Hello,
I'm Erika!
I’m originally from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, but grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from college, I was offered a job in Washington state, and I took a leap of faith to the Pacific Northwest. Nine years later, I’m still calling Washington home, and I couldn’t imagine a better place to put down roots!
I’m originally from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, but grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from college, I was offered a job in Washington state, and I took a leap of faith to the Pacific Northwest. Nine years later, I’m still calling Washington home, and I couldn’t imagine a better place to put down roots!
In July 2020, during the unpredictable early days of COVID, I went on a blind date that would change my life. That date turned into something special, and before long, my husband and I were building a life together. Today, our family has grown to include our sweet new baby boy, Theo, and our two beloved dogs, Hank and Murphy, who keep life full of love, laughter, and a little chaos.
When I’m not spending time with my family, you’ll usually find me in the garden, surrounded by dahlias, or creating something new for Pups N’ Blooms. What started with a love for growing flowers has blossomed into so much more. Along with growing and sharing beautiful dahlias, I’ve expanded into hand-poured, clean-burning soy candles, each made in small batches with care and attention to detail. I love creating products that bring a little beauty, warmth, and joy into everyday life.
I’ve always loved connecting with people, embracing new experiences, and finding ways to turn the things I’m passionate about into something meaningful. Whether I’m growing flowers, pouring candles, or spending time with my family and fur babies, I believe the best things in life are often found in the little moments. I’m so glad you’re here and that I get to share a little piece of what I love with you!
I’m originally from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, but grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. After graduating from college, I was offered a job in Washington state, and I took a leap of faith to the Pacific Northwest. Nine years later, I’m still calling Washington home, and I couldn’t imagine a better place to put down roots!
In July 2020, during the unpredictable early days of COVID, I went on a blind date that would change my life. That date turned into something special, and before long, my husband and I were building a life together. Today, our family has grown to include our sweet new baby boy, Theo, and our two beloved dogs, Hank and Murphy, who keep life full of love, laughter, and a little chaos.
When I’m not spending time with my family, you’ll usually find me in the garden, surrounded by dahlias, or creating something new for Pups N’ Blooms. What started with a love for growing flowers has blossomed into so much more. Along with growing and sharing beautiful dahlias, I’ve expanded into hand-poured, clean-burning soy candles, each made in small batches with care and attention to detail. I love creating products that bring a little beauty, warmth, and joy into everyday life.
I’ve always loved connecting with people, embracing new experiences, and finding ways to turn the things I’m passionate about into something meaningful. Whether I’m growing flowers, pouring candles, or spending time with my family and fur babies, I believe the best things in life are often found in the little moments. I’m so glad you’re here and that I get to share a little piece of what I love with you!
How Pups N' Blooms Began
A love of flowers, a little family history, and a dream of creating something of my own.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of summer vacations spent traveling around Ohio to visit family and friends. One of my favorite stops was my godmother’s home in Rocky River, where she had the most magical garden. It was lush, colorful, and beautiful enough to be featured in local magazines. I remember looking at her garden and thinking, One day, I want a garden just like that.
Little did I know that a simple childhood dream would eventually grow into something much bigger.
Rooted in Family, Grown with Love
When I moved into a home with my husband, it was the first time I had a yard of my own. I finally had a space where I could experiment, get my hands dirty, and create a garden of my own. What started as a love for flowers quickly became a passion for growing them.
But dahlias? They hold a special place in our family history.
My husband’s grandfather was a dahlia farmer in South Bend, Washington, known for growing incredible blooms that became local legends. Some of his dahlia varieties were passed down through the family, and I knew I wanted to grow them in our garden. There was just one small problem: when I started, I didn’t even know how to pronounce dahlia correctly!
What I lacked in experience, I made up for in curiosity. I dove into learning everything I could about these incredible flowers, from planting and propagating to digging, dividing, and storing tubers. I took classes, learned through trial and error, and fell more in love with dahlias every growing season.
My garden also became a way to honor the people who mean so much to me. I planted flowers in memory of loved ones we had lost and grew plants gifted from my mom and mother-in-law’s gardens. Each flower had a story, and before long, the garden became more than just a place to grow beautiful things. It became a place filled with memories, family history, and meaning.
From Six Dahlias to Pups N’ Blooms
My first summer growing dahlias started with just six plants. Today, I grow more than 130 varieties in our backyard garden here in Buckley, Washington.
What began as a personal passion has grown into sharing that love with others through dahlia tuber sales and seasonal blooms. There’s something incredibly special about sending a tuber off to a new home, knowing it could become someone else’s favorite flower, a treasured garden addition, or the beginning of their own growing journey.
And while dahlias will always be at the heart of Pups N’ Blooms, they aren't the only things growing around here!
Over time, I expanded into creating small-batch, hand-poured soy candles. I wanted to bring the same care and attention I put into my garden into something people could enjoy in their homes throughout the year. From choosing fragrances to testing each candle, I love the process of creating something beautiful that adds a little warmth and joy to everyday life.
Whether it’s a garden full of dahlias in the summer or a favorite candle burning on a cozy evening, both sides of Pups N’ Blooms come from the same place: a love for creating things that make life a little more beautiful.
Finding a Little Light in a Difficult Season
In 2025, our family experienced the heartbreaking loss of our baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy. Flowers had always brought me so much joy, but in the aftermath of our loss, I found myself unable to look at them. Something that had once been my happy place suddenly felt too painful.
I needed something different. Something creative that could keep my hands busy, bring a little joy back into my days, and give me a break from the things that hurt.
That’s where candles came in.
Candle making gave me something new to learn, experiment with, and pour my energy into. I could play with fragrances, test different waxes and wicks, and create something from scratch. It was a different kind of creativity, one that allowed me to find little moments of happiness during a season when I needed them most.
What started as something I turned to for myself eventually became another branch of Pups N’ Blooms. Today, I create small-batch, hand-poured soy candles with the same care and attention to detail that I bring to my garden. Each candle is an opportunity to create something beautiful, and I love being able to share that with others.
Flowers will always be part of my story, but this experience taught me that sometimes, growth looks different than we expect. Sometimes, it means stepping away from what we love, finding something new to hold onto, and discovering that joy can take on a different form.
A Creative Mind with an Entrepreneurial Heart
Flowers and candles might be what you see here, but creativity has always been a big part of who I am. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago, after exploring everything from website and graphic design to computer engineering and IT along the way. Eventually, I found my way to marketing, where I could bring together my creative side and my love of strategy and analytics.
After a serious accident left me recovering from a shattered left ankle, I was laid off from my marketing role. It was a difficult and unexpected chapter, but it also pushed me toward something I had dreamed about for years: building a business of my own.
I’ve always admired my dad’s entrepreneurial spirit. When he was laid off from his job while I was in sixth grade, he started his own communications company. Watching him turn an unexpected setback into an opportunity left a lasting impression on me. His example helped me see that sometimes, the paths we never planned for can lead us exactly where we need to be.
That same spirit is part of what drives Pups N’ Blooms today. My background in marketing continues to shape how I approach my business, from building the brand and connecting with customers to creating new products and finding ways to grow.
Growing Something Meaningful
Pups N’ Blooms is a little bit of everything I love: flowers, creativity, family, and the freedom to build something of my own. It has grown and evolved right alongside me, and I know there is still so much room for it to grow.
These days, life is a little fuller with our sweet baby boy, Theo, and our two dogs, Hank and Murphy. Between family life, tending to the garden, growing dahlias, pouring candles, and running a business, there’s always something happening around here!
I never could have predicted that a childhood dream of having a beautiful garden would lead me here. But I’m grateful for every twist and turn that brought me to this point, and for the opportunity to share a little piece of what I love with all of you.
Thank you for being here, supporting our small business, and helping Pups N’ Blooms continue to grow. Whether you’re here for the dahlias, the candles, or simply the story behind it all, I’m so happy you’re part of this journey.
With love, light & blooms (and probably a little dog hair),
-- Erika