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Carrington woman creates from nature, for nature
At that time, Hoffert decided to seize what life offered beyond nine-to-five. The Carrington woman started a business called Pipestem Creek on Reimers Seed Farm, once her family's farm and now operated by her husband. At Pipestem Creek, Hoffert and her employees create and design "SunFlorals" (home decor items which double as bird feeders) and "SunFeeders" (edible, decorative bird feeders). One attribute of the SunFlorals is that if a customer gets tired of having the decoration hanging around the house, he or she can place it outside for the birds to eat. Hoffert's team uses flowers, seeds, and cornhusks among other natural materials to create their products. Hoffert comes up with the basic ideas for the feeders, while her employees do most of the actual designs. "We just keep putting [materials] on the table until we find something that looks good," she says. "Sometimes we make it the first time and say, 'Wow,' and other times we can do it ten times and it just doesn't work." Hoffert has incorporated her children into Pipestem Creek. Her two daughters enjoy helping her pick out certain flowers, and they occasionally contribute to the designs. Sometimes, Hoffert says, the feeders take awhile to become permanent fixtures in the minds of their creators. "We usually hang them for a couple of days and stare at them," she says. Hoffert has expanded her SunFlorals and SunFeeders into the national market, which she says includes nature- and bird-lovers. She uses several marketing techniques, including sales representatives, telephone sales, and catalogs. "Marketing would be a 24-hour job if you had that much time for it," she says. The success of Pipestem Creek supports the idea that anyone can find a creative niche if he or she stays determined. "I have never been a crafty person," Hoffert says. "There is some creativity there, and that is one part of myself that I have been kind of surprised at."
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As a nurse practitioner
and physician's assistant seven years ago, Ann Hoffert had to travel
a long distance into town each day, leaving behind her children and
the family farm. 