Mindy Rhodes creates her music and her floral arrangements from two sacred places: at AllaFine Farm (At Last), home of WhisperWind Studios, which she shares with her husband, John Braxton near Chadds Ford, and from within her personal space that calls out for quiet self-expression. Recently, Mindy met with Chadds Ford Life to talk about her career in floral design and music, her work that helped save Crebilly Farm and a very large musical dinner party she would love to host.

Chadds Ford Life: I can’t help but inquire as we begin, how do you possibly shift the 
bounty of your creativity from writing and performing songs to creating floral
arrangements? Most creatives are one-trick ponies. You have several ponies in the stable. How did these twin talents begin to form?

Mindy Rhodes: Growing up, I was a classical pianist and focused on music, and while I

enjoyed flowers, I never thought I would have a career in flowers. I knew that teaching piano lessons was not my first choice of a career, so I began to play gigs when I was young, just playing piano with no vocals, but over time, I realized that I should start to sing and play.

When I was 18, I met with the restaurateur Jack McFadden to try to get a job playing piano at The Restaurant and Bar in West Chester. He told me, “I already have a piano player. Can you sing?” I lied and told him that I could sing, so I started doing it and nobody threw me out and so I kept on doing it.

Later, I began teaching piano lessons at the Music Centre in Exton, owned by Glenn Ferracone.  I lived in Malvern and there was a floral shop on the first floor of

the apartment building I was living in at the time, and the woman who ran it was looking for extra help on the weekends. I began screwing up phone numbers and she said, “Forget about answering the phone. Come with me. I’m going to teach you.” I absolutely loved the art of floral arrangement, and my entry into a life in flowers began there.

Whether you’re an artist or a chef or a painter or a musician, sooner or later, your creativity has to come out.

You write in your story that as a child, you escaped into your creativity, and often with a treasured pet by your side.

I learned at a young age that animals are always honest and that I can always count on them to be there. I can remember practicing classical piano for hours on hours. I had a little Sheltie named Bonnie, and she would lay her head on my pedal foot, and she would stay there for hours. Animals were my escape, and they were always there for me.

If art is about the slow revelation of one’s truest self, what was beginning to be revealed to
you at that impressionable age in terms of welcoming and accepting what has become a creative life?

Most of my focus was on classical piano, but I would occasionally get bored and begin to explore songwriting, which then took on a life of its own and became more important. I was a closet singer for years but the more I practiced singing, the better I got at it.

As you got older, how did the partnership between music, flowers and art begin to dovetail? Was it a conscious decision?

It was not my plan to go into the floral industry but soon as I got a taste of it, I couldn’t get enough of it, so I was motivated to learn, and it ended up becoming a companion to my music. Everything once revolved around music and performing, but I also was able to then work in the day doing flowers, and at some point, I knew I wanted to have my own floral business.

Let’s talk about your music. How did you arrive at your versatility – the ability to go from jazz vocalist with a backing band to a classical pianist to the intimacy of a solo cabaret singer? Those are some significant musical leaps.

I was always a solo musician, but when I moved back east from the West Coast, I finally became my authentic self and made the decision to go after what I had always wanted to but had been too scared to pursue: to record a demo CD and pursue my songwriting. I began to meet other musicians who believed in my music and supported me and began to play with me.

I worked hard, because I had to cultivate the skills necessary to go from being a solo musician to playing with other people. When you’re trained as a classical musician, you may have your own interpretation, but you’re taught to play the same notes. I was rigid, but my fellow musicians were not, and they compensated me for my rigidity. Twenty years ago, I remember sitting and listening to those fine musicians perform and now it is an honor to be able to play with them.  

Songwriting – at least the kind that offers intelligence and integrity – is often a bloodletting of personal emotions. You’ve released three CDs – Whisperwind, Blush and It’s Alright, Tonight, and your original songs are all through them. Describe your songwriting process. Is it difficult for you to open that vein?

When I wrote the bulk of my songs, I just had to get it out; it was my life’s experiences and I needed to express it. In my younger years, it was more instrumental, but as I got older, the lyrics came, and I distinctly did what I felt was natural for me. A painter has to paint. A gardener needs to garden and a songwriter has to express their emotions through writing. Writing was comforting for me. If I had a good or bad experience, being able to share it was cathartic for me. I could wrap it up in a little package.

Your creativity also extends to your work as a floral designer and arranger. When you meet with a client, what questions do you ask them, and how do their responses reflect what you ultimately produce for them?

First, I need to be a good listener. Before I start asking questions, I want to know what they are looking for. I love the intricacies of wedding floral work, especially the personal bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages. For a bride, her wedding day is one of the greatest days of her life, so it’s about understanding what she is trying to convey. I have told people in the past that if they do not love flowers, I am probably not the person for them. I try to be honest and truthful about what is available, and I never want to be in the position of misleading a client by promising the moon and the stars when, unfortunately, I have no control over Mother Nature. I appreciate someone who has a vision, and it’s my job to paint that picture with flowers. For those who are about to get married, it’s their day and they deserve to feel special.

Let’s talk about AllaFine Farm, home of WhisperWind Studios. How has living in the country with a lot of animals around and a bit off the beaten path influenced your creative life? In other words, how does the importance of place play into your work?

Having a small farm has always been a dream of mine, and sharing it with a really great partner – my husband, John Braxton - means everything to me. To be here with its peace is everything to me. I’m a homebody and after years and years of traveling back and forth with music and flowers, I feel like I have everything I love right here, and how lucky am I?

You played a role in a people’s movement that ultimately saved Crebilly Farm from being developed. The story is not just about the preservation of the farm, but the manner in which it was saved, and by whom. Talk about the dedication you saw in the people you stood with.

It is a miracle that Crebilly Farm has been saved. I did not save it, but I did write about it for eight years, and my husband and I were very involved at all the township meetings. Early on, I think people thought I was nuts to take on Toll Brothers. The journalist Kathleen Brady Shea began writing about it early on, and she told me that the only way to create an impact was through massive public outcry. When I began to hand out flyers on horseback, no one knew that there was an agreement of sale for the farm, but over time, we put the issue on the map and began making that message louder and louder.

I had no crystal ball, but I knew what would happen if we sat and did nothing. I just kept writing about it and people began to get involved - the citizens of Westtown Township and the ‘Vote Yes’ group led by Ray Dandrea, among so many other people.

What did this experience teach you about yourself?

I already knew that I was determined when I got my mind around it, and I knew that I was going to keep that commitment. I had no idea that it was going to go on for that long. John and I got married during that time, and we even brought our computers with us on our honeymoon in order to keep informed. He taught me about the importance of providing data and background. Whatever happened there at that farm during the Revolutionary War period, it will forever remain undisturbed. The long, slow process of saving Crebilly Farm was a miracle.

What is your favorite spot in Chadds Ford?

My favorite place to ride horseback was at Frolic Weymouth’s chapel on his property in Chadds Ford. It was in the middle of the woods, and it was fantastic.

You organize a dinner party and can invite anyone – famous or not, living or not. Who

would you want to see around that dining room table?

My favorite person at a dinner party is dinner for two with John. If I could have a dinner party for anyone, I would love to invite all my music idols of the past: Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, John Denver, Ray Charles, Harry Belafonte, Ray Orbison and the Rat Pack. I would serve them al fresco with a nearby fire pit and not say a word but just listen to the banter of their conversations. After dinner, I would hand out cigars, and I see Nina Simone smoking a cigar and enjoying a bourbon.

What food or beverage can always be found in your refrigerator?

Wine and cheese.

To learn more about Mindy Rhodes, visit www.WhisperWindStudios.com or listen to her music on Spotify and Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mindy-rhodes/1541456967