the individuals with developmental disabilities that create our products. Spread a little holiday cheer with Blossom! Take a look at the full variety of gift baskets here.

At Blossom, we encourage everyone to work hard to accomplish their goals. That’s why Nathan (pictured left to right: Nathan and Austin), a student in Quest Kids Academy’s Work-Study Program, has been so successful with Blossom! He is the go-to guy to help answer any questions that our customers have at our sales events. He is always enthusiastic in explaining everything there is to know about our many artisanal products.

Nathan has a lot of goals with Blossom. His biggest goal is to one day become the “President of Blossom”! He has been working very hard to prove he is capable of handling all of the tasks that are assigned to him. He was recently promoted to “Lead Trainer” where he trains and assists the rest of the students in the Work-Study Program with their special tasks. Nathan is thrilled about his new promotion and has high hopes for the future.

“Now that I am the Lead Trainer of Blossom, I can help my friends in Quest Kids Academy’s Work-Study Program do the tasks I know how to do. Training is sort of like offering help before anyone makes a mistake! It makes me feel proud! This is one step closer to becoming the President of Blossom! During the new task training session, I helped my friend Austin with the new inventory system. It was pretty amazing! I gave Austin clear directions and he did great! I also trained him how to do quality control and how to count the soaps the fast way,” Nathan said.

By Nathan H., Student in Quest Kids Academy's Work-Study Program

Last school year, I started a new class at Quest Kids Academy called Work-Study Class.  In Work-Study Class, I learned that I have to meet expectations for my job to get paid.  That means that I need to pay attention during new task training, ask for clarification, complete my tasks just like my supervisor taught me, and ask for feedback after I complete a task.  If I have old tasks, I have to manage my time and complete my tasks without help.  My Work-Study class supervisor, Mrs. Frances, taught me how to work in job environments.

One day, I went to an important meeting with Mr. John Gill, Ms. Erica, and Ms. Brooke.  After the meeting, my classmates and I started working on the Blossom project!  We got tasks like wrapping soaps, inspecting soaps and checking quality control, taking inventory, updating the Excel inventory spreadsheet, and restocking soaps at a neighborhood store called Eola General.

A couple months ago, the Blossom website launched.  After the launch, we got orders through the roof!  People felt excited and were ordering soaps like crazy.  I asked my mom share the website on Facebook with her friends and our family.  After she shared the website, her friends and our family shared it with their friends and family and so on…

Over the summer, I wanted to help Blossom soar!  I asked Mr. Rob if I could have training at Quest Training Center-Orlando (QTC-O), and he said “yes!”  Mr. Rob said I could be the first official Blossom employee on the payroll!  I felt so excited that I almost fainted.  I had to get some training from Mr. Mike.  He taught me how to plug the inventory on the back end of the Blossom website.  He also taught me a new way of counting soaps that was different from how Mrs. Frances taught me.

A week after my first shift at QTC-O, I got my first paycheck!  I felt so excited!  I’m currently saving up for a Scar stuffed animal from The Lion King.  I want to work every day and get more hours.  The more hours I work, the more money I get!  My plan is to save up for things I want, like stuffed animals, soundtracks, Legos, and video games.

My future hope is to work at QTC-O.  I want to work there because it’s exciting and fun to go to work.  I want to become the president of Blossom.  I can achieve this by working hard and getting more hours in at QTC-O.  I should also have a nice but strict leadership.  I have to learn how to run a company.  Finally, I will help new employees when they start working for Blossom!

Blossom is the best!  Please buy our soaps!!!