BEHIND THE COMPANY
Meet the owner:
Hi there! My name is Hannah Gesford. I am a proud Christian, wife, mom, fur mama, and self-taught flower preserver. This business all started with that bouquet in my hands (pictured above). I came home from my honeymoon in April of 2018 and realized I could not bear to throw it away. I've always had a pretty crafty bone in my body so I decided to do a little research on preservation. It was already wilting, but I bought the supplies and gave it a shot.
In June 2019, my wonderful husband and I welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world. I was an Accounting Analyst for the Montgomery County Tax Office but could not bring myself to return to work after her arrival. So, I became a stay-at-home mom. My husband and I had agreed it would only be for the first two years and then I would return to my full-time office job.
I made it my mission to find something a could do from home and build it up before that two-year timeline was up. I started a small Etsy shop making t-shirts and onesies. It became fairly successful in a short time, but I quickly became bored with it. However, that entrepreneurial section in my brain had now been unlocked. I knew I wanted to find something I was truly passionate about.
In November 2019, my little sister got married. She asked me if I could create a shadow box for her just like my own. I was so nervous to work with someone else's flowers, but she gushed with excitement when she picked them up. A few shares on social media and before I knew it I had ladies dropping their bouquets off left and right. I knew I had found my very own niche.
That same month, my husband was diagnosed with Uveal Ocular Melanoma. Our world came crashing down. He had to have a golden, radioactive plaque sewn to his eyeball and undergo radiation treatment for seven days before having the plaque surgically removed. We decided to put our trust in God and I continued to stay home while taking care of both him and our daughter. He only took eight weeks off from work before COVID-19 hit. As scary as that time period was for the entire world, we were thankful that it allowed him the option to work from home (some days in the dark) for a few months while his eye healed from treatment.
I officially launched Fleurever After Preservations in March 2020 and worked hard every single day to build this business. Each flower is so unique and I thoroughly enjoy seeing your beautiful arrangements come through my door. Arranging your pieces has become therapeutic for me. My favorite time to work is late at night when the house is dark and quiet. I listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks while I work and my heart feels at peace.
I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer in November 2021. I underwent sixteen rounds of chemotherapy, seventeen rounds of immunotherapy, thirty rounds of radiation therapy, a bilateral mastectomy, and a full reconstruction surgery. There is no way I could have managed to take care of a three-year-old and work a full-time job during that season of life. Being able to make my own schedule has been such a huge blessing. My even bigger blessing, I entered remission on January 4, 2023!
My clients have given me the freedom to stay home with my daughter, battle cancers, and work as much as I am physically and mentally able to. I thank God for showing me a path and giving me such special opportunities, but I also thank each and every one of you. I will continue to pour my heart and soul into each and every piece I create. Spending my days surrounded by such beauty has been a dream come true!
