On a hilly property in Lower Kaimai, where deer watch as you drive in, one savvy entrepreneur has turned a passion project into valuable extra income.

Sara Patterson is bringing up her 5-year-old son Rocco on the stunning 100-acre farm that she grew up on.

The florist returned home from the Gold Coast two years ago and has set up a side hustle selling handmade greeting cards adorned with preserved petals.

“I’ve been a florist for 20 years and had my own shop on the Gold Coast for eight years,” she said. “I wanted something related to flowers to keep me busy through the winter that could potentially kick off a new business.”

She decided to try creating unique, handmade greeting cards using locally grown flowers.

“In a matter of days, I’d made a few and thought they’re actually really cool so I expanded to canvas pictures and also mirrors and clocks decorated with dried flowers.”

She launched social media under the name “Thistle and Thorn”; a nod to the thistles on her late father’s farm and her late mother’s love of roses.

“I’ve sold cards and a canvas and picked up a few custom orders from posting on the Kaimai Community Facebook page, so that’s pretty good,” said Sara. “I’ve got all these ideas that I want to try but I just need to remember that it’s also a supposed to be something to help me relax through the winter. I’m naturally a very active ‘go, go, go’ kind of person.”

Sara Patterson hard at work crafting her cards.

Sara dries and presses the flowers, so they’ll last forever.

As well as being a solo mum, Sara has a part-time job so the side hustle doubles as a way to stay busy as well as a way to boost income.

“The idea is that it’s setting me up for when I eventually have my own shop,” she said.

The side hustle is also providing a good life lesson for Rocco.

“Most of the time I’ve got stuff spread out all over the lounge floor so it makes it a little bit of a challenge with a 5-year-old, but he sits here and makes his own cards for his friends. I tell him how if we sit here and work hard to make the cards then some people will want to buy them and that can grow into a business.”

Sara Patterson making the cards with her 5-year-old son Rocco.

Sometimes her workspace is out on the deck, on a table that she restored, enjoying the view over the Kaimai ranges all the way down to the city and across to Papamoa.

“I’ve always been a country person. It’s the peace and tranquillity,” she said. “It’s a real community where I’m surrounded by beautiful people who always offer a helping hand. I’ve tried living in town and in Surfer’s Paradise I lived by the beach so I’ve had the best of both worlds, but I know that this is where I want to be.”