Jessika Mazure chuckles after noting that her husband often jokes that she used to cut logs and now she’s cutting stems.
On a recent Wednesday morning, the Mercer Island resident and owner of House of Posie was making one of her weekly visits to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market in the Georgetown neighborhood.
It’s her go-to spot for buying product for her 6-year-old blooming small business and bonding with and supporting distributors who purchase their flowers from local growers and some from California, Canada and South America. She enjoys being a part of this vital community and running her business, which includes designing floral arrangements for all occasions out of her home studio.
Mazure formerly worked in international business with Hyundai as a log purchaser, inspector, price negotiator and more after graduating from the University of Washington with an economics degree.
With creating and designing things entrenched in her DNA, along with gravitating toward colors, Mazure returned to the business realm and built her House of Posie.
“I remember when I was in college, I said, ‘I don’t care if I don’t have any food, I always want to have flowers,’” said Mazure, adding that she used to make posies for herself every so often back then and that inspired her business name. Her niece is also nicknamed “Posie,” which is a fun coincidence, she said.
With October tagged as National Women’s Small Business Month, Mazure said that it’s empowering for a woman to have success in the family and business arenas. She’d like to mentor young women by using her journey as an example of how hard work can pave the way for success.
Mazure added that the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce and the community provides support for her business and others.
“When opportunity gives to volunteer or to donate my service with flowers, I’m always eager to say yes,” she said about the reciprocation factor with her fellow Island residents.
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is deeply involved in this special month and notes on its website: “We believe diversity promotes innovation, opens doors, and creates partnerships that fuel the economy. That’s why we not only provide the most relied upon certification standard for women-owned businesses, but we also offer the tools to help them succeed.”
In 2015, the House of Posie owner had an epiphany when a friend’s daughter was having a birthday and she asked Mazure to arrange some flowers from her garden to celebrate the day.
She recalls thinking, “‘Wow, I love this,’ and then the feedback that I got and people were saying, ‘You should actually consider doing this as a business,’” said Mazure, who moved to the United States with her family from South Korea in 1981 and has lived on Mercer Island since 2000.
Mazure loves waking up each day to put in the time-consuming work that comes with her job, which allows her the freedom to design and work flexible hours in order to spend time her three sons and husband. She once created arrangements for two weddings in one day and sometimes collaborates with other designers for big events.
Flowers are powerful, said Mazure, adding, “You see the final end product of the beautiful creation and how it enhances the event, the occasion. All the planning, labor and designing that goes behind the scene is very labor intensive. I will say I will do it over and over again.”
For more information, visit http://www.houseofposie.com/
