Reevaluating what you want to do in life is not an uncommon occurrence after a major, unexpected change happens to you. A single moment — a loss, a diagnosis — can shift our entire lives and leave us reeling, scared and in pain, but can also have the power to propel us towards things we never thought possible for ourselves before.
While this was her experience, Blanca Flores, owner of Blossomly Boutique in The Dalles, encourages everyone to not wait for that moment, but to go ahead and “plant the seed” of what you want now, to give yourself the opportunity to blossom.
Located at 509 E. Second St., Blossomly Boutique is a clothing and accessory store that sells a variety of women’s clothing and jewelry and beauty products, with styles ranging from casual to formal wear, swimsuits, shapewear, and lingerie in sizes from extra small to 5x. Along with women’s wear, Flores caters towards young girls with her “Blossomly Mini” line, and says she wants to bring in a pre-teen line as well. Flores shared that into the summer months she will also be carrying more western wear items such as boots and belts for the rodeo season. “We wanted to bring a place where anybody could come in, no matter who you are, and find your own beautiful or blossom in your own way,” said Flores.
Inside Blossomly Boutique’s new downtown location.
Kelsie Cowart photo
A Hood River native, Flores said she has spent approximately the last 10 years in The Dalles with her husband and children, working as an outreach coordinator for Mid-Columbia Medical Center. “I worked with the vulnerable population, finding resources for them, like the homeless or the migrant children … connecting them with resources in the community, so I feel like my bond with the community has always kind of been there because I’ve grown up with a lot of these families,” said Flores.
In December 2020, Flores was diagnosed with Meniers disease, an inner ear disorder in which fluid is retained inside the labyrinth of the ear and can cause episodes of intense vertigo and tinnitus. While there is treatment that can help manage the symptoms of Meniers disease, there is currently no cure.
“I’m down for days sometimes,” said Flores. “There’s not a lot of research and medication out there … it’s just kind of finding what works for you, and for me, it was going kind of back to the basics of learning to listen to my body and being in tune with it. It was really life changing” said Flores. “I’m a mom of four, I’ve always been on the go … I was always heavily involved in community projects and advocating and marched, you name it, but I had to step back, and that was really hard for me.”
Flores reflected on the support of her family, especially that of her oldest daughter Quetza, and how they encouraged her to start her business. “My daughter started talking about like, well, what if we do what we always been wanting to do? … It honestly was my daughter who pushed me along,” she said, in an emotional moment, “it was really my kids, especially my oldest … who was like, ‘Mom, I believe in you. Like, you got this.”
In February, Blossomly Boutique celebrated the move to their new downtown location. While previously located in a smaller space on Sixth Street, Flores originally started her business though social media, selling her products from home through the apps Tiktok and Instagram. “We just started, like let’s get a feel for things … and that quickly turned into women messaging us, and we’re like let’s look for a boutique.”
Along with her family, Flores shared that she received a lot of support from fellow start up small business owners. “The first time I ever set up was (in) a friend’s backyard during the summer,” said Flores. “It was just a bunch of small Latina owned businesses that had just started … we were just part of this small, little community of small businesses.”
Repaying that support and encouraging the community to shop local has become a passion of Flores’. While carrying the products of her fellow small business owners, she would also host artisan markets with her fellow small business owners outside of her shop. “I made sure that when I started my little location, I gave an opportunity to the rest of those cheerleaders along the way to have a part of my store. I think it’s really important that we support local, I think I didn’t get that before,” said Flores. “I didn’t understand the concept of supporting local and what that meant for our community … I wasn’t coming down to look at the bigger picture about the people that actually work here and depend on this community to pay their bills … and especially during the pandemic, it was so cool to see these girls blossom.”
“Those ladies taught me so much,” said Flores.
Accessories at Blossomly Boutique.
Kelsie Cowart photo
Flores shared that one day she hopes to set up a website or support system that could provide resources and direction to people in the community who have or are looking to start their own businesses, not only giving future business owners the help to get started but giving the other business owners who supported her the opportunity to keep growing. “When I started, I honestly could not find anybody (to provide assistance) … I do want to look at eventually creating a website or a place where small business can get help,” said Flores. “I would like to start researching more grants and opportunities for small business … I just think that in general, there’s not a lot of resources … so I do eventually want to get into that.”
When asked if there was anything she would like to say to the community, Flores encouraged everyone to not be afraid of seeking what it is you really want to do in life right now. “I feel like we’re very much sometimes in this nine to five, get kids to school, get kids to daycare … we get really comfortable with it until we are diagnosed with something or something tragic happens in our family. And then we’re forced to kind of take a seat back and look at the bigger picture and see what we really wanted to do with our life,” said Flores, “I would encourage people to not wait (for) that moment, I would definitely start planting the seed of what you really want to do with life and start moving towards that.”
Blossomly Boutique is currently open Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information on items they sell, visit their Facebook page or find them on Instagram @blossomlyboutique.
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