Life & Work with Paige Young

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paige Young.

Hi Paige, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Sure, my name is Paige Young and I am a horticulturalist, farmer, pastry chef, and artist.  I am originally from Albion, MI but spent a good bit of time in the southern portion of the US.  I married my husband Steve in 2008 in Florida and we made our way back to Michigan in 2017.

EBMY Farm was established in 2017. However, it was owned by my grandparents and then my father. Both had large vegetable gardens and many acres of u-pick apples for the public to enjoy. Growing up and seeing my father’s farm started my own passion for animals, plants, flowers, and many other things.

EMBY Farm’s vision is a blend all of my passions into one place. I graduated college with a degree in Biology, emphasizing in marine life. After a few years, I switched my focus to plants and worked at a landscaping nursery in Florida for 11 years, where my passion for plants, flowers, and design grew. I also became interested in art in many forms and took pottery and painting classes at the Center for the Art in Vero Beach, FL. Florida is also where I met my husband, Steve. Steve had just finished his career with the US Air Force and began working in management. A couple of years later, we were married and moved to Charleston, SC, where, in 2011, I opened a bakery to explore my love for creating unique flavors and extraordinary baked items.

In 2017, we (Steve and I) purchased my family farm in Albion, where we put all our passion into a new vision called EBMY Farm. We have built raised gardens for fruits and vegetables, continued my father’s orchard, and have planted assorted berry bushes near the existing 80-year-old grape vine on the property.

In 2022, we built a 2,000-square-foot flower garden, and in 2024, we expanded it to around 10,000 square feet. This where we will be opening a u-pick garden with around 40 varieties of flower to choose from in the summer of 2024. With the opening of the U-pick garden, we will be offering a flower subscription service, a flower bar, and hand-crafted flower arrangements.

EBMY Farm also opened our farm store and Duck-A-Roo Studio in the summer of 2023. The store is where I sells my unique jams, jellies, chutneys, BBQ sauces, and salsas made from the produce grown on the farm. I have developed a variety of baked goods and take-and-bake dishes and have additional floral arrangements and art, all available from the farm store. Duck-A-Roo Studio is a small art space that will have classes in pottery, painting, gourd art, and flower arranging. All classes are coming spring 2024. The classes will be open to around 7 participants, with a schedule and class offerings being posted around March.

The path to EBMY Farm has been unique. From growing up in Albion to spending time in South Carolina and Florida to moving back to Michigan, I have had a whirlwind career! I never thought I’d have another bakery, an art studio, and a soon-to-be-open U-pick flower garden, but I am so happy to be here. And I cannot wait to bring my passion for flowers and baked goods to Albion and our surrounding communities!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For the most part, starting EBMY Farm has been fairly smooth. Our biggest hurdle was adjusting to the colder weather and seasons coming from FL and SC! But each aspect of the farm has come in small leaps. Starting the commercial kitchen and getting most of the garden built was the first item on our list. This has enabled us to develop our line of products and has given us the opportunity to attend the local farmer’s market in Marshall, MI. 

But we’ve had some challenges. Starting in 2020, we wanted to offer a fun event for our local communities to enjoy. We opened a corn maze cut from about 5 acres of land on our property. We worked on this project for four years, but unfortunately, the attendance seemed to be lighter and lighter each year, and we weren’t able to gain any traction. But at the same time in 2023, we decided to try our hand at a flower gardens where we could host small events and have the public create their own arrangements. Fortunately, the latter did pretty well, and during the winter of 2023, we decided to expand the garden to four times its size. This larger garden will offer a bigger space and even more variety for our local communities to enjoy the garden, participate in a u-pick garden, choose an arrangement from our flower bar, or design a bouquet or floral arrangement. We will also have special events at the farm that will go beyond just picking flowers but also combine that with therapeutic sound concerts, brunches, and, of course, our sweet treats. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I wear many hats on the farm. I have a Master’s degree from the Notter School of Pastry Art. My passion for baking and developing new and interesting flavor combinations has led to the largest aspect of the business to include a variety of chutneys, jams, jellies, BBQ sauces, and salsa in addition to baked goods. 

But my love for plants and flowers has resulted in numerous garden beds all over the farm. The farm is full with trees, shrubs, and flowers all of which were essential in kick-starting our flower projects at the farm and gives me plenty of unique ingredients to use in the kitchen. 

In addition, opening an art studio has been a dream of mine and helps harness my creative drive. Duck-a-Roo Studio is a new addition to the farm coming this spring. The chance to open up the farm to other creative people and explore the world of art in all kinds of medium is so exciting. From pottery to gourd art, I can’t wait to see what comes next! 

I am most proud of being able to take over the family farm and implementing a new vision. This new vision is a modern take on what a family-owned farm can be. The farm is also about creating a place where the local community can come and spread their creative wings, either by arranging flowers or dabbling in one of the many art classes I have planned in the coming months. 

Having so many different careers has allowed us to expand the farm to be more of a destination for people with all kinds of interests, and we are sure this sets EBMY Farm apart. 

What was your favorite childhood memory?
A couple of my favorite childhood memories are related to our farm. My father was a jack of all trades. He built a go-cart from parts around the farm, a bench seat, and some old wheels. The cart held a single gallon of gas! My brothers and I would spend hours racing in the apple orchard on that go-cart! Another fond memory was lacing up my ice skates each winter and skating on a small pond created by the snow thawing to water and then refreezing. Each year, we would wait for the January thaw and then refreeze! Maybe not the safest of activities, but it was just a blast and a memory of my brothers that I will never forget. You just needed to watch out for the grass poking through the ice! 

Contact Info:

• Website: ebmyfarm.com
• Instagram: ebmy_farm
• Facebook: EBMY Farm

Image Credits
Paige Young