Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Howell.
Claire, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Absolutely! I am known to my friends as a bit of a sustainability and gardening nut, and I think a lot of that is due to my upbringing. I spent my formative years living in Vermont, where my teacher tapped the maple syrup that was on our morning pancakes, my classmate’s family owned the orchard down the road who sourced the apples we used to make cider in my friend’s press, and my neighbor ran the local grocery market where we all learned how to be an employee for the first time. It was the definition of a local economy. In me, it bred an awareness of where our food/products come from and how people are impacted along the way in commerce. I developed a strong sense of duty to steward our resources well through sustainable choices as well as a responsibility to empower the local community through business.
As I transitioned to Texas, I realized that there was plenty that could be done in terms of helping to bring sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices to our city, especially given the unbelievable environmental abuse that has historically happened right here in our own backyard. Quickly, that opened the door to start a community garden in partnership with my church in West Dallas as well as starting a small “balcony farm” at our apartment to grow some of our own food. Both of these reignited my gardening passion.
In 2020 after the pandemic hit, a few friends (now business partners – John & Q) approached me with their idea of teaching people how to grow food, even in small spaces, throughout our city. Given my experiences and passion connected to both sustainability/agriculture and community-positive business, it was an easy “yes.” Since then, we have been reaching people in all parts of the metroplex to help them overcome barriers to food growing in their space. It has been such a joy!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I definitely wouldn’t say it has been easy or smooth, but it has been very life-giving for me. It’s challenging to be part of introducing new ways of doing things in any setting. As we try to introduce sustainability, regenerative agriculture, ethical/empowering business, etc. to our culture here in DFW, there is resistance to be sure. However, we have been so thankful to see the fruit of people just coming alive when they slow down to participate in the things we are promoting. It’s neat to be reminded that the things we hold dear are truly worth fighting for!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Balcony Box?
I’d love to! Our business, Balcony Box, is owned by me and 4 of my friends – John, Q, Soluto, and Preston (who is also my husband!). It is our attempt to help usher in the sustainability and self-sufficiency movement into DFW. Our team’s vision is to remove barriers that people have with growing food (especially in such a climate of extremes like we have here in Texas!) and see more people choosing to engage with community-positive local economy and sustainability.
One of the things I love about our business is that we are heavily committed to sourcing the very best materials to create gardening solutions that actually work. A cool example of this is our cedar wood that we use to build our garden containers. Our wood comes from a mill in Tioga, TX called the Cedar Depot who partners with local families who are managing the cedar populations on their property (cedar quickly becomes invasive in our ecosystem if it goes unmanaged). The cedar is a nuisance to them, and it becomes a work of art and something that will bring forth life for people when we are through with it. It’s a neat example of a local problem become a local solution.
Balcony Box is owned by me and 4 of my friends – John, Q, Soluto, and Preston (who is also my husband!). It is our attempt to help usher in the sustainability and self-sufficiency movement into DFW. Our team’s vision is to remove barriers that people have with growing food (especially in such a climate of extremes like we have here in Texas!) as well as to see more people choosing to engage with community-positive local economy and sustainability.
Pricing:
- Cedar Balcony Box – $150
- Learn to Garden Membership – $25/quarter
- Garden Designs & Custom Orders – reach out to us for a quote!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.balcony-box.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balconybox/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BalconyBoxDallas/
