Sweetfields Inc. - Crystallized Flowers - Candied Flowers

History

Sweetfields’ Founder and President, John Clemons, has been the leading grower of fresh edible flowers (Sunset Farms) since the 1980’s. In the mid 1990’s, Mr. Clemons came across a flower crystallization recipe and decided to try it. The art of crystallizing flowers by hand has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. Anyone who has experience with this art form can probably attest to the fact that it consumes a lot of time. There are many people and businesses that do not have the time, resources, or skill to yield quality crystallized flowers but would love to have them readily available to garnish desserts, entrees, cakes or beverages with. This is where Mr. Clemons recognized that there was a huge opportunity.

In March of 1995 Mr. Clemons sold his first crystallized flower but it took him about ten years to perfect the art and science to take flower crystallization from a very tedious process into mass production. Mr. Clemons’ technique enhances the natural beauty of the flower while enabling a much more even application of the solution than traditional methods. Upon identifying the components of the perfect recipe and steps to achieve a picture-perfect, mouth watering crystallized flower, Mr. Clemons applied for both domestic and international patents. Shortly after, Mr. Clemons amended the patent to include glazed flowers, gold and silver-dusted flowers, chocolate dipped crystallized flowers and some new concepts that will be introduced to the market at a later date.

In the Fall of 2009, Sweetfields formed a Joint Venture with Dress the Drink, LLC. This Joint Venture has enabled Sweetfields to focus on its core competency: producing world-class candied flowers! Dress the Drink manages the Sales and Marketing efforts for Sweetfields' flowers under the direction of Diane Svehlak, Sweetfields' New Business Development Director. To read more about the partnership, please click here.

Today, Sweetfields is a family owned and operated business that produces beautiful candied, edible flowers for customers both large and small around the globe. All of the flowers originate on our 33-acre farm in the foothills of Jamul, California where they are grown with organic principles then transformed into edible works of art. This is the same farm that John Clemons grew up on and has produced the fresh edible flowers from.

Sweetfields and Dress the Drink are committed to serving customers with 100% satisfaction whether that is an individual or a large enterprise. Our mission statement is: "We're not happy until you are happy! Let us introduce you to our management team:

	John Clemons, President & Founder Mr. Clemons is intimately involved with Sweetfields on a day-to-day basis. He runs the production at the farm and continues to mastermind new products and process efficiencies for the company. He holds an Associates degree in Aviation Technology from Miramar College and studied Computer Science Information Systems at San Diego State University (SDSU). You will find Mr. Clemons on his time off at the beach kiteboarding or teaching others this extreme sport!
	Shanna Johnson, CEO Mrs. Johnson joined the family business after several years of working in the high-tech industry. Her most recent position was Project Manager at Nokia Mobile Phones where she successfully brought three new handsets to market. She is now focused on executing Sweetfields' five year plan so the flowers can be available in the mass market. Mrs. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Diego (USD).
	Diane Richards, Vice President Since the inception of Sweetfields, Ms. Richards has played an integral part in the innovation of the Sweetfields finishes and application to the flowers. She provides the voice of the customer into the day-to-day operations of Sweetfields. Ms. Richards is an artist with extensive experience in various mediums. She holds a degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Southern California.
	Diane Svehlak, Director, New Business Development Mrs. Svehlak has over 22 years experience in building businesses from the ground up. She comes to Sweetfields from the sales and marketing venture parternship Sweetfields has with Dress the Drink, LLC where she is Co-owner and President. Mrs. Svehlak's executive management experiences have been focused in the Wine and Spirits Industry where she was President of Access Beverage. Diane's deep knowledge of branding, sales and marketing will position Sweetfields and Dress the Drink for substantial growth. Contact Di!
	Chase Johnson, Future CEO Since Chase made his debut in 2006, he has truly become the boss at Sweetfields! There is nothing Chase enjoys more than to go visit the farm and hang with his Pop-Op (John Clemons). Most days, he is working closely with his mom, Shanna Johnson. The plan is to groom him to become Sweetfields’ next CEO!
	Chandler Johnson, Sweetfields' Newest Addition On November 7th of 2009 the newest addition to the Sweetfields family arrived, Chandler Rae Johnson. Chase is just happy to have a little sister that can sport all the Sweetfields attire now. He would prefer to wear something with a truck on it or a race car, no violas or pansies for that boy! Chandler may battle Chase for the future CEO position.
Sweetfields Family Photography by Creative Photography, Inc.