Our Story
“Cultivate joy in your heart and satisfaction with the work you’re called to today. Sing the song you were uniquely made to sing, and you will bring more beauty to the world than you ever imagined possible.”
Hi, I’m Katie Barela, the owner and founder of Spanish Clover.
Like so many during the start of the pandemic, i found myself trying to make the best of an unknown situation. I had just resigned from my job at a commercial architecture firm and was ready to take on working with my husband to build our residential general contracting company. but the world stopped, and we were home, with two young kids, trying not to go crazy. I had always wanted to turn our backyard into a mini flower farm, so that’s where i focused my energy and time. I have always loved buying myself fresh bouquets from the grocery store and brightening up our home and mood. I wanted to be able to cultivate the same kind of simple joy for others. and that’s how spanish clover came to be!
Along with my husband and two sons, we turned our backyard into an urban microfarm, growing seasonal fresh specialty cut flowers. The first year, i gave so many cut flower bouquets to friends and family, with the hopes of brightening their day with simple kindness and beauty. Seeing how happy it made them, brought me so much happiness. We are now growing more flowers, and continuing to add to our small scale flower production.
When flower season ended in the winter of 2021, i focused on developing my candle and home fragrance line. After months of researching, sourcing, and testing the highest quality ingredients, I developed a candle that burns cleanly and evenly all the way down. Each candle is hand-poured in our home studio in albuquerque, New mexico, using a coco apricot creme blend wax and skin-safe designer perfume quality fragrance in vessels that are minimal in design and meant to be beautifully repurposed as home decor after candle use. so much care and attention goes into each candle, even down to the labeling and packaging.
I knew i wanted to continue my passion for interior and residential design, and after designing our outdoor space to be not just for flower production, but also a serene extension of our home, i knew the direction i wanted spanish clover to take: a creative cross-pollination of floral production, home goods, and residential interior design all with the intention of living well through simple beauty.
Spanish clover continues to grow and evolve and become a collective collaborative focused on appreciating the details of life and finding serenity and calm contentment in the day-to-day, and making your space your sanctuary.