5(ish) Questions for is a chance to discover and learn about St. Louis Creatives, Community Champions, and, well, just interesting people in and around our city. It's a deep dive into what they love and where their passion lies. It's an opportunity for all of us to see our region from a different perspective. This written interview is a peek into their lives and their outlook on St. Louis.

Tell us a little about yourself first:
I get excited about color, design, words, spirituality, joy… and then there is the world of plants! You can say I'm multi-passionate. My studio and garden are in Webster Groves, where I illustrate botanical images for Power Poppy, my cardmaking and coloring business. I’m an art director/graphic designer specializing in the enthusiast space, helping clients authentically connect to their customers and build communities. It feels natural to do this work, and while I enjoy it immensely, I’ve come to know that I must pursue a personal mission: to share what I’ve discovered about grief, gardening, and gratitude. My new project is an online platform called The Perennial Optimist (coming soon!).

How did you get started?
I was a skateboarder in the 80s, totally into drawing, music, and skate culture. I was also obsessed with Mary Engelbreit’s cards, the way she merged illustration (often featuring homes and gardens) with uplifting or clever quotes. I collected and studied as many as I could. My mom was an artist and was always decorating, cooking, gardening, making things — our home was a tribute to her passions and she certainly encouraged mine. It was a highly stimulating atmosphere to grow up in. She introduced me to Martha Stewart Living magazine when it very first came out, I was still in college, but I was hooked. There had never been a publication that elevated home arts to such a thoughtfully-designed, beautifully photographed, approachable yet aspirational degree — it had a huge impact on me. After graduating with a BFA in graphic design from University of Illinois, I went to work for a printer, and one of my first projects was designing a mail-order gardening catalog. I put my heart into every page, incorporating my own watercolors, inspiring quotes, and beautiful typography with the product photos and descriptions. Turned out, Martha Stewart’s art director was on the mailing list for that catalog. She tracked me down in the cornfields of Illinois and flew me to New York to be her assistant at the magazine.

A few years later, I came home to a message on my answering machine from Mary Engelbreit (herself!). She was starting a decorating magazine, and invited me to come back to St. Louis to interview to be the art director. Of course I said “Yes!” and poured full enthusiasm into Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion magazine, designing layouts, dreaming up content and craft projects, working alongside legendary artists, stylists, writers, and photographers. Every day was a thrill.

I didn’t really think about it at the time, but my two biggest heroes tracked me down to go work for them, without any knowledge that I was their superfan. I’ve had many other cool connections happen in my career and my personal life. I believe there is something deeper going on there. Be it positive energy and the law of attraction, or the divine having a plan, I don’t know, but I am very interested in these questions. I encourage people to pursue what they love with full gusto, because hey, you never know!

What are some unique or innovative approaches you take?
I feel the most energized when I am doing projects that fascinate me, where I’m learning something, and then sharing what I’ve learned. In order to be energized to do my best work, I’ve realized I need to protect my peace. Peace is swaths of solitude, taking trips by myself, getting quiet, taking a nap. It’s being in my garden or my studio sanctuary, where I have a desk to work on, but also a meditation pillow, fresh flowers, and a statue of the goddess of compassion and kindness. I decided to stop drinking a few years ago, and I truly believe that sobriety is my superpower. I feel unstoppable! I spent years racing around doing a million things all day long and then having wine at night to “turn off my brain”. But man alive, take alcohol out of the equation, and there is a natural joy and energy that emerges. Is this innovative? To me, living “beyond booze” has been game-changing. I believe that if people got quiet, asked hard questions, and paid attention to what they REALLY need, they would find deep happiness, and in turn, bring out the best work of their lives.

What are some of your goals for the next year, or the next 5 years?
Well, I’m very excited to see how The Perennial Optimist develops. It is part memoir and part gardening guide, with things to make and do and learn, and hopefully, it will inspire folks to take joy in each day. There will be an ecommerce component so I can share my favorite objects, plants, and branded merch. It will be all about celebrating the awakened life. Each day you get 24 fresh hours to live, what are you going to do with them? I’ll try to give you some ideas!

Several years ago, I worked with life coach Lynn O’Brien. She shared these words that landed so deeply with me, as a recovering control freak: “Everything is an experiment.” I started digging up our front yard with zero plan, I only knew I needed to plant the daffodil bulbs I’d ordered before the ground froze. Now my garden has grown to be our entire yard, we have no grass whatsoever. I named it “The Slope of Possibility,” and it honors my mother’s memory. The garden is now filled with hundreds of varieties of daffodils (Mom's favorite), colorful tulips, peonies, and a myriad of perennials, dancing together in harmony. People stop and take pictures, it’s become kind of a destination. I sought out tips from horticulture experts, and I followed my artistic intuition, but really, I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I’m still learning every day. Everything in the garden is an experiment. And ya know, ultimately, everything in life is an experiment!

The question was about goals, I don’t have any. I just keep putting my heart into whatever I do, and will have to see what the universe has in store.

What inspires you about St. Louis?
I am so in love with St. Louis. The history and architecture, incredible music heritage (Ike and Tina! Uncle Tupelo!), ever-expanding food scene, world-class Missouri Botanical Garden, the small-town atmosphere where everybody knows someone who knows someone you know. It’s really special. As a curious person, our city lights me up with endless stuff to see, visit, and learn about. I grew up in a historic house in Kirkwood and live in a 1929 house in Webster, and I love driving through the city neighborhoods, gawking at cool houses, old signage, finding little shops and restaurants. In one of our driving-around excursions, my husband and I came across the Boo Cat Club on North Union, turns out the building had originally been the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, built in 1908. Now how cool is that? Of course it had to be our wedding venue! I’m inspired by the people who work to revive our neighborhoods, to tell the stories, to bring people together. I appreciate what you all are doing very much!

What do you do in your spare time?
When I’m not gardening or walking dogs, I’m hanging with my true love, my husband Doug Scronce. We met on the skateboarding scene when we were teenagers, lost touch, then ran into one another on a half-pipe at “Old Man Skate Night” 20 years later, and it was ON. We still occasionally skate! He got me to learn how to ride motorcycles, which is his passion, and we founded a motorcycle event called Vintage Bike Night St. Louis. (It grew to become the largest monthly motorcycle meet-up in the Midwest!) I’m getting my 1974 Yamaha RD60 rebuilt and painted green to be The Perennial Optimist official motorbike. I love music, seeing bands play, and going to Record Store Day at Euclid Records. Our kids are getting to the age where they are mostly off doing their own thing. We are so grateful for our blended family and we've shared so many adventures together. Doug and I have four kids between us, Finn, Tallulah, Clara, and Sylvia — each one is carving a unique path through life, and we get the honor of watching them become who they are becoming. Life is good!

To find me:
• I love sharing gardening photos and adventures on Instagram @marcellahawley

• Find my botanical illustrations you can download and color at powerpoppy.com

• Contact me directly at bloom@powerpoppy.com

• Get updates on the launch of theperennialoptimist.com by signing up for my newsletter

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Marcella Hawley

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Marcella Hawley

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