A mother daughter duo sharing their love through their little shop on
Sanibel Island that provides the community with organic food that brings
nourishment to the body and mind. They created a space that allows you to feel
comfort and serenity while allowing the food to fully nourish you.
Two beaming women that are eager to provide you with whatever you need, be
that a smoothie, a quick chat or something as simple as a smile. They provide
love in all they offer and you leave floating on a cloud of bliss.
What do you do?
Chelsee: We make organic,
clean, vegan foods for people, that are super foods and earth based and all
very medicinal. We opened Among the Flowers about 2.5 years ago; it has been an
awesome journey so far. We chose Sanibel because the universe guided us, it
seemed like the perfect time in life to start an alternative wave of business
on Sanibel, for the community and for Fort Myers too. This place is very sacred
for us. It has also been good healing process as well.
Jolie: The business practices we are use are mindful and heartfelt.
Everything has to have a good vibration so that we can give it out, and give
people the best we can. We are here all the time, it our home and we just want
to be happy. We want everyone to thrive.
Chelsee: People come in and ask us what we think they need today. We keep
asking questions to see what they need based on how they are feeling. We like
to think of it as what can we remedy you with.
Jolie: They come in totally flustered at times. The environment and
experience is what puts them at ease. That’s what I love the most about doing
this. I would love to make it possible for more people to experience it. For
now, I’ll just go day by day.
I would like to keep opening up their minds to the ease of taking care of
themselves, because we are all ultimately responsible for our self. Our temple
is ours and ours to take care of. We need people like Chelsee and you who are
reaching out and showing people that it is not hard to do! It’s okay to do it!
Even if you work in a cubicle job, find joy in it. Find joy in everything. It’s
about creativity. We are creating the universe; we are creating food and
community. Keep building on that so people don’t feel alone in this world. We
want to be an open door for that.
What made you want to open Among the Flowers?
Chelsee: Our passion to share what we know, and what we can continue to learn. I was really hungry to share what I
have learned along my journey so far, and to have this space available to us. I
literally manifested it one night in November. A couple months later my mom asked me if
I wanted to open a shop together. We gathered what we had and opened in April.
I’m a local to Fort Myers, and never have been able to find a safe haven.
Whenever someone walks into the door, I think to myself this is why I am here
right now. Their eyes just glow and they feel like they are home, they feel so
comfortable. It’s about finding comfort, comfort in amazing food and
atmosphere.
What was your childhood like? Do you feel like it
led you to your dream now?
Chelsee: My childhood taught me a lot. It showed me what I wanted and what
I didn’t want. My family was separated when I was very young. In one house I
ate a certain way and felt a certain way. In another house I ate a simpler way
and felt another way. I was exposed to being vegetarian early on and really
fell in love with vegetarianism.
In my adolescent and teenage years I found things in my life that I needed
to heal. All the bad food I was eating at the time had really screwed up my
gut. That’s what really got me into studying about gut health, vegetarianism,
movement of the body, and the importance of being in nature. Being shoeless,
Being an activist. Being a strong woman! Regardless of what sex or race you
are, you are responsible for yourself. You are your guide once you are out of
your mother’s womb. You are exposed to the world and you are the one looking
through your eyes. It’s a healing journey because of past traumas, past
amazingness; the back and forth of everything.
This shop is really healing for myself and I hope its inspiring other
people to heal their body and their mind. Coming and being in the present
moment, that is what the shop has brought me and I hope it brings everyone
else.
Jolie: She is very humble She is constantly studying and reading.
Schooling herself on holistic healing. If you have a question about anything,
she will find out. She will come up with a remedy for it.
As a child, I was always independent. I got up in the morning, got myself
ready and to school. I was always a foodie, even though my mom was never a
cook. My dad’s family would cook on the weekends and it was all about the meal,
because we are Italian. I love that. Everything tasted so good, it was about
the flavor and the whole experience about getting family together. It was
dreamy and awesome.
I was also very aware. My grandma would eat margarine in the 70’s and I
would ask how could it be good for you if it’s not real. They believed the
commercials on TV telling them it was healthy. I couldn’t believe it.
You need to make sure what you are consuming is real. Over time I wanted
to eat the best, feel the best; get the most energy with the least amount of
consumption. Here this is the way we eat, and I wanted to keep it evolving and
wanted to expand on that. So we can inspire others on their quest to being a
better person by opening their minds to how easy it is.
"Every day you have 24 hours, you want to feel the best you can. It’s about
feeling good and keeping your vibration high. I want to be happy every day as
much as I can. Eating right helps that."
How did you know this was your passion?
Jolie: How I feel fuels it and gives me more energy.
I look forward to every day. Today is my birthday and I am so happy I am here.
I would not want to be anywhere else.
Chelsee: It kind of hit
me in the face. In high school I became vegetarian and I really inspired my
friends to become as well. I showed them how to do it and that its okay to tell
your parents. I had to convince and almost sell being a vegetarian to people.
I have always been
intuitive and when I became vegetarian it felt very natural.
After all the research I
did I saw that it was better for your health and it was more sustainable. My
husband and I are plant based. When you have amazing local food, its like a
happy pill, your brain turns on.
"People deserve to feel this way, this love and
this vitality, and to know its reality!"
What advice could you give to someone to help them
find their passion?
Jolie: Breath. Look around within yourself. Take time. Slow
down to find your passion and then run for it.
Journal. Journaling has kept me on the right path as well as
yoga. In yoga you can slow it down, find inspiration in your breath.
Chelsee: I am a strong believer in you always go back to
where you started. That is part of the healing journey I have been on.
"Just feel it. If you feel something turn on in your mind or
your heart, just follow it. It is your guide; it has come to you for a purpose.
It is important and vital for you to not let it go away. Trust yourself"
