A blossoming chronic creative

BONDUEL, Wis. — As her youngest child nears school age, Kaci Wolf had wondered what her next step in life might be.

“I would describe myself as a chronic creative,” Kaci said. “I have been a stay-at-home mom since the pandemic. … I’ve been thinking a lot about what comes next.”

What comes next has turned out to be a fledgling floral business, Bloomed on Dairy. Kaci decided on the name for her enterprise following the footprint of the handle for her farm-based Instagram and TikTok pages, Raised On Dairy, where she shares her husband’s farming story.

Wolf Farms LLC is home to 240 cows. Kaci’s husband, Allan, is the third generation of his family to operate the farm near Bonduel, purchasing the farm from his uncle in 2018. They are raising their four children — Graham, Declan, Mila and Devyn — as the fourth generation on the farm. The Wolfs are preparing to expand to 360 cows next year. Allan farms 575 acres, mostly raising forages for the growing herd.

The seeds of what has become Bloomed on Dairy were planted over the winter when the Wolfs began to think about starting a self-serve, roadside farm stand, marketing produce, flowers, beef from their farm, sourdough breads and other baked goods.

The cool spring weather delayed Kaci’s gardening plans, leading her to brainstorm ways to begin the stand in some fashion.

“In the meantime, I started out with a Mother’s Day drop and then a Father’s Day drop,” Kaci said. “I found there was such huge demand, just from the little bit I did sharing on social media. I decided to focus on that aspect, rather than the roadside stand. The main focus right now is pop-up, make-and-take bouquet bars and servicing small requests for arrangements, like 20 centerpiece arrangements for an event.”

Kaci marketed the initial Mother’s Day drop, followed by graduation bouquets, which sprouted into her business on her own personal social media page. After seeing the response, she created the Bloomed on Dairy Facebook page and was shocked at the response the page received.

“It’s gaining a lot of traction — there were a lot of people that followed it in the first couple of days,” Kaci said. “It was very overwhelming, in the best way possible. I’ve been doing social media-type things for quite a while, so I have a pretty good handle on utilizing that.”

Uncertain of how her initial crop of flowers would turn out, and anxious to launch the business in earnest, Kaci created a business entity and limited liability corporation in order to obtain a wholesale license, allowing her to purchase flowers through a local wholesale vendor in Wausau.

Using a make-and-take bouquet model, Kaci has been frequenting farmers markets and creating pop-up events at local businesses using a tiered cart with 12 buckets to hold a variety of flowers.

“It’s been a learning curve, knowing what people are going to want, and how much to purchase,” Kaci said. “I have been purchasing enough to fill my stand, and I’m trying to find simple flowers that are easy for people to put together. If you’re not somebody who is creative or has an eye for it, it can be overwhelming to put a bouquet together.”

Kaci said she has been sticking with simple, common flowers and has been listening to her customers, watching the arrangements they are creating.

“Carnations, baby’s breath and thistles are all very popular,” Kaci said. “I love seeing the joy in my customers’ faces as they are choosing their bouquets. Sometimes you just need some instant flower girl magic.”

His wife’s new venture has been a learning experience for Allan, too.

“The thistles sell like hotcakes,” he said. “That was something I would have never imagined.”

With what she describes as an entrepreneurial spirit, Kaci said she has many ideas to continue growing and improving her startup.

“When she gets an idea in her mind, she can really run with it,” Allan said. “She is very creative and inventive.”

Kaci hosted an on-farm vendor event, the Barn Side Bloom Market and Vendor Show July 20, featuring more than 20 local vendors.

“I’ve always dreamed of hosting events on the farm,” Kaci said. “This vendor show was a little different from others, specifically oriented around small, women-owned creatives, the more artistic kinds of smaller businesses, with no multi-level marketing type businesses.”

The attendance and feedback Kaci received following the event left her optimistic, opening the door for continued growth in that branch of her business. Meanwhile, she continues to contemplate additional avenues of growth.

“I’ve been flirting with the idea of bouquet subscriptions where people can come to the farm on certain days to pick up arrangements and bouquets,” Kaci said.

In keeping with her entrepreneurial tendencies, Kaci is partnering with a nearby Amish grower as a source for locally-grown stems.

“She has beautiful flowers but has trouble selling them, largely because of the lack of access to marketing tools like social media and advertising,” Kaci said. “I’m excited to work with her, to help her grow her business while growing my own.”

Thinking of ways to increase the utilization of her make-and-take bouquet bar cart, Kaci has developed a strategy for renting the cart out for events.

The simplicity of the services she is providing has been met enthusiastically, a response beyond her wildest imagination, Kaci said. She is booking events, including weddings, into 2026.

The Wolfs recently purchased a small shed that will become the on-farm stand that planted the original seed in Kaci’s mind. They are planning for an on-farm grand opening in early October.

“I’m a chronic creative and a chronic entrepreneur,” Kaci said. “I have big dreams for the future, maybe even expanding into an in-town storefront someday. As long as the sun shines and the flowers keep growing, I feel like the sky is the limit.”