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From Corporate Burnout To Floral Wellness Pioneer With Contained Stems – Interview With Brittney McKinley

Brittney began her entreprenuerialship journey after being furloughed from her corporate career and experiencing anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome that she turned to intentional practices with flowers to heal herself: mind, body, and spirit. Through this journey, she found self-love, living in and on purpose, and aligning her innate gifts to birth her brand. Contained Stems teaches clients more than floral design, but education, science, chromotherapy, breath-work, mediation, and solfeggio frequencies, while connecting to nature's resources. Experiences are offered in-person, virtually, and for travel. Brittney continues to defy any societal standards placed on her brand.


Image photo of Brittney McKinley

Brittney McKinley, Floral Wellness Designer and Trauma-Aware Breath-Work Coach 


Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.


My name is Brittney McKinley, but my loved ones call me Bee. I am the Founder and Creative Director of Contained Stems, the world's first Floral Wellness company. When I am not working on my brand, I am writing poetry, journaling, practicing yoga, dancing, and prioritizing self-care. I am a fan of all arts; especially music and dance, anything that allows for self-expression. I enjoy traveling, seeing beautiful places, and experiencing different cultures. My loved ones mean the world to me so I spend quite a bit of time with my family and the collective I am a member of [Sacred Sisters] who are an extension of my family. I hope to soon be a proud cat mommy to a British Shorthair, of which I've chosen to name Zion.


What inspired you to start Contained Stems, and what makes your floral arrangements unique compared to other flower delivery services?


I was inspired to start Contained Stems because I was working in Corporate America and no longer felt fulfilled in what I was doing. There was little work-life balance and I didn't feel valued which was starting to impact my mental health. I've always been a rebel in a sense, and I'm not the biggest fan of being told what to do, I'd rather forge my own path. I had to have my own wake up call and realize the only person that was coming to save me and change the trajectory of my life was me, doing what I've always wanted to do- be an entrepreneur. I decided to not let fear or self-doubt get in the way, but instead move forward, following through with my commitments to myself so that I could create a platform that impacts the world. My entire division was furloughed two months after I legitmized my company which really added fuel to the fire but also was rough again on my mental and emotional health, as this was the first time I was without a job and didn't have steady income coming in. It was scary, but pushed me towards creating practices and rituals with myself to heal my mind, body, and spirit. Many of my practices involved flowers in combination with my self-care routine that helped me hone in on my craft of design, while healing my depression, anxiety, and imposter syndrome. It became clear my niche for Contained Stems was wellness and designing products and spaces that were conducive to nurturing the mind, body, and spirit. We are the first Floral Wellness Design Company with this mission being our foundation. We create designs and spaces that are restorative, mood-enhancing, and Chakra-balancing which makes us stand apart from anyone else in the industry. 


Could you share the story behind the name "Contained Stems" and how it reflects your business's philosophy or values? 


I absolutely love this question because it always seems to be a bit different than what people expect. Naming Contained Stems was challenging, I had mostly everything down except for the name and I knew I didn't want it to have anything to do with flowers in the name. One night, I was watching the Jeen-Yuhs documentary about Kanye West on Netflix and the scene of Kanye playing Pharrell "Through The Wire" came on and he listened to the song and afterwards Coodie did a voiceover saying: “very rarely do you encounter self-contained people… truly gifted.” When I heard that, Contained Stems was born. The definition of self-contained means "to be complete- to have all that is needed in itself". That is what I aspired to be, and I felt I was missing in my career. Contained Stems is also a play on the physical representation of how flowers and herbs look in vases- their stems are literally contained in the environment that they're in. The word "contained" means to "have and to hold", and that's exactly what you do for flowers. 


Image photo of Brittney McKinley

In what ways do you prioritize sustainability and eco-friendliness in your business operations, from sourcing materials to packaging and delivery? 


Prioritizing sustainability and eco-friendliness was one of our founding principles when creating the brand. Because there is such high waste within the floristry industry, we choose to purchase products for our clients after they've placed their order instead of housing products in our cooler that we may or may not use. We have a design studio that isn't open to the public so that we can maintain this standard. This helps reduce the overall carbon footprint for clients being able to process orders online and over the phone and not needing to drive to our studio. Our sustainability policies require us to have strong communication with our clients and to set appropriate expectations because they can't pick up in-store as we are not mass-producing products. After the purchasing process, we encourage our clients to use the flowers to their fullest lifespan by incorporating them into their self-care practices of flower baths, face steams and foot soaks, drying them, and using them as art which eliminates waste as well.


Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.


My greatest career achievement is being able to provide and showcase different outlets of creativity for my clients. We are more than a floristry brand. We create art, poetry, breath-work experiences, and offerings that allow clients to experience flowers differently for their healing benefits. When creating Contained Stems, I knew I could not be in a box. I was going to be more expansive and create more than flower arrangements. My goal was to create a lifestyle that promotes wellness through the power of flowers and I am confident that I've achieved that. 


If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?


I believe I am actively changing what I feel needs to be changed about the floristry industry. Long before being a business owner in the floristry industry I was a consumer. Flowers have always been a go-to for events and occasions but the process for ordering has always been the same. There hasn't been any connection with how floristry meets wellness and the benefits flowers have. There is also little emphasis on the symbolism flowers have and how to care for them after purchase. As a business owner I recognized this gap and have incorporated these pieces into the purchasing model for our clients. When a client purchases for themselves, we ask our clients how they are feeling so we can determine what floral options they need, from palettes to properties. This creates a spending culture that makes more mindful and intentional selections.


Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info!

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