Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Bloomer.
Hi Amy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I graduated with a Masters Degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University in 2000. At that time the economy was booming, so I had five job offers in corporate human resources and change management consulting. I accepted a position as a Human Resources Analyst at a bulge-bracket investment bank and I was off to the races. My time spent working on Wall Street was some of the most difficult, yet insightful, experiences I’ve ever known.
It was also life-changing to witness 9/11/01 unfold as a resident of New York City and watch not one, but two planes, crash into the twin towers with my own eyes. Perhaps one of my greatest achievements while working in NY aside from surviving the terrorist attack, was obtaining a position in the Executive Development Program working directly for the Chief Executive Officer, a well-known wall street tycoon and billionaire. My former boss at the time, the global head of HR, told me I was going to do something that he had never seen before, which started out my career at the pinnacle (an office on the executive floor) and then work my way back down. Yet for me, this was par for the course – I never took the common path. I was always the black sheep; the one who took the road less traveled and endeavored to do things in an unorthodox manner.
I was on a path to becoming an HR executive at another global financial institution when life threw me a giant curveball, I fell in love with a late Bloomer. This is the perfect segway into the next chapter of my life which was to give up my career, and everyone I knew and loved (except my husband), and move to the desert to support my husband’s career. The next seven-plus years of my life in Arizona was a constant exercise in attempts to “cast off burdens in belief and in apparel,” which is one of my favorite quotes from women’s suffragette Amelia Bloomer. Long story short, it was the longest stretch of my life and I’m grateful every day to be back on the East Coast. I’m even more grateful that my move to Baltimore led to my opportunity to pursue my life’s passion which was to organize, professionally.
With a husband who is a traveling salesman, I needed a career that would give me the flexibility to navigate my own schedule and be home in time to get my kiddos off the bus. Seven years ago, I had the courage to start a second career at age 39 working as a professional residential organizer. I make my work transformational, not transactional. It’s not about making a junk drawer look like a Pinterest post, it’s about revolutionizing space and empowering clients to live their best life. Hence my business, Let Your Space Bloom, LLC, came to fruition: www.letyourspacebloom.com
The most challenging part of switching from one career to another was going from the stability of a career with a salary and benefits to an entrepreneur starting from ground zero. I knew a lot about corporate America but very little about small businesses. I checked out many books from our local library and tried to flood my brain with every resource I could find. As my journey into entrepreneurship unfolded, I discovered the greatest knowledge came from trial and error, as opposed to anything I read from a book.
The inspiration behind my brand, Let Your Space, Bloom, is a woman on my husband’s side of the family, Amelia Jenks Bloomer. She was a revolutionary women’s rights activist, who also happened to popularize the term “bloomers”. Her work has been a great source of inspiration in my own endeavors personally and professionally since the day I married a descendant of her nephew. In the 19th century, Amelia edited and produced the first women’s newspaper The Lily, promoting events and discussing issues important to women of the time. But she truly became famous when she wore a reformed style of dress that gave women more flexibility, mobility, and freedom than the constricting costumes of the day. She caused such a stir nationwide that the outfit became known as “bloomers.”
“The costume of women should be suited to her wants and necessities. It should conduce at once to her health, comfort, and usefulness.” -Amelia Bloomer
I’d add that it’s not just the costume of a woman that impacts her life, but also her environment. Everyone should live in a space that is intentionally organized, one that suits their wants and needs and also enhances their mental and physical health. Every day, I’m able to move about freely and comfortably as I work in my client’s space. Without Amelia to pave the way, I wouldn’t have had this daily opportunity to put on my pants one leg at a time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The most challenging part of switching from one career to another was going from the stability of a career with a salary and benefits to an entrepreneur starting from ground zero.
I knew a lot about corporate America but very little about small businesses. I had to leverage my existing business network and take some risks. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, it was critical to follow this mantra “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m the founder and owner of Let Your Space Bloom, LLC, Professional Organizing. I have a Master’s Degree from Columbia University in Organizational Psychology.
Our unique approach to the organization makes efficient and elegant use of the space within your home. Our services include hands-on organizing, move preparation, unpacking, downsizing, rightsizing, and everything in between. Organizing with families, professionals, and retirees, we make it easy to find the things you need, so you have more time to do the things you love. Proudly serving Aspen, Baltimore, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Siesta Key, and beyond.
Organizing is an incredibly intimate business. It’s an honor and a privilege to be working in clients’ homes. In professional organizing, you work with all kinds of people in all kinds of spaces; it’s one of the reasons this type of work is so fascinating and fulfilling. Every home, family, and budget is different. Maybe you just want to organize your pantry, or maybe you feel completely overwhelmed in your home and want to transform your space – room by room. It’s all about your needs and what will work best for you. It’s not about making a junk drawer temporarily look like a Pinterest post. It’s about changing the way you use your space, allowing you to discover more time, resources, balance, and bliss. Furniture may be moved around, some items may be donated, storage systems reimagined and existing spaces repurposed.
Everyone should live in a space that is intentionally organized, one that suits their wants and needs and also enhances their mental and physical health. My methods help clients transform their spaces, allowing them to discover more time, resources, balance, and bliss. When people can find the things they need quickly, this gives them more time to spend doing the things that they love.
It is my passion to help clients find customized, innovative organizational solutions within their homes. I’m a Spatial Revolutionary.
How do you define success?
Have I made a positive impact on someone else’s life? That’s the litmus test.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.letyourspacebloom.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letyourspacebloom/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letyourspacebloom/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybloomer/
Image Credits
The Scout Guide and Baltimore & Annapolis
