INDIANAPOLIS – In the Stutz building in downtown Indianapolis, you will find creatives everywhere you turn.
Frida’s Flowers is one of the newest additions to the building. The business's bustling bouquets of bright colored botanicals remind the founder Madeline of her childhood home in Mexico City.
"Bringing in that flavor, that Latina spice, that energy,” Madeline MacKinnon the Founder of Frida’s Flowers said. “Kind of think of it as like each arrangement as a different variation of a salsa dance, and I love that!"
Madeline's Latin background is what inspired her to create Frida’s Flowers. Each bouquets features flowers native to Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Madeline makes her bouquets with a Latin twist to not only show off her culture but pay homage to an influential champion of Mexican women's rights.
"Frida Kahlo was a Mexican activist and feminist,” Madeline said. “So having her inspiration and her guidance as the main face of this businesses and movement has been really important. She did a lot of work to heal her own self and did a lot of work through the arts to heal and invite other women in to the healing journey as well."
Madeline says she has been able to get her businesses off the ground thanks to a program through Pattern. The program is called Space, which stands for Strategic Plan for the Advancement of Creative Entrepreneurs.
"We are looking to help those people and connect them with mentors so the program kind of meets them where they are and then helps them take the next step,” Macy Lethco the Program Manager at Pattern said.
Madeline says through this program she has been connected to like-minded woman. Connections which she says have helped her grow as a person and artist. A growth she hopes her arrangements will foster for people who experience her work.
"Allow yourself to engage with your own culture and where you come from in your own context and be shameless and fearless in expressing that,” Madeline said.
The Space Program allows for creatives to operate for free out of a studio space for six months. Pattern also helps them with administrative tasks they may need.
Pattern, which is a nonprofit organization, can make this happen through donations and grants. To learn more about the organization click here.
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